“I wouldn’t want you talking to my kids!”: the politics of age when conducting research about porn with young people

Abstract

Much research has been conducted on young people as a population rather than with them. Traditionally, porn research has focused on effects – on the assumption that people, especially young people, are impacted by the sexual media they consume, which leads to negative outcomes such as violence and addiction. In this sense, porn is framed as risky and children and young people become especially ‘at risk’. Sex, sexuality and sexual media are then portrayed as a threat from which young people should be protected. Nevertheless, for many young people watching porn is a normal activity and engaging with porn online is a part of everyday life for some teenagers. Scholars have indicated that many young people perceive porn as ubiquitous, as part of society, and difficult to avoid. In this reflexive article I will interrogate the need for such research, even if it is considered as a form of ‘dirty work’, within an alarmist and sensationalist media-driven culture. By examining my experiences of the ethics review process, access to participants, and the fieldwork itself, I hope to demonstrate moments of texture and detail throughout the process which future sex, sexuality and porn researchers can draw upon.