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Traditional roles of women in society
Pornography and society
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Almost as lucrative as the oil industry; the omnipresent multi-media pornography industry is said to be more profitable than the music and video industries combined. The European Parliament (2003) estimates that more than two-thirds of the £252 million spent by European internet users during 2001 was received by various pornographic websites. This recorded expenditure does not, however, account for the widely available non-internet based pornographic literature, theatre and DVD trade, or for prostitution – the age-old trade from which the term pornography is derived (Potter, 1998); thus effectively deeming the pornography industry to be indescribably profitable.
As the pornography industry is undeniably extortionately profitable, such an industry is able to present itself with utmost ease as glamorous, often enticing impressionable young women with quick and easy cash incentives. This essay will investigate and discuss this notion, and present the findings to answer the question – does pornography exploit or liberate women? There are many who not only believe pornography exploits women, but also increases the rates of sexually-motivated crimes (Dworkin, 1981; Morgan, 2001); whilst on the other end of the exploitation/liberation spectrum, many others believe pornography to be extremely artistic and liberating for both men and women (McElroy, 1998; Tatchell, 2008). This essay will also investigate the role of women in various societal institutions such as employment, family and the home; and in specific cases, how pornography can relate to, influence and equally be influenced by these institutions.
Whilst the term 'pornography' for most people conjures the stereotypical seedy image of a woman being sexual dominated by at least ...
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...d by anti-porn campaigners, there is indeed “...support [for] the production of erotic sexual material that is not based on power and dominance which presents women as having agency and choice and contains no violence, abuse or degradation.” (O'Connor, 2006, p.10). Once again, such a statement appears to promote equality regarding sexual activity; however, a deeper insight reveals ignorant contradiction in that the statement notes a request to end specifically female submissiveness and degradation, despite the fact that many males are regular participants in sadomasochism – often requesting to be dominated, humiliated, abused and degraded by a female dominatrix (Kenney, 2002). Thus, if males are requesting to be treated as such for sexual gratification, then it is arguably fair to equally state that some women will request to be voluntarily submissive and degraded.
Thus, we can assume that the audience itself, the members who believe in the content of ads and its sincerity, as well as, people who agree with the portrait of the women that is being created are the only prisoners in this particular situation. “To them, I said, the truth would be literally nothing but the shadows of the images” (Plato 868). On the other hand, according to the Jean Kilbourne, author of “Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt” what is not mention to the public is the fact, that many women from the very young age during the process of finding out the truth and being blinded by the “light” are fighting with depression, low self-esteem, eating disorders and sexual harassment. “I contend that all girls growing up in this culture are sexually abused – abused by the pornographic images of female sexuality that surround them from birth, abused by all the violence against woman and girls, and abused by the constant harassment and threat of violence” (Kilbourne
The dictionary definition of pornography is sexually explicit pictures, writing, or other material whose primary purpose is to cause sexual arousal. (http://dictionary.reference.com/) Theories from feminist Andrea Dworkin, Catharine A. Mackinnon, Robin Morgan, Nadine Strossen and Jennifer Saul as well as researching crime involving pornography was used to see how the degree of violence has escalated over the years in pornography. From these theories, feminists were divided into two categories: the anti- pornography feminist and the liberal/sex-positive feminists. Pornography reinforces the feminist idea of omnipresent female oppression. Society has become increasingly sexualized since pornography became part of free speech.
To sufficiently take a side in the ever-growing debate of pornography, one must first define the concept around which this discourse surrounds itself. A working definition for pornography is a piece of material that has the object purpose of arousing erotic feelings. Radical feminists, however, strictly define it as “the act of sexual subordination of women” (Dworkin 1986).
Levy’s book is an eye opener of how most women accepts pornography and raunchy behavior. Levy wants a society where women are free to embrace their own sexuality without indications from the media. She wants women to stop mistaken liberation as engaging in vulgarity behaviors. Her thesis is clear throughout the book and she uses examples to prove her argument. However, her argument is not strong because she lacks concrete data and analysis that would allow her readers to see different groups of women instead of the only group of women she presented.
