Sunday 20 October, 1.30pm until 3.00pm, Hammerson Room Hot off the Press 2013
While the debate on banning topless Page 3 models from newspapers rages on, it seems there is a more subtle debate on the place of sex in the public realm. The Twitterati were quick to pour scorn on Miley Cyrus’ twerking hard at the MTV music awards, there was confusion as to the level of acceptability of Sex Box, a live Channel 4 show featuring couples having sex. With music videos apparently becoming increasingly debauched and pornography becoming more accessible, is the public realm becoming more pornographic, or is the public simply more voyeuristic? And where do we draw the line between having an open public discussion about sex and encouraging exhibitionism? Is porn always degrading to women? At what point should the authorities intervene to protect the young – or indeed the rest of us – from this kind of material?
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Nelson Jones
journalist; blogger, Heresy Corner, New Statesman |
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Dr Jan Macvarish
associate lecturer and researcher, Centre for Parenting Culture Studies, University of Kent; author, Neuroparenting: The Expert Invasion of Family Life |
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Jason Walsh
journalist; foreign correspondent, CS Monitor |
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Ed Noel
teacher; former schools and alumni coordinator, Debating Matters Competition |
Those who are worrying about the moral development of little girls are actually worried about the moral degeneracy of adult society, but dare not direct their criticism at adults, retreating instead to what they sense is the more consensual terrain of concern for the welfare of the next generation.
Jan Macvarish, Independent, 18 October 2011Occupy: illusory radicalism?
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