Dr. Lauren Rosewarne on Perversion, Porn, and What We Won't Talk About

Description:Pop culture isn't just entertainment—it's become our default sex educator. Dr. Lauren Rosewarne breaks down how algorithms profit from our sexual confusion and why "perversion" is actually universal human experience.

Guest Bio: Dr. Lauren Rosewarne is a media scholar at the University of Melbourne who has built her career studying topics most academics avoid: perversion, masturbation, pornography, and how pop culture becomes our informal sex educator. Author of numerous books including "Part-Time Perverts," "Cheating on the Sisterhood," and research on masturbation in popular culture, she examines how entertainment fills the gaps left by formal education—particularly around sexuality and human behavior.

Key Topics:

Why pop culture has become our default sex educator

How algorithms track sexual curiosity and profit from shame

The myth of "perversion" and why sexual interests are universal

Media representation of masturbation and female sexuality suppression

Pornography consumption patterns revealing hidden curiosities

The feedback loop between audience clicks and content creation

Violence in entertainment vs. the death of musicals and romance

Sexual assault statistics and what they reveal about society

Capitalism as the root cause of inequality and social problems

TIMESTAMPS:

[00:00] Intro: Why We Live in Isolation Instead of Tribes

[02:25] Does Media Lead Us or Do We Lead Them?

[07:20] The Algorithm Knows What You Click On[11:49] Why Musicals Died and Violence Took Over

[15:10] The Problem with Calling Things "Perversion"

[22:35] Why We're All Perverted (And That's Normal)

[26:21] Masturbation Gets a Bad Rap in Pop Culture

[33:57] The Orgasm Gap Mirrors the Economic Gap

[37:45] Are 43 Men in California Programming America's Sexual Taste?

[44:13] The Novelty Factor in Human Curiosity

[46:30] One in Four Women Will Be Raped: What This Says About Us

[51:30] Why Capitalism Is the Root of Most Problems

[56:52] 20% of Americans Can't Read But They Can Vote [01:02:35] What Lauren Learned Writing "Cheating on the Sisterhood"