Guest post by Geoff Steurer, a licensed marriage and family therapist. 4-minute read.
The following post is from a licensed marriage and family therapist who often answers people’s questions directly that are sent to him. We think this particular question would help anyone out that’s in a tough spot with navigating how to talk about porn with younger people, especially in a co-parenting situation.
A difficult question
By Geoff Steurer, LMFT
“I am divorced and we have a 12-year-old son who splits his time between our two homes. He is curious about girls and has lots of questions. His mother and I have very different approaches to helping him get answers.
His mother wants him to explore any and all questions about girls and sex. Her new husband has pornographic magazines my son can look at with her permission. On the other hand, I don’t want him to get involved with porn, or dating, or anything like that right now, as he’s too young. So, our son is caught in the middle of this. She says “yes” and I say “no” and he doesn’t know what to do.
I don’t know what to tell him, as she can undo everything I say. He’s stuck trying to please both parents.
Any tips?”
-T.
Geoff’s thoughts
Hey T.,
Your ex-wife might have a sincere desire to answer all of your son’s questions about girls and sex, however, her methods are illegal and could land her and your son’s stepfather in legal trouble. There are federal laws that protect children from being exposed to obscene material. I recommend you contact an attorney to better understand the law in your area so you can protect your son (you can review the federal law here).
Even though pornography is easily accessible to any child on the internet, it’s illegal for an adult to knowingly expose a minor to sexually explicit material. It’s considered a form of sexual abuse.
Introducing sexually explicit material to a minor robs them of the chance to learn about their own sexuality and the sexuality of others in the future when they’re developmentally mature enough to process it.
Related: Ever Wonder How Your Parents Would React If They Knew You Watched Porn?
His mother and her husband need to know that what they are doing is harming this boy and it needs to stop immediately. It’s not necessary to expose children to obscene materials to educate them about their bodies and healthy sexuality.
Pornography is the worst kind of sexual educator. It’s violent, abusive, exploitive, and misogynistic. It distorts what intimacy looks like in a committed relationship. It warps our view of men, women, and bodies. There is nothing in pornography that will teach your son (or any person, for that matter) about healthy sexuality and relationships.
Let your son know that being exposed to pornography by an adult is not okay and reassure him that this is not his fault. Even though he may have been aroused by it physically and emotionally, he needs to understand that he’s not bad for seeing these things. He might blame himself, especially if there are consequences for his mom and stepfather. Make sure your son understands that he’s not to blame for any of this and he’s not “bad” for wanting to look at it. His curiosity is normal and healthy. He simply needs to know that this isn’t the place to get his questions answered and he was never supposed to see those images.
You can begin re-educating him on healthy sexuality and giving him age-appropriate answers to his questions. In fact, it would be helpful for you to invite him to ask you questions about what he’s seen so you can give him accurate information and help him understand that much of what he saw was acting, exaggerated, distorted, and not realistic.
Use our free, comprehensive, step-by-step conversation guide to start a meaningful and productive dialogue with him, today.
Related: Sex, Tech & Porn: A Shocking Look At What Teenagers Are Dealing With Today
Wendy Maltz has free charts on her website that explain the hazards of pornography and compare the differences between healthy sex and porn-related sex. These are excellent resources to begin using to help your son learn the what’s healthy and unhealthy. Additionally, he can sign up for the free online Fortify platform to begin learning what’s happened to him and how he can undo the effects it’s having on his brain and emotions.
You not only have a legal and ethical responsibility to protect your son from adults exposing him to pornography, but also a responsibility to help him unlearn and undo the effects of the unwanted exposure he’s experienced.
Educate yourself and begin a lifetime of conversations and support with your son to help him prepare for healthy relationships.
-Geoff Steurer
About the Author
Geoff Steurer is a licensed marriage and family therapist who answers questions on his website. Geoff answers new family and relationship questions every Friday. If you have a question, you can email him at [email protected].
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Most kids today are exposed to porn by the age of 12. By the time they’re teenagers, 75% of boys and 70% of girls have already viewed itRobb, M.B., & Mann, S. (2023). Teens and pornography. San Francisco, CA: Common Sense.Copy —often before they’ve had a single healthy conversation about it.
Even more concerning: over half of boys and nearly 40% of girls believe porn is a realistic depiction of sexMartellozzo, E., Monaghan, A., Adler, J. R., Davidson, J., Leyva, R., & Horvath, M. A. H. (2016). “I wasn’t sure it was normal to watch it”: A quantitative and qualitative examination of the impact of online pornography on the values, attitudes, beliefs and behaviours of children and young people. Middlesex University, NSPCC, & Office of the Children’s Commissioner.Copy . And among teens who have seen porn, more than 79% of teens use it to learn how to have sexRobb, M.B., & Mann, S. (2023). Teens and pornography. San Francisco, CA: Common Sense.Copy . That means millions of young people are getting sex ed from violent, degrading content, which becomes their baseline understanding of intimacy. Out of the most popular porn, 33%-88% of videos contain physical aggression and nonconsensual violence-related themesFritz, N., Malic, V., Paul, B., & Zhou, Y. (2020). A descriptive analysis of the types, targets, and relative frequency of aggression in mainstream pornography. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 49(8), 3041-3053. doi:10.1007/s10508-020-01773-0Copy Bridges et al., 2010, “Aggression and Sexual Behavior in Best-Selling Pornography Videos: A Content Analysis,” Violence Against Women.Copy .
From increasing rates of loneliness, depression, and self-doubt, to distorted views of sex, reduced relationship satisfaction, and riskier sexual behavior among teens, porn is impacting individuals, relationships, and society worldwideFight the New Drug. (2024, May). Get the Facts (Series of web articles). Fight the New Drug.Copy .
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