Recently when I was in Chicago, I spent some time with Skye and Brandon from Leadership Journal.
One of the things we talked about was porn.
Because that’s a normal conversation to have with two strangers.
Anyway, Leadership Journal’s latest issue addresses addictions of all different kinds, and they interviewed me on my own battle with porn addiction.
Comments
35 responses to “Porn Addiction Video”
Well done Anne, this is honest and vulnerable, and real.
Sally?s last blog post..Feeling flat, recognising privilege
i like your new hair.
Thanks! It’s a little brighter in real life! The vid is desaturated. We were playing with some highly technical equipment (I say in jest. It was so fun to set this up!) :)
If you are a parent and you have kids over the age of 6, today is the day to start preparing yourself. By the time your child is 8 years old he or she will have heard about porn, and probably viewed porn. When you hear the word “wifi”, think “porn”.
Here is a list of wifi enabled devices (think porn-delivery systems):
Nintendo Wii
Sony PSP
iPhone
iPod Touch
Amazon Kindle
Your home computer
You will not be able to stop your kids from finding out about this stuff, but you can prepare them for what to expect so that they are not completely blind-sided.
Help for parents: http://www.theporntalk.com
peace|dewde
dewde?s last blog post..Am I A Husband Or A Project?
Good words Anne. I believe you are right about the bringing in the male idea for several reasons. One, it excludes females (or tends to). Two, many must be thinking, “he has that problem so that is whey he is talking about it.” Three, it reinforces the “its a male problem” syndrome. Thanks for being open about your struggle.
bill (cycleguy)?s last blog post..Who Says He Can?t?
You look pretty :)
Thanks, Faith. The freeze frame is super flattering! Aren’t they always? :)
Thanks for the post and for your honesty.
Michael Smith?s last blog post..Leaders: Influence ? Influencers
Good work, Anne. Real. Honest. Grace. That’s what we all need.
Faye?s last blog post..A Date with History
Anne, Thank you for talking about this. You are correct, i would say 99 percent of the time it’s guys up there talking to people but mainly with guys in mind. I’m not sure if it would be uncomfortable for most women to talk to the general public guys and gals, but that is kind of my thought on the subject. But, regardless, it does need to be talked about. Thanks for being open and sharing with all of us, another lesson in life!
My thought is…who cares if it’s uncomfortable! :) Then again, I embarrass myself frequently. :)
Thanks for sharing this Anne!!!!! My own struggle began at 13 so I know what you are talking about!!!!!!! Blessings!
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@dewde: Add the NEW just recently released Nintendo DSi to that list of wifi/internet capable devices, as my 11 year old daughter just informed me today! (she wants to trade in her DS for one now! Argggh!)
Pretty Gutsy!
Anne: I don’t think you talk way too much at all – I almost don’t think you talk enough here! I really admire you for being so open, honest, divulging and brining this all into the open. It takes a LOT of guts to talk about what you do. I wish someone had done this for me in my younger years and brought up these sorts of things. This is SUCH a huge deal, Anne, and such a huge ministry/impact you can have with just this one aspect of your many ministry endeavors. I personally think it may be your most important of all. Your story is very powerful and eye opening, as I’m sure you’ve found out. So when is the book/DVD/Movie coming? :-)
Anne this is obviously a much needed topic. It is nice and appropriate to hear a female Christian leader who is willing to deal with this topic.
Jack Hays?s last blog post..Please Pray for Kathy Isaacs!
LOL..Anne…as for the UNCOMFORTABLE comment…I was in agreement with you (just to clarify, in case anyone was confused). I just thought, that women in general might think it’s uncomfortable for them to speak about it (especially if there are guys in the mix). I would hope people would be open about it though, like you.
You know what has been on my mind lately on this subject…kids doing the SEXTING thing where they take a picture of themselves and then send it to others on CELL PHONES. Pretty scary stuff.
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Did you know in some states they are trying to make sexting legal for minors? Because there are too many of them doing it…
anne jackson?s last blog post..I talk about Sex WAY too much!
I’m torn on the topic of sexting. On the one hand I don’t think it is justice when an 18 yr old gets a felony sex offender conviction for something he or she did with a 17 yr old BF/GF.
On the other hand, making it legal and removing all consequences entirely is beyond irresponsible.
Also, I forgot to write this the first time, but you really can’t talk about this stuff too much Anne. Because so few others are willing to do it. that’s what impresses me so much about you and Crystal.
peace|dewde
dewde?s last blog post..Am I A Husband Or A Project?
Thanks for sharing from your heart!
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Ann,
Thanks for bringing freshness to the battlefield. Porn and sex pervade all society and for the addict, life’s journey is hard and lonely. As for talking about sex, I’ve been highly respectful and slapped.
I’m a new reader … I’ve been looking for a blog written by a woman in ministry that I can really resonate with. I’ll be checking in each morning to see what’s happening in your world!
Thanks for putting the cards on the table when it comes to women and porn. Yes, it is a problem. And, yes, it will become more pervasive since many of today’s girls have almost unlimited online access at very young ages. Christian women, in particular, have such shame about their fascination with the images that they have seen … and the powerful emotions that have been awakened. The ones I talk to are horrified that they have become addicted so easily.
Let the conversation continue. Let the healing begin. He is able.
