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November 04, 2005
The UCSD Porn Incident, College Students and Culture....
(Caution: This is a sensitive topic; so please read at your own discretion)
There are many details to this story, but here are the basics:
Steve York, a 22 year old student at the University of California San Diego, starred in a porn film with a professional porn actress, and then it was shown over the UCSD television system. It was also re-aired, where a superimposed face of one of Steve York's critics, was placed over the adult actress' face.
This also wasn't the first time a porn film was shown.....
There are so many things wrong with this situation, especially from a legal standpoint: Hugh Hewitt says,
Let me count the liabilities: Appropriation of likeness, intentional infliction of mental distress, defamation?
Oh yeah, taxpayers are paying for this as well......
But that's really only a part of the story, and it's not the part of the story that seemed to draw so much concern from radio listeners, talk show hosts, bloggers, etc. What seemed to draw so much concern was the interview between Hugh Hewitt and Steve York, and the sense of emptiness, non-chalantness, confusion and lack of intervention that came across in the interview. Hugh said this after his interview with Steve York:
UCSD Student Steve York, History Major, Porn Star, Confused Kid
I just finished taping an interview with Steve York, the UCSD student who made, starred in and shown over the UCSD television system a hard-core porn film.
York was surprised that I didn't want to argue with him. Rather, I just wanted the facts of how the porn film was made and shown, and especially the action of university administrators throughout. Radioblogger will post the transcript later, but York asserts he has never been contacted by any administrator from UCSD, and that no one --not administration, faculty, staff or friends-- has urged him not to do this.
Somehow, a smart-sounding affable kid has been allowed by the adults in his life to simply walk over this cliff.
I wonder what the result would have been if, months ago when he had his first run-in with the folks offended by his on-air antics, the Chancellor or a senior official had called him and had him for lunch, and talked about what he could do with his life long term and how he might want to consider so many factors that he obviously hasn't.
You can find the entire radio interview between Hugh Hewitt and Steve York, transcribed over at Radio Blogger. Read the interview and determine for yourself what you think. Caution to the reader as well, as there is some sensitive and explicit material in the interview.
And then you can go to Technorati and type in Steve's name, or this issue, and you will find all the blogs that have posted on this issue. And let me say this, they are all over the place. Some are concerned, angered, while others think this is a great thing. And also, I would use caution when searching the blogs, you just never know what you are going to come across.
Why am I writing about this? Because I think this incident, and the impressions that I got from the interview, point to a much deeper issue in our culture. And it is also something that I am concerned about as a college pastor as I have witnessed, and do witness the crumbling of some people's lives when they get involved in sexual behavior, especially risky sexual behavior, pornography (whether watching or making it themselves), as well as other behaviors that I don't want to get to explicit about.
There seems to be a real non-chalantness these days when it comes to issues of sexuality. I come across more students and people, for whom, one night stands, and multiple partners hardly seems to render a second thought in their mind. Their inward being may be experiencing something completely different, but what is presented by such people is hardly regret.
Last Spring, I preached a series on Sex titled: Sex, Christianity and Culture: Created Goodness, Sinful Distortion and Redeemed Potential. You can click on the Sex category on my blog and look up some of my reflections on this sermon series. The theme of this talk comes from former Fuller ethicist, Lewis Smedes, and his book Sex for Christians: The Limits and Liberties of Sexual Living. Great book, bad title.
After preaching through this series, and interacting with students, I was amazed at the amount of hurt that some students experienced, and were experiencing because of incidents in their sexual behavior. And I was more astounded at what is really talking place on most college campuses. I posted this article on hooking up last year, and it raised some eyebrows with some parents and readers of my blog. But what people really need to know, especially parents, if they are unaware, is that hooking up (whether it involves sexual intercourse or not) is really the beginning of the types of sexual conduct that occurs on most college campuses. And it is the more tame of some of the things I have talked with students about. There are many variables that probably lead to a student making a porn film, such as alcohol, drugs, a persmissive community, low self-esteem, etc. So sometimes I am surprised when people are often shocked at an incident, when there is a trail of clues that has proceeded it. Sometimes these clues, which can often be cries for help, can help head a person in a better direction, if they are not ignored.
Back in October, Joe Carter of The Evangelical Outpost posted a great blog, titled, Pop Semiotics: The Rise of Polyamorous Advertising, in which he discusses the use of multiple sex partners in advertising. All of this points to something deeper, and it points to the cheapness that sex has been given in our culture. What was taboo only a couple of decades ago, or even a decade ago, is certainly no longer. Advertising is just one arena where we can see this happening. Clothing is another. Sometimes I amazed at the shirts that I see people wearing, and if you have noticed, the Playboy logo has gone mainstream, and it's now pretty cool for your preteen daughter to be wearing items with it enblazoned on there.
