Porn Can 'Absolutely Be Empowering for Women,' Scholar Tells CBS News

Porn Can 'Absolutely Be Empowering for Women,' Scholar Tells CBS News

BERLIN — CBS News aired a segment this weekend interviewing porn studies scholar Madita Oeming as part of their “Speaking Frankly: Porn” series.

Oeming, who teaches cultural studies courses on the adult industry and adult content at Universität Paderborn in Berlin, Germany, was interviewed by CBS News’ Anne-Marie Green.

“The internet basically changed everything about pornography,” Oeming explained, clarifying that how you experience those changes depends on your point of view. While some producers say “that the internet killed porn,” she said, for many performers “the internet offers many new ways of monetizing porn and of uploading their own content, and controlling their own content.”

The piece was unusual in that mainstream outlets often propagate myths about the industry without interviewing experts or stakeholders with actual knowledge of the current state of the business.

Oeming patiently explained to Green that the perception that porn only displays “one body type,” specifically thin, busty young women with fully shaved genitalia, is a “porn myth.” In fact, Oeming said, “there is such a diversity of bodies in porn today,” and “some of them have shaved heads but actually body hair in other areas, you can see they have tattoos, they have very small breasts, they have natural breasts.”

Critics, Oeming said, seem “stuck in the very ‘80s image of the porn star with the giant enhanced breasts and the very fake tanned body and so on.”

Oeming also told Green that porn is one of the few places where one can see queer sexualities frankly represented and that, despite War on Porn propaganda from religiously motivated lobbies and Sex Worker Exclusionary Liberals and Radical Feminists (SWELs and SWERFs), it can “absolutely be empowering to women.”

“We always hear the same alarmist voices in public discourse, so I‘m trying to use my privilege to help create a counter narrative, a shame-free and fact-based conversation about porn,” Oeming told XBIZ from Berlin.

"Even for just writing about and teaching porn I‘m confronted with a lot of stigma and it’s so much worse for everyone actually working in the industry. Stigma comes from a place of fear and misconception which is why we need education on every level so badly."

“I‘m overwhelmed by the kind responses I‘ve received from the porn community,” Oeming added. “In many ways, the performers and producers are my teachers and I‘m glad to be able to give something back to them by using the platform I‘m given to raise their voices and concerns.”

For the full CBS News interview with Dr. Madita Oeming, click here.

Related:  

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

AEBN Publishes Popular Searches by Country for August, September

AEBN has released the list of popular searches from its straight and gay theaters by country in August and September.

AV in Focus: A Guide to Unlocking Compliance With Clarity

The age verification era isn’t coming — it’s here. Laws are already on the books in numerous U.S. states, as well as in the U.K., France and beyond.

Canadian Privacy Commissioner Endorses National AV Bill

Philippe Dufresne, privacy commissioner of Canada, has voiced support for a bill that would impose fines of up to $500,000 on adult sites that do not implement age verification for Canadian viewers.

Ricky Johnson Launches 'Ricky's Resort' Through YourPaysitePartner

Ricky's Room studio honcho Ricky Johnson has launched his latest site, RickysResort.com, through YourPaysitePartner (YPP).

Industry Attorney Paul Cambria Retires After 50 Years of Practicing Law

After more than a half-century in practice, during which he provided the defense in some of the adult industry's most notable legal cases, attorney Paul Cambria has retired.

2026 XMA Nominations Party Set for Nov. 19 in Hollywood

The 2026 XMA nominations reveal party will take place at Keys on the Sunset Strip on Wednesday, Nov. 19, with red-carpet arrivals starting at 8 p.m.

New VR Membership Site 'DeepInSex.com' Launches

The new 8K VR membership site DeepInSex has officially launched.

NATS Launches Integrated Content Management System

Too Much Media (TMM) has rolled out an integrated, no-charge Content Management System (CMS) to its NATS platform.

AEBN Reveals Avery Lust as Top Trans Star for Q3 of 2025

AEBN has published its top trans stars list for the third quarter of 2025, with Avery Lust landing atop the leaderboard.

FSC: California's Device-Based AV Law Does Not Apply to Adult

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) put out an advisory today explaining that California's new device-based age verification law does not apply to adult websites.

Show More