Linda Stoll?s last blog post..A Close Friend Will …
Anne – thanks for saying this stuff out loud, out in the open… and then using the power of Facebook & blogging & whatever to get the word out. Sexual addiction NEEDS to be talked about by people who love God, enjoy sex (in the proper context) and don’t act like they were spayed or neutered before they approached the microphone.
Mark Jackson?s last blog post..Save Chuck!
Like others, I appreciate your honesty, Anne.
I’ve been talking and writing/blogging about this topic to moms because oftentimes moms are clueless/uncomfortable about porn–whether it’s affecting their sons or their daughters. Like you said, usually men are the ones talking about the problem of porn. It’s important to get women’s voices into the discussion.
I’m curious, and I may be incredibly naive here, and I’m NOT advocating what I’m saying here, but just asking:
What does anyone think of the idea that sex/nudity etc. in a respectful/beautiful way should be MORE open in the US? As it seems to be in Europe, etc.? What I mean – and from my own experience: In Anne’s story, it was her insatiable CURIOSITY about sex and what she’d never seen before that turned her into a porn addict. And I remember the same blazing curiosities as a male in those same early teen years. I just wanted to SEE what a female body was all about. What did it all look like? Of course for me that was in the days before internet. But when I happened upon a stash of trashy porn magazines in my Uncles basement when I was around 5th/6th grade – what was I exposed to? TRASHY PORN (Penthouse, etc.) Nothing that spoke of the actual beauty of a woman’s body that (don’t forget!) God MADE – as well as a man’s body. So we hide all this stuff, make it all so taboo, dirty, pornographic, and then of course, the images that any curious young person searches for are going to be trashy degrading pornography. Yet, I think we all know, there is a beauty and art of the human body that can be very wonderful, uplifting, even worshipful. I mean, I’ll be honest. While I’ve struggled with porn in my past, I’ve also come to a place in my life where I can look at my wife as a wonderful, beautiful creation of God and I can worship God for what He created. And I also find that, while I don’t overtly look at images for the sake of just looking, I can also find great wonder, beauty, and yes, even worship in the image of a beautiful woman – as long as I temper my mind to focus on that, not allow it to cause me to stumble, and it doesn’t rob my wife of affections. As my wife used to joke when she’d see an attractive male in college, “I’m just admiring the way God put the guy together!” I mean, come on – the human body is a beautiful glorious thing, right? But anyway – what if sex/nudity with our children was looked at and exposed to them in a very healthy manner from day one? What if our nudity wasn’t such a hidden/taboo/dirty thing? What if I was able to show and teach my son/daughter how to look at a woman with GOD and His creation in mind, and to worship Him for that, and not allow it to be such a dirty hidden, not talked about thing? I hear a lot of talk from people outside the US how stuffy and impaired we are with our openness to sex and nudity. While I’m not advocating rampant nudity, open season on viewing porn, and open free sex outside of God’s will, I’m wonder what “lightening up” a little bit in our culture would do to pornography and taking that whole insatiable curiosity out of the equation with our young people? What if growing up from day one for a small child – from DAY ONE – included knowing fully what a human body looked like, what sex and nudity was about and for, that it wasn’t dirty or to be so “hidden”, and that it was something truly beautiful and created by God? That it was perfectly natural to see an image of a human body, be attracted to it, admire it, and find beauty in it as created by God?
Anne,
Just wanted to say that I appreciate your candidness in sharing this issue. A lot of us struggle with this in the church, but we’re afraid to share it with our brothers and sisters, as we don’t think that anyone will understand. So we allow it to fester and grow, until it explodes and comes out as a huge problem; then everyone wonders “Where did that come from?”
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Thank you so much Anne for sharing that!!!! I am from the netherlands ( Europe) and i wanted to say to JOHN first is this: “most porn is produced and imported from the USA to Europe, the same thing is with swearing in films, we all get it here the full thing no bleepssss. It is a shame we allow that but you know what the most important thing is to talk about it!! First of all with eachother and then to our kids on the right level, before internet, tv,games,billboards does…. Here in the Netherlands the kids are educated at a very early age in school but i think that is not enough we as parents need to do so aswell!! I told my kids at a young age allready what it means!! I read books with them, one comes from the USA “What’s the big deal”http://www.amazon.com/Whats-Big-Deal-Cares-Design/dp/0891098453, please read it with your kids!!!
Dear Anne your blog will help a lot of women. I know some friends who are addicted. Over the years i have been working in the redlight district with women who are very special, they ended up behide the windows because they were abused, that also lead to a addiction to women and men..
Anyway God bless you girl!!! greetings from the dutchland!!!
Sorry here is the link…
i have to correct myself , exported to Europe …….lol.
Thank you Anne for being so vulnerable and sharing your struggles here. I really appreciate you talking about the need for a female perspective when it comes to this issue.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this, Anne. It was also really good talking with Crystal Renaud on the phone about this topic – http://www.covenanteyes.com/blog/2009/08/17/podcast-porn-addiction-among-women-part-1/
.-= Luke?s last blog ..Pastors and Porn ? Question #1: ?Should I confess my struggle to other church leaders?? =-.
I have NEVER seen a woman talk about this before. Ever. How refreshing! And I agree with lots of other commenters – you look very pretty in this video! Cute hair!
.-= Christina?s last blog ..Show & Tell: Jen?s Brush Roll! =-.
my grandfather encouraged me at a very young age to look at his Playboy magazines… I still have those images burnt into my mind. And yes it has been a long struggle
I’m so sorry :(