BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Has a diploma in both, Law and Cultural Management. Since May 2007 she is the managing director of pro familia Bavaria, the leading non-governmental service and consumer organization for sexual and reproductive health and rights in Germany, and since June 2008 also the managing director of Stiftung Zuhören (Listening Foundation). From March 2007 to January 2008 she was responsible for strategy and cooperations at the Federkiel Foundation (Munich/Leipzig), a foundation for contemporary art. In 2006, Birgit Echtler was the head of the German office of the Friends’ Association of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Munich). From 2004 to 2006 she was the head of the division of Fundraising & Marketing at the Deutsches Museum (Munich). Between may 2002 and May 2003 she was trainee in the head office at the Goethe Institut in the Communication & Marketing department (Munich).


ABSTRACT

28 September, Tuesday, 12.30 – 12.50

Plenary session: Presentation of a module on "Sexualized self-expression online"

Young people today very easily have access to pornographic materials on the internet. But, neither at home nor at school this is a topic – pornography still is a taboo. The internet is for young people on the one hand a source of information about sexuality, a possibility for orientation, a guide. On the other hand, with the easy and free availability of pornography on the internet also risks emerge. The competent handling of sexualised media content thus is part of media competence and media literacy, which young people need to develop in order to find orientation in a mediatised environment.

For these reasons, the German awareness centre klicksafe as well as pro familia Bavaria (the state association of the German Association for Family Planning, Sexual Education and Counselling), and the State Media Centre Baden-Wuerttemberg have joined together as cooperation partners and developed the pedagogical materials “Pornography and sexuality in a media world” (working title). The material takes up the topic content wise and offers profound and comprehensive information, but furthermore also offers concrete worksheets for working with young people. klicksafe here draws on years of experience in developing materials for schools and lessons; the media pedagogues of the State Media Centre Baden-Wuerttemberg with their project “Media – but safely!” are in close contact with teachers, parents, pupils, either at individual counselling or at seminars, parents’ evenings or lessons. The sexual pedagogic know how, finally, is contributed by pro familia Bavaria.

The pedagogical material is divided into four chapters. It is structured in such a way that teachers, youth workers and social pedagogues that have as yet little or no experience with sexual pedagogic topics can work with it.

Module 1 basically concentrates on physical and psychosocial changes that young people experience during puberty – these are the background against which young people talk about sex and watch porn. Module 2 deals with the pressure of being physically attractive, which is built up by advertisements, TV, porn and social communities on young people. Module 3 is the core of the material; it reveals how and why adolescents consume pornography, how porn affects young people and where risks, but also possibilities are. Module 4 finally outlines how sexualisation and pornographisation of the (media) world impact on language. From porno language, which more and more finds entrance into young people’s language („gangbang“, „pussy“, „cumshot“, „bitch“), there is only a short way to sexual chat-up in e.g. Facebook, Myspace or nasza-klasa.

Apart from background information and methodical suggestions, the pedagogical materials also offer assistance and support with many further questions that might arise when thematising sexuality in lessons. Thus, both teachers and adolescents shall gain the possibility of overcoming the threshold of addressing the pornography topic.