Then there was the post by my friend in ministry Kristi Vosper, and her post titled, MySpace...and Unintentional Teenage Prostitution. After reading her post, I responded with some concerns of my own.
I don't want to be a doomsdayer, or an alarmist, but there are a lot of things happening out there with college students, and in our culture in general that make this a very difficult time and place to grow up. And as sex has become a casual act, and sexual intimacy becomes more and more cheapened by the culture we live in, I see more and more students coming to ruin because of the ramifications of their choices. There are those students who start to head down the slippery slope, and I think are often quite unaware of the tangled mess they might be finding themselves in. And then there are those as well who barrell straight down it, not too concerned at all.
When I was in college, Lake Havasu, AZ was one of the major hot spots to visit for Spring Break. It was so big in fact that MTV did a couple of live Spring Breaks down there. And thousands and thousands of kids went down there every Spring Break. And if you were going to Lake Havasu, well, everyone knew what that meant. Not only complete partying, but a lot of sex, and debauchery (the only word that fits), and it was well known that Copper Canyon was the place in Lake Havasu where many amateur porn movies were filmed. And why did they film amateur porn movies in Lake Havasu during Spring Break? Because there were thousand of college students willing to participate in them. And this was back in the early to mid 90's. Sometimes students participated in them because they thought it would be cool, and sex didn't really mean anything to them, and sometimes, people make some pretty bad decisions when substances are involved.
All of this has been happening for a while, but now with immediate access to technology, many students can star in their own porn films, and then post them online. And if they aren't making them themselves, there is always the possiblity of someone exploiting them.
These are some of the things just floating around my mind right now, but what seems to be the bottom line issue for Hugh Hewitt, and what concerned him, was that there is this confused kid, who makes a mistake, but there is no one...absolutely no one to intervene, or be there for this kid. No parents. No faculty. No administration.
So when incidents like this happen I think it's an alarm sounding for parents, or friends, or pastors, or whatever, to take a closer interest in the lives of their kids, adolescents, college students, etc. It doesn't have to come to this point. What an indictment on our society that the only person who really seemed to step in and care was a radio talk show host who doesn't even know the kid personally. Where was everyone else?
The college ministry that I pastor is up on a hill overlooking the San Fernando Valley, which is probably the porn capitol of the US, if not the world. It is not uncommon to live here in Los Angeles, and to work in college ministry, and occassionaly bump into, and have conversation with people who are in the porn industry, or who are thinking about it. It is not uncommon to go to the gym and workout alongside professional porn stars. It almost becomes commonplace, and the shock sort of wears off. And when pornography and casual sex become common place, then I think we have major problems. This is an issue that I cannot afford to no longer address at some level with my students, as they will all at some point during their college career, be in positions where they know of, are witness to, or are asked to participate in risky sexual behavior. They may not come across amateur porn making, but they may all be in positions where they will have to make decisions about what they think of sex. What is it's proper place? What does God have to say about sex? Etc. This porn film is only a symptom of much larger issues.
In some circles it can be a risk to mention the ministry of these two guys, but I think it's worth the risk because they are making a difference and helping a lot of people out. But XXX Church (the site is not what you think it might be; but still navigate at your own risk) is a site that two Christian guys have developed for their ministry, which was created to help people in the porn industry. A crazy job that I would not want, and don't think I could handle very well. So God bless these guys who have a very difficult ministry.
If you are a college student who is struggling with some of these issues, or you are a parent who is concerned, then please find some help, and please don't wait until it is too late.
Posted by rhett at November 4, 2005 03:39 PM
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Comments
Great post, Rhett. I think a key reason for the moral vacuity and nihilism of today's young people is the political correctness that has seeped into every aspect of modern life. One of the central tenets of political correctness is that all cultures and lifestyles are equally valid and that it is therefore wrong for a person to impose his values on anyone else. In other words, it is wrong to judge others, even when their behavior is patently dangerous or perverted. Needless to say, this moral relativism has destroyed a lot of lives.
By the way, the foregoing applies to the drug culture as well as sexual behavior. Take a look at this:
http://philomathean.blogs.com/philomathean/2005/11/frostys_evil_tw.html
Posted by: Jonathan at November 4, 2005 07:45 PM
excellent, and scary what is happening. I have also had to deal with many sexually broken people caught up in the post modern lifestyle of anything goes. We in the church have got to wake up to what our kids are doing.
Posted by: pastor also at November 4, 2005 10:02 PM
I think your post is quite relevant. I think it makes some very good points.
But it leaves something out. You suggest that students caught up in this misery and struggling find some help. But you don't suggest where they should look.
I am no longer a college student, but I was in the late 80s to mid 90s, and a grad student in the early Aughts.
