Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
Today’s youth are living in an age of social media with unlimited access to porn, leaving Pacific teens to learn about sex online instead of confiding in their parents, says a Pacific social media crusader.
The consumption of pornography has a negative impact on Pacific teens, according to a 2018 study NZ Youth and Porn. It notes that 72% of young Pasifika people viewed porn on a regular basis, a percentage that is higher than Māori and non-Pacific youth.
Tony Laulu from Digital Discipline, an organisation highlighting the dangers of social media, says Pacific parents need to be more open and forthcoming about talking to their children about the sensitive subject of sex, otherwise they will turn to porn for answers.
“One of the surrounding issues of attempting to talk to our Pacific young people is in our roots, our cultural upbringing. Unlike our Palagi brothers and sisters, they are more inclined and willing to have these kinds of conversations with their parents whereas in our Pacific community we are met with a lot of judgement, religious guilt and shame,” he says.
Tony says challenging conversations can have long lasting positive effects, even through sex education at schools. He says it encourages healthy social and sexual development in young people, especially with Pacific youth.
“The discussion around the topic of porn can be sensitive and uncomfortable to have with your kids, and there’s no handbook or perfect way around the subject.”
Director Jocelyn Rout is a Co-Manager of Kantar Public New Zealand’s research into youth and porn. She supports Laulu’s view and stresses the importance of transparency.
“Talking to kids about porn can be difficult and embarrassing. It’s a taboo subject despite porn being so freely available to children and young people through smartphones and other devices.”
According to a 2020 New Zealand study, Growing up with Porn, some Pacific teen participants voiced strong opinions about racial and minority stereotypes being promoted in porn.
The teens were concerned about cultural stereotypes portraying men of colour as aggressive or violent, and women of colour often as subservient or as victims. This reinforced a negative portrayal, and made them feel bad about themselves.
A Pasifika female that participated in the study, who wanted to remain anonymous, says the portrayal of women of colour in porn had a negative impact.
“Lots of the porn actors are all white. They’re all Pākehā and then the ones that you do see that have more coloured skin, they’re fetishized.”
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