Candace Owens recently tweeted about my alma mater’s, Westminster College, course catalog containing a film elective class focused on pornography, thus causing an uproar over a two-credit elective course in a track of study that can only result in a minor. This is, frankly, an embarrassment. Film 3000 is not a required class, nor is Westminster a state school. Conservative alumni raising a ruckus now should have done so at least five years ago when the course was first added to the catalog and was a frequent topic of conversation; they are only doing so now because Candace Owens declared it a problem on Twitter. This is performative outrage: a distraction as our legislatures continue to pass bills like SESTA and FOSTA without the voices of online sex workers.
Alas, this is a recurring problem with these latest battles in the culture war. We seem to think that if we do not acknowledge the ugly parts of American history and culture — the parts we do not like to discuss in polite company — they will cease to exist. We see this with the outlawing of discussions of race and gender in primary and secondary classrooms across the country. The fact of the matter is this: we have an obligation to be critical of this country, of its history and culture — past and present. If we want to do better by those most in need — and yes, this includes sex workers as much as we wish to deny their existence — we must learn about the issues first, preferably in a classroom with a professor to mentor and model discussions.
Emma Metos, Salt Lake City
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