Talking dirty at OU
"The Great Porn Debate" comes to Baker Ballroom
By Jeremy Bookmyer, Asst. Copy Chief
February 28, 2008 | 12:05 a.m.
Rod Stewart set the scene, playing in the background as excited students braved the snow and shuffled into the Baker Center ballroom last Thursday. Porn star Ron Jeremy and Pastor Craig Gross, founder of xxxChurch.com, had come to debate the morality of porn. The room buzzed with excitement; ready for some dirty words and a lesson in 'right' and 'wrong'.
If students thought coming into the debate they'd be getting a traditional debate between a Christian lesson in morality and a simple porn star, they were wrong. What they did get was a minister who passed out Bibles with “Jesus loves porn stars” printed on them at adult tradeshows and a porn star with a Masters in Special Education who carried a stack of research.
In fact, many of the students sitting in the ballroom that night were just there for extra credit. Of course there were notable exceptions, as a number of people in the front seemed to be big Ron Jeremy fans.
That Thursday, the weather had taken a turn for the worse by 6:00 p.m. The debaters were delayed, and the debate scheduled to begin at 7:00pm was delayed until 7:45 p.m. After an hour of sitting and waiting, the slow claps began. Every time a door opened the people in front of me began clapping only to be met with disappointment. By the time Gross and Jeremy were introduced we had been sitting for almost two hours, and we were ready for whatever the debaters were going to throw at us. At least, I thought we were.
The room erupted in applause as it was announced that Jeremy had been in more than 1,800 adult films in his 27-year career. A small cheering section had apparently set themselves up in the front of the room. It became evident who they supported when Jeremy claimed he was going to “slam dunk” Gross’s points, although the applause was just as loud when Gross responded “At 5’4” you won’t be slam dunking anything.”
Gross started his 12 minutes of dialogue by clarifying that he was not interested in censorship and that he is only trying to help those who are addicted to pornography. According to him, you should be allowed to view pornography if you want, as long as it doesn’t become an addiction. He also mentioned software offered on his website that monitors your internet activity and then e-mails reports on what sites you had visited to your family and friends for "accountability."
Jeremy fell into Gross’s line of fire next, as the pastor quoted the porn star saying that when making an adult movie he would think of “…dead dogs, Vietnam casualties, and his grandmother.”
The crowd erupted again, though there was a mixture of both what seemed to be revulsion and loud approval. Jeremy later responded that he thought of those things because he had reached the “Whoa, whoa, whoa” stage of the sex and, due to the timing of filming, needed to focus on something else.
The real fun began when Gross began reading off such colorful adult titles as Squirteen and Bang Bus 5. By the time he began talking about analingus, or “ass to mouth,” audience reactions were harder to read. Those who have a weak stomach when it comes to awkwardness were probably eyeing the exits.
When Jeremy stepped up to defend the adult film industry, tensions were high. If the minister was using dirty words to make a point, no one could guess what was going to come from the big-time porn star. He addressed the more colorful names of positions (such as analingus) as well as some of the titles Gross mentioned. Jeremy claimed that these offensive-sounding positions and titles were “niche” and that they encompassed only a small portion of adult films, while the rest were “White bread,” or more traditional pornography.
Jeremy also addressed an earlier claim by Gross, who had said there was "no such thing as enjoying porn responsibly.” Jeremy counted Gross by comparing pornography to alcohol.
“No one is saying don’t drive because a few idiots aren’t doing it right.” he said, often looking directly at Gross rather than the crowd as he made his points.
On the issue of attempting to portray actresses in adult films as underage, which Gross defined as, well, gross, Jeremy talked about the Child Pornography Prevention Act (CPPA) of 1996.
“…We cannot hire a grandmother to wear pigtails and pretend she is a minor [in and adult film.]” Jeremy stated.
The debate portion of the night finished up with Gross accusing pornography of creating unrealistic ideas of what to expect from sex. Jeremy responded in turn that the adult film industry labels who they are. He claimed that pornography is an attempt to create fantasy.
As much fun as it can be talking dirty with a porn star, tensions seemed to be running high as the questions from the audience began.
Many inquiries were directed at how Jeremy felt about benefiting from porn. He claimed that he never really intended to go into adult films, but that is the way his career path worked out, so he accepted it. Unfortunately, some of the questions and their subsequent answers turned into shouting matches.
Jeremy claimed that Republicans and Christians were the ones who wanted pornography done away with.
The questions began with Ann Sowers, the owner of Passionate Kisses here in Athens, and ended with Jeremy yelling statistics about female owned and operated adult entertainment.
Audience reactions throughout the night seemed relatively diverse but also seemed to favor Jeremy.
The Great Porn Debate was the third of the debate series hosted by Ohio University. Information about the upcoming debates and tickets can be found in the Baker Center at Guest Services on the fourth floor.