Recently, Erica Smith – a sex educator and creator of the purity culture dropout program, an online class which seeks to help those struggling with shame about sex, guest lectured at a university sharing the scoop on porn and religion.

Her teachings most likely won’t be shocking to you but to a culture that often equates “goodness” with the church and “evil” with the adult industry they’re startling. It’s refreshing to know that she’s out there changing negative beliefs about porn and its “harms.”

“The goal with any of my sex ed is to help people make up their own minds about things and to reduce the shame they feel about their sexuality,” said Erica. “We know that the religious right loves to instill sexual shame in young people about matters that don’t need to be shameful at all.”

Here are some of the main points she shared with the students as discussed on Twitter:

1. “It’s hard to find accurate info about porn bc Evangelical led orgs dominate the convo with their anti-sex work agenda masked as concern for exploitation and “public health.”
2. “If you see studies about porn, check out the researchers & their backgrounds. For ex: are they from BYU & their research interests include “modern threats to marriage?” Not the source I’m looking for. In this area I trust: Dr. Nicole Prause, Joshua Grubbs PhD, and Dr. David Ley.”
3. “Several orgs disguise themselves as being primarily against trafficking & exploitation when they’re really against ALL forms of sexual expression outside of Christian hetero marriage. Ex*dus Cry, NCOSE, and Fight The New Drug come to mind.”
4. “Scholarship around porn addiction is complicated by misunderstandings re: addiction, religious anxiety & financial motivation. There are a lot of Christian porn recovery centers who make claims about porn addiction & treatment w/ nothing to back them up but scripture.”
5. “Compulsive or problematic behavior around porn is real but calling it an “addiction” is inaccurate and treating it like an addiction is NOT helpful. Studies show it doesn’t neurologically behave like an addiction. See Dr. Nicole Prause’s research.”
6. “Studies have found that those who self-reported as religious & who morally disapprove of porn were more likely to perceive addictions. Feeling addicted to Internet porn is associated with depression, anger, & anxiety, but the actual use of porn is not.”
7. “Sex trafficking is a real issue (I’ve worked with victims of child trafficking), but Christian anti-trafficking groups equate ALL sex work, including porn, with exploitation & paint all sex workers as victims in need of rescue. They refuse to collab with sex workers.”

When asked by YNOT how she felt the lecture went, Erica stated that the professor of the class told her the students “felt SO much less ashamed” and that her “presentation helped them understand their lives and the way they’ve felt about their sexual identity, relationship to pleasure and their desires. Like you’ve helped crack the code on so many emotions they couldn’t understand.”

Erica’s university talk was adapted from a webinar she led in 2022 called “A Conversation about Porn for Purity Culture Dropouts.” Three hours long it seeks to help people who suffer from guilt due to opinion-based messages about porn and also guests adult performer Siri Dahl. It can be purchased for $27 and is a more in-depth and nuanced look at her findings and thoughts on the topic.

Check out Erica on her site at ericasmitheac.com, and follow her on Twitter @ericasmithsexed.

Photo credit for cross and lock: iStock.com/freedom007