Jul 21, 2014 12:45 PM PDT    Text size: 

CYBERSPACE — Attorney and author Frederick Lane has been announced as the final panelist for “Women in Porn: Shattering the Myths,” the upcoming online debate sponsored by Sssh.com.

“As someone who has studied and written about the adult entertainment industry extensively and who also serves on the advisory boards of organizations that tend to be quite critical of porn, Fred has a good understanding of the issues this discussion will examine,” said Angie Rowntree, owner of Sssh.com and organizer of the event.

Lane has appeared on a variety of programs and media outlets to discuss the impact of pornography on society, including “60 Minutes,” “The Daily Show,” MSNBC, and NPR’s “Marketplace.” He has also lectured across the U.S. on the adult industry and the culture wars and has served as a consultant to the U.S. Department of Justice during its defense of the Child Online Protection Act.

Lane serves on the advisory boards of Enough.org and S.E.S.A.M.E. (Stop Educator Sexual Abuse Misconduct and Exploitation) and is a founding member of The Ethics Consortium. He is the author of several books on the interaction between culture and technology, including “The Decency Wars: The Campaign to Cleanse American Culture.”

Rowntree said that in addition to giving women in the adult industry an opportunity to respond to some of the criticisms frequently directed at them, the panel will “reexamine old assumptions about the industry.” In particular, the discussion will address whether porn is really always exploitative of women or if it may also have an empowering effect. 

“More and more, women are found in the board rooms and director’s chairs in this industry. This is changing the nature of porn and the way the public perceives it,” Rowntree said. “Critics of the porn industry basically deny that these changes are taking place, or argue that women are just pawns in the game. Among other things, this event gives us an opportunity to engage these points head on.” 

Previously announced panelists for the discussion include Penthouse Managing Director Kelly Holland, adult performer/director Ashley Fires and MakeLoveNotPorn.com co-founder Cindy Gallop. The discussion will be moderated by sociologist Dr. Chauntelle Tibbals, whose fields of study include gender, sexuality, work and organizations, new media and popular culture.  

“Women in Porn: Shattering the Myths” will take place on July 22 at 3 p.m. EST, and is available to viewers free of charge on MindBrowse.com. The event also will be live-tweeted and monitored at @ssshforwomen under the hashtag #WomenInPorn. Viewers may interact during the event and pose their own questions and points with the #WomenInPorn hashtag, which may then be discussed by the panelists.

For more information, visit MindBrowse.com.