I went to a prestigious East Coast school as an undergrad. I met dean after dean, counselor after counselor. No one wanted to help. None of them would admit there was a problem, and when I told them of my own issues with being sexually harrassed in my dorm, with nearly being raped, and when I described the culture of physical abuse and the destructive drug scene that was rampant in my dorm, they acted like I should simply "not participate." They offered no emotional, ethical or moral help. They offered no logistical help either (like getting me moved to another dorm.) They continually behaved as if there was no problem.
By the time I was in grad school at a famous West Coast school, I was used to the debauchery and misery that accompanied it, and knew how to avoid it. But in grad school, the same culture of hook ups, polyamory, porn, and other bizarre sexual behaviors was common. In my dept, it involved the professors and the grad students. Nearly all of my professor's parties involved grads and profs from our and related depts, and half of those parties descended into orgies. And I was in the sciences, not some strange Anthropology department. To not believe in polyamory in my dept meant that you were a bizarre prude. To not think that fetishes were appropriate discussions at weekly tea was prudish, too.
I think it's difficult for young people to find help. They don't know where to turn. They can't turn to their parents out of shame or lack of empathy; they can't turn to profs or deans because those individuals are part of the cultural problem.
I think there needs to be a clearer answer to where they go for help. But maybe there is little help, because society has abandoned them.
Posted by: anonymous at November 4, 2005 10:05 PM
I appreciated your remarks. Even at my college I experience what you are saying. I was waiting for a friend to finish her class and she told me that the English class was discussing porn and censorship and she said "if people want to film themselves having sex, what is so wrong with it?" and I reasoned with her and she understood my perspecitive on it, but still held her beliefs about the matter. It boggles my mind that many college students think of sex as mere entertainment or something that creates memorable stories that they can tell to all their friends. =(
Posted by: Joel at November 4, 2005 11:48 PM
Congrats on your being linked to by Hugh Hewitt, that is pretty cool.
I have a question though. You have read Blue Like Jazz and likewise Driscoll's 'The Radical Reformission', have you read any of Mcleran's books?
I have read BLJ as well, and I am about to start on the Driscoll book...I just wanted your take on Mcleran.
Posted by: sofyst at November 5, 2005 05:49 AM
Great analysis, Rhett - straight to the heart of the matter.
I'm adding your blog to my read-list.
M
Posted by: Martin Higgins at November 5, 2005 06:53 AM
It is really puzzling to us in the 60 or older age group how these students form their ideas about the acceptability of certain behaviors.
I was watching NFL football a few weeks ago and was surfing between three games on different channels when I came across a commercial for videotapes called " Girls Gone Wild". Wow! I guess the tapes were made at student parties or spring break events.
Where did these young people get the ideas for this kind of socializing? Is this common stuff in schools these days? Is our society really this far gone ?
I assume the permission in their minds must be from a philosophy of total self indulgence.
May God have mercy on them and our nation.
Posted by: BJ at November 5, 2005 08:54 AM
I also recommend The Way of Purity course at:
www.settingcaptivesfree.com
A free 6o day online bible study course with email mentors designed to bring people to freedom from porn thru Christ
Posted by: Jigs Saww at November 5, 2005 10:15 AM
"So when incidents like this happen I think....Where was everyone else?"
Rhett, I don't want to excuse 'everyone else', but I would guess that 'everyone else' was afraid that if they tried to intervene with York that some people would see it as a faux pas, especially if the intervenor was one of the faculty or administration.
I was a student leader in a campus ministry at Louisiana State University until I graduated last Spring. I recall a few instances where a Christian's intervention or even telling of the Gospel was seen as an invasion of privacy and very objectionable. I once had a conversation with a Catholic, (I'm Protestant) and we were discussing Mary's role. A non-believer overheard us and was angry at me, he said to me, "Dude, stop trying to convert him!" It hadn't even crossed my mind, I was just trying to understand him.
To those who have subscribed to the post-modern idea that sex, gender, and orientation are variable and something you are born with, telling someone they might not want to participate in a certain sexual behavior would be tantamount to telling someone of a particular race how to be a different race. "It can not and should not be," they would say, "because people should be themselves".
Geez, I hoped that made sense. But I would guess that if it became known that the Dean of Students or a counselor at UCSD had tried to intervene, if only to warn of the ramifications, certain liberal and pro-free-sex groups would protest that the authorities were violating York's private life.
Posted by: Patrick at November 5, 2005 04:21 PM
enjoy
dad
Posted by: jenny at November 5, 2005 04:42 PM
Rhett...I grew up about 15 minutes drive from UCSD, and I remember vividly going to watch x-rated movies about 1980 at UCSD...Debbie does Dallas and others...I think they even gave credit for students watching the films (I wasn't a UCSD student). I wasn't a Christian at the time, so it didn't cross my mind how strange that was. Anyway, it doesn't shock me at all, although the story is truly sad.
Posted by: Ed in Oregon at November 6, 2005 12:46 AM
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