Karen Owen Powerpoint Presentation Thesis: A Troubling LIST – The PowerPoint presentation that was written by a Duke student and leaked online could be the new form of exhibitionism. It was a mock thesis that was created by Karen Owen that quickly went viral online, spreading to a number of different website. The thesis ranked all of her sexual encounters with 13 men that she claims to have slept with during her time in college. Most of the men included were athletes at Duke at the time. It caused unexpected scrutiny on a number of individuals, especially those that she graded poorly in terms of technique and equipment.
Owen quickly apologized for the presentation, saying that she did not mean for it to make its way online, and also apologized for exposing the men in her thesis that included pictures. Sex therapist Dr. Ian Kerner has said that young people today have a fairly good sense of the damage that can be done when private information finds its way onto the internet. He suggested that Karen Owen acted knowingly, even if she denies it now.
The thesis, which was titled “Excelling in the Realm of Horizontal Academics,” has caused a lot of controversy around Duke. Kerner suggested that we may be seeing a double standard in action. He went on to say that male college students who share intimate details with one another about their sexual exploits are often looked down upon by women. A number of lessons can be learned from Owen’s thesis, he suggested, saying that it is the perfect example of the damage that can be done when personal, especially sexual details, make their way online, where the spread of the information is unrestrained.