An educational response to the issue of online pornography for schoolboys: the case of participatory action research in Lithuania

Abstract

The rapid rise of online pornography has become a real challenge for educators dealing with the daily use of online pornography amongst schoolboys. Many researchers stress that online pornography has become a significant factor in gender socialization, reinforcing traditional constructions of men’s power over women in terms of hierarchy, objectification, submission and violence. There is a lack of educational discourse on how schools react or otherwise respond to the use of online pornography. In this paper, the case of participatory action research, implemented in one Lithuanian school, is presented as an educational approach for critical consciousness education of schoolboys with regards to online pornography. The outset of critical consciousness education is the students’ own experiences and lifeworlds wherein students and educators can jointly recognize and challenge the oppressed subjectivities and oppressive circumstances.