A book by a professor in gender and childhood sexuality at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Prof. Deevia Bhana provides evidence of girls’ widespread engagement with porn.

The book titled "Girls Negotiating Porn in South Africa: Power, Play and Sexuality," opens up and broadens the conversation about how girls engage with porn in a far more nuanced way beyond danger narratives.

The book advocates for a more open and nonjudgmental approach to understanding teenage girls’ experiences with porn, focusing on their voices, experiences and perspectives.

The book is based on focus group discussions and individual interviews with 30 teenage girls between 14 and 18.

It draws on photo-elicitation methods, drawings and poster making.

The girls presented visual images and drawings to describe what porn meant to them.

We unpacked the book with Prof. Bhana.