Mums Make Porn, episode one review: Channel 4 documentary is something of an anti-climax
A generation ago, pornography was confined to the top shelf. Now, it’s everywhere: on phones, laptops and social media. According to a widely cited study from 2013, 90 per cent of the most-watched porn scenes contain violence or derogatory behaviour against women. Another survey found that half of boys and a third of girls in the UK see porn as a realistic depiction of sex.
Channel 4’s documentary series Mums Make Porn sets out to investigate how much mothers know about what their children are being exposed to online, and then tackle the issue by having them make a porn film of their own. It assembles a group of women who all have varying opinions on pornography: some condemn it entirely or have never watched it before; others watch it regularly and think it can be a positive, healthy form of sexual expression.
In total there are five women with 15 children between them. In the first episode, the mums gather round a laptop at a kitchen table laid out with scones and cups of tea, like a kinky book club, and begin to watch porn from the top-trending search terms. These are videos that anyone can watch for free, with just two clicks of a mouse. “Oh my actual god,” one mother exclaims. All of them look either horrified or disturbed. “If my son ever treated a girl like that, I would kick his arse to kingdom-come,” mum Sarah Louise announces.
