Welcome back fierce listeners! I’m very excited and honoured to share the latest episode, Growing Up in Pornland: Pornography and the Hypersexualization of Young Girls.
This episode is a special one, not only because it’s thematic, wherein my guests are talking about a bigger theme, as opposed to my guests talking about their work and accomplishments, but also this episode features my youngest guests to date. Because this episode deals with pornography and young girls, it only makes sense to talk with young girls and women about how pornography has deeply impacted their everyday lives and friendships.
However, my guests are not just young–Kaya is 12 and Lauren is 14–but they’re both triple A stars, in that they’re high-achieving, highly-accomplished and ambitious young women. I’m in awe of them sharing their stories and I’m sure you’ll be awestruck as well.
Joining me in the second half of the episode is renowned public intellectual, professor and author, Dr. Gail Dines, who despite the fact was quite ill at the time of the interview, shared her insight on the ruinous impacts of pornography.
BIOS
Lauren Margaret Marron is a Grade 8 student and musician, actor, writer and activist. As a music performer, she co launched the Squeaky Wheel Tour in Toronto, raising awareness of missing people and has done a number of benefit concerts for the White Ribbon Campaign. As an actor, she has been in a number of commercials, television shows including the stage production of Eve Ensler’s Emotional Creatures. Based on her experiences in the play, Lauren is currently writing a book about the lives of six, 16 year old girls from different parts of the world. Her goals are to use her writing, music and acting to inspire peace and create tolerance and safety for women, children and any group facing oppression.
Kaya Anderson is a sixth grade student. Her name means “I can” in Tagalog. Her interest are intersectional feminism, anti-Black racism, anti-racism and issues of cultural appropriation. She is biracial, and enjoys studying language and culture. She placed in the Concours d’art oratoire, French public speaking contest, where she spoke about the struggles and strengths of being a biracial girl in Canada. She likes to write and play volleyball. She hopes to inspire girls to “be woke” and to take leadership roles to make society better.
Dr. Gail Dines is a professor of sociology and women’s studies at Wheelock College in Boston, an internationally acclaimed speaker, author, and a feminist public intellectual. Her writing and lectures focus on the hypersexualization of the culture and the ways that porn images filter down into mainstream pop culture. Gail is a recipient of the Myers Center Award for the Study of Human Rights.
Gail is founder and President of Culture Reframed – a health promotion non-profit organization that recognizes and addresses pornography as the public health crisis of the digital age.
gaildines.com / culturereframed.org
Thanks!
Lauren Margaret Marron, Kaya Anderson, Dr. Gail Dines, Susan McClelland, Jerrylyn Guevarra, Elysse Cloma, Jessica Lio, Karina Tapnio, Mitch Lee, Jordan Leask, and Stefanie Rangel.
Music Credits
Intro/outro music: “Elephant” by Adam Selzer licensed under CC BY NC. Remix from the original.
Additional music:
“I Guess So” by Steve Combs licensed under CC BY. Remix from the original.
“Uke Improve in C” by Steve Combs licensed under CC BY.
“Pluck and Bounce” by Adam Selzer licensed under CC BY NC. Remix from the original.
“Whistle and Action” by Adam Selzer licensed under CC BY NC.
“Kill Your Darlings” by Steve Combs licensed under CC BY.
“General Mix-up March” by the Arthur Pryors Marching Band licensed under CC PD. Remix from the original.
MsRepresent 