... our senses there is porn. Porn drives new technology and takes risks where other types of media don’t. The way we interact with porn has changed more than anything in the 20th century. Becoming more instant, more interactive, with more variety. Porn films went from being socially watched at stag parties, to being experienced in theaters, to being experienced from a TV set with a VCR, to being watched from a streaming Internet connection with endless possibilities. In the world we live in today it’s hard to think that even though pornography was ever-present and growing, it was outlawed for 381 years and has only been legal for 37. Without a doubt the influence of prohibition helped create a porn sub-culture, which is still separate from mainstream society today. The world of porn is ever expanding and always will be, whether we see it in our everyday lives or not.
Pornograhy consumption has increased markedly over the last few decades, primarily due to the advent and popularity of regular, affordable, and high speed internet connections (Eberstadt & Layden 13; "The History of Modern Pornography."). While pornography has been around for thousands of years, never has porn been as used or abused (8). Porns’s vivid and explixcit imagery causes healthy pereceptions of sexuality to be skewed, causing true intimacy to be lost amidst a desensitized sexual libido (Struthers 1; “What’s Wrong With Pornography?” 1; Dubinsky 1; Zillmann 27). Pornography as defined by the United Methodist Church promotes “violence, abuse, coercion, domination, humiliation, or degradation for the purpose of arousal”, all being obvious negatives (1). Porn has been linked to higher divorce rates, sexual violence, sex trafficking, brain chemistry changes, relational problems. Porn affects both the church culture and the society as a whole. These high reaching problems call for the high impacting changes that new regulations can bring. Strong regulation will provide a stopgap to the national epidemic in it’s tracks.
Pornography is an engine for female empowerment. At its core pornography is explicit artwork meant to communicate explicit ideas. It is a means by which society is sexually educated, liberalized, and empowered. While some pornography today has many negative archetypes, as societies acceptance of pornography has liberalized, so to have women as a whole reaped the rewards of greater equality. Pornography has been, and still is, a means of education, communication, and role-playing which allows for taboos to be broken beyond the bedroom. Pornography has been a source of sexual empowerment for women, and a front in the culture wars over women’s place in today’s cult...
It is constantly surrounding us. It cannot be evaded. Pornography is an initial part of the entertainment mainstream. Whether it is in magazines, or in music, pornography is gender-prejudiced. The word pornography can be defined as the depiction of erotic behavior intended to cause sexual excitement.
Pornography came about in the 60's when independent filmmakers saw that sex sells. Since then films have got more graphic and degrading. Today there are films that are viciously violent, and some that induce death. At the rate that the pornography industry is going now, who knows what kind of images our future generations are going to susceptible to. Is it that people don't care anymore? You can walk down the street and see virtually the entire male or female body posted on a Calvin Klein advertisement. But who's to say that is pornography and not art? There is a fine line to be drawn to decipher between the two. There is no clear definition of what pornography is. The word pornography actually originates from two Greek words, porne, which means harlot, and graphine, which means to write. What I get out of this definition is possibly stories about sexual escapades of women. As time passed the definition of pornography has exploded to graphic pictures, movies, magazines and Internet sites. What will it come to next?
During the 70’s and 80’s, the primary topics in feminist discussion on women’s sexuality were that of pornography, sex work, and human trafficking. This led to the need of the enlistment for sex worker rights in America. Around the 80’s, pornography was a prominent argument among feminists campaigning for women’s rights. The feminists involved held contrasting views on how to eliminate sexual violence against women, and the feminists involved were either classified as liberal or radical. The final group of feminists described as “pro-sex”, views are considered the true feminist defense of
“There are more adult bookstores than MacDonald’s in the U.S. Pornography is an 8 billion dollar-a year business and have annual box sales of $50 million” (Oprah, 2009).
Irizarry, Y., Kleiner, S., Weinberg, M., & Williams, C. (2010). Pornography, Normalization, and Empowerment. Archives of Sexual Behavior.
Pornography is ripping apart our society. Although Christians are sometimes discus tied with the impact and apathetic about the need to control this menace. Pornography is a year business with close ties to organized crime. Pornography involves books, magazines, videos, and devices and has moved from the society into the mainstream through the renting of video cassettes, sales Of so-called "soft-porn" magazines, and the airing of sexually explicit movies on Cable television.
The behaviorist approach to pornography suggests that the roles taken in sex are learned, and that the consumption of pornography by men “teaches” men to be overtly or systemically violent towards women (Gray, n.d.). For example, a Vogue fashion spread done by Richard Avedon and a Warner Brothers billboