Writing in The Guardian, John Dugdale considered the journal's appearance to be an implicit criticism of cultural studies' failure to investigate pornography, a reflection of the dispute in second-wave feminism between supporters and opponents of pornography.

Gail Dines, a leading anti-pornography activist, compared Attwood and Smith to "climate change deniers" and "cheerleaders for the industry".

[2] Lily Rothman of Time magazine commented that "anyone looking for titillation is likely to be disappointed.

)"[3] According to Alexis Madrigal of The Atlantic, "the mere fact of its existence, which became public in mid-2013, was occasion for a media event.

But the journal's articles are serious articulations of the intersection between the concerns of media studies and those of pornography.