Look Out lectures – Martin Daubney
The latest speaker to appear as part of the Look Out lecture programme at Forest was Martin Daubney.
Martin is an award-winning Daily Telegraph columnist, journalist, broadcaster and campaigner who, for eight years, was the longest-standing editor of ‘lad’s mag’ Loaded magazine, before giving it up to become a stay-at-home Dad. Martin’s regular media appearances– including a new slot as a panelist on Channel 5’s The Wright Stuff’- have led to him being considered the leading voice on masculinity and men’s issues in the British media.
Back in 2013, as part of Channel 4’s ‘Campaign for Real Sex’, Martin made a documentary called Porn on the Brain, in which he investigated the neurological effects of online pornography on adolescents. His talk at Forest focused on the potential dangers of online pornography and its role in sexual consent. Martin’s brilliance as a speaker- the entire 6th Form was captivated for a full hour before breaking for their discussion groups- meant that a topic which, in lesser hands, could potentially have been an awkward and embarrassing one, was instead enlightening and thought-provoking. What impressed Forest’s Sixth Formers was the fairness, balance and depth of his talk. Intriguingly he explored the role he himself had, perhaps, played in this issue during his time at the helm of Loaded, during which he was dubbed the ‘King of the Lads’ by his opponents- a tag he relished at the time, but is now embarrassed by.
The lecture certainly inspired lively discussion and debate. Here’s what the students said:
“I thought that this was one of the best speakers we’ve heard so far; he was engaging and I liked that his views were balanced and he had obviously looked at it from both sides.”
“At first I thought he would talk about masculinity and being a menimist. However, I liked how he was open to changing his views from when he was a ‘lad’ to now that he is a dad. I also like how he wanted to research what people were telling him what were the problems to see if they were right or not.”
“I thought the speaker delivered an interesting argument that was surprisingly — and pleasantly — not greatly politically charged.”
“He was really engaging and managed to tackle some controversial and almost taboo topics with humour and fact, so it was really enjoyable and felt real, rather than detached.”