Ripon College Days

Issue date: 2/21/07 Section: Features

Leahy

ne senior male reports looking at pornographic material for about twenty minutes every day, which is nearly two and a half hours every week.

Michael Leahy believes this seemingly harmless habit could turn into a silent killer, being a detriment to the senior's future and relationships.

However, the senior says he doesn't feel it is detrimental to his life and often asks friends to share their movie files with him.

Leahy's multi-media presentation, Porn Nation - The Naked Truth, raises the questions - Are we becoming obsessed with sex? and How far is too far?

A recovering sex addict himself, Leahy is concerned not only with pornography, but also sex within the mainstream media that often errs on the side of XXX.

In his presentation at 7 p.m. Feb. 23 in Great Hall, Leahy will not only share his views on society, but also details of his personal battle with his obsession and how he was able to overcome his biggest vice.

There is also no question that movie producers and TV executives continue to push the boundaries on what is acceptable to be shown in the mainstream media, all with the intention of increasing revenues and boosting ticket sales.

Psychology Professor Tim Petersik notes two conflicting psychological viewpoints on whether or not it is possible to maintain social standards with an increasing influence on sex.

"There are those people who say the more children see graphic sex or even what we call titillation, the more they begin to incorporate it into their own world views and lifestyles and the more they begin to act it out because they see it as acceptable," says Petersik. "The other side of the coin is to say sex is a natural thing and children are going to develop an interest in it and if anything porn may educate them."

In addition, we are in an age of technology where the Internet constantly puts access to pornography at people's fingertips.

"I think a lot of times it makes it so accessible that people may perceive a need that they have as more immediate, rather than delaying it and moving on with other activities," says Counselor Cynthia Viertel. "It's not unlike other addictive behaviors, in that you start to see regular fulfilling parts of a person's life start taking a back seat to everything else."

Even the mailroom helps service people's desire for porn.

"This year, we receive Playboy magazines for five or six subscriptions," says Betty Parker, the mailroom's secretary. "The number of magazines has been declining and this is the lowest level of Playboy and Maxim magazines we have received in the last five years."

Continued...

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