Talking About Sexual Content Online Without Shame or Stigma

Who is this resource for?

This resource has been created to assist adults who live or work with young people to have conversations around sexual content online. These conversations often appear as part of broader Relationships and Sexuality Education, but they can also spontaneously appear in other aspects of life. This resource aims to equip adults with definitions, topics, and information to be able to have these discussions without shame or stigma.

Young people report that one of the main reasons they do not talk about sexual content online with their trusted adults is due to shame. By having open, values aware discussions about sexual content online, young people are more likely to feel comfortable engaging in these conversations. This becomes increasingly important if young people experience something troubling or illegal online.

Why is this resource important?

• Between 75% and 85.7% of young Australians have encountered online pornography (ARCSHS, 2022; eSafety, 2023).
• 39% first encountered it before they were 13 (eSafety, 2023).
• Young people believe that pornography could influence their understanding of consent, ideas of intimate relationships, expectations of sex, and views on gender stereotypes (eSafety, 2023).
• Young people also reported that education is the most helpful tool to combat potential negative impacts of pornography (eSafety, 2023).

Definition of Sexual Content Online

Sexual Content Online includes images, videos, audio, and text of a sexual nature. In this definition, Sexual Content Online includes legally produced content (pornography, sexts, etc.) and illegal content (Child Sexual Abuse Material, Image-Based Abuse, etc.).

Legally produced content is designed for arousal and/or entertainment, and it is created with the consent of all parties involved in the content production. This resource relates primarily to the discussion of legally produced sexual content. Specifically, pornography, which is legally and consensually produced.

Any young person impacted by illegally produced or distributed sexual content can seek legal and/or well-being help. Please see eSafety for more information.

Topics To Cover

Consent

Pornography might not show the performers seeking consent before or during the recorded sexual activity. As this is their job, performers negotiate contracts, including consent to the types of activities they will be engaging in.

With the negotiation of consent happening off screen, it can lead to unrealistic expectations of the consent seeking process when people are engaging in sexual activities. It is important to remember that affirmative consent is required before any sexual activity.

Stereotypes

Some pornography might perpetuate gender, sexuality, racial or cultural stereotypes. This can lead to people feeling like they ‘should’ act in a certain way, or that they ‘have to’ engage in specific activities linked to their identity.

No one has to do anything that they are not comfortable with. Everyone will experience their identity differently, including their gender, sexuality, race and culture.

How It Looks vs How It Feels

The images and videos that are created are focused on how sex looks, rather than how it feels. Pornography is made for the consumer.

When people are engaging in sexual activity, there might be some importance placed on looks, but there might also be a higher level of importance placed on how it feels. Most people will engage in sexual activities as a pursuit of pleasure. The pleasure and enjoyment of all parties is an important part of these experiences.

Body Image

The bodies displayed in pornography might not be representative of all the diversity in the world.

Everybody is different. Differences in breast, penis, testicle, and labia size, colour, and shape are expected.

The bodies in pornography might be altered through the use of lighting, make-up, cosmetic surgery, filters, and camera angles. Just like social media, it is a curated version of that person.

Personal Content Creation

Some people will create their own sexual content. This may be sent to a partner (sexting), or it might be published widely to generate income. It is important that people are consenting to the creation of this content, and they are comfortable with it being a part of their Digital Footprint.

If someone wants to remain anonymous, there are some steps they can take. These steps might include hiding/blurring their face, removing backgrounds, adding filters, and covering up identifying tattoos, piercings, or birthmarks.

Help-Seeking

If someone is upset about sexual content they have seen online, they may want to speak to a trusted adult or a professional, like a mental health practitioner.

Generally, young people will not face legal repercussions for accessing sexual content on their own. If someone needs to report illegal or non-consensual content, they can contact the eSafety Commissioner, or the police.

Laws

In Victoria, it is illegal for someone under the age of 18 to purchase pornography. This means that it is generally not illegal for people under 18 to view pornography. At any age, it is illegal to access sexual content depicting a crime.

Federal law states that young people under the age of 18 cannot create or share their own sexual content.

In Victoria, there may be exemptions if there is no more than a 24-month age difference between two people who are sharing personally produced sexual content with each other (nudes, sexts, etc.).

Things To Remember

Real vs Fake

The people, bodies, and sexual activity in pornography might be real. When people describe it as fake, they run the risk of increasing the shame that people might feel if their bodies or preferred sexual activities are represented in pornography.

Even if an image is artificially generated or altered, the experience of viewing the material is real.

Try to avoid the argument of real vs fake and instead stick to discussions of online and offline.

Delete It

When it comes to receiving sexts and nudes, once someone has viewed the content, the recommended thing to do is delete it. This reduces the risk of it being used negatively in the future if a relationships sours, or if someone else accesses the device where it is stored.

Contact Sexual Health Victoria to find out how we can support you or your community with classroom-based education, parent information sessions or professional development. bookingenquiry@SHVIC.ORG.AU

References

eSafety Commissioner (2023). Accidental, unsolicited and in your face. Young people’s encounters with online pornography: a matter of platform responsibility, education and choice. Canberra: Australian Government. https://www.esafety.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-08/Accidental-unsolicited-and-in-your-face.pdf

Power, J., Kauer, S., Fisher, C., Chapman-Bellamy, R., & Bourne, A. (2022). The 7th National Survey of Australian Secondary Students and Sexual Health 2021. Melbourne: The Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University. https://www.latrobe.edu.au/arcshs/work/national-survey-of-secondary-students-and-sexual-health-2022