How a porn site could help you pay for college

 

The next time someone catches you looking at pornographic websites on the Internet, just tell them you’re trying to find a college scholarship – you may accidentally wind up telling the truth, provided you’re visiting the right pages.

Yes, as The Washington Post, the New York Daily News and other media outlets reported this week, Pornhub.com, one of the most visited purveyors of pornographic pictures on the Web, has announced that they will provide one lucky student with a $25,000 scholarship based largely on a homemade video – and no, they don’t mean that kind of homemade video.

The video in question requires the application to discuss what they do to try and make people happy – and no, they don’t mean make people happy (at least, we don’t think so). In addition, they will have to be at least 18 years of age (a typical requirement for Pornhub-related activities, we believe), have a verified 3.2 GPA, and write an essay to be judged by site staffers.

The scholarship is said to be part of the website’s new philanthropic arm, Pornhub Cares, and while officials at the page said that videos containing nudity will be accepted, any scholar who submits a video involving any sexually-explicit acts “will not be seriously considered.”

‘Deceptive marketing tactic’ or legitimate scholarship?

Many feminist groups were not amused by the announcement, quickly expressing concerns that it is nothing more than a ploy to exploit young women who are having a difficult time trying to pay for higher education and calling it “an amazing and deceptive marketing tactic.”

“A lot of younger people don’t realize the consequences and harm of pornography. These videos follow them the rest of their lives and affect their jobs and relationships in the future to have this out there,” National Center on Sexual Exploitation executive director Dawn Hawkins said to the Post. “It’s really unfortunate we’re forcing our kids to sell their bodies to get an education.”

Corey Price, vice president of Pornhub, admitted to the newspaper that the scholarship could be considered controversial given the nature of his website’s business and the debate over the role of pornography in society. He also said that the competition is open to students of any discipline, including “medicine, botany, paranormal psychology, or anything in between.”

Price said that students “don’t have to film a porn to be a winner” but noted that the website was hopeful that applicants would share Pornhub’s “sex positive belief system,” or at very least have a “neutral stance” on the issue of pornography as a whole. “If you’re against pornography and an anti-pornography crusader,” he said, “this is probably not the scholarship for you.”

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Feature Image: Pornhub/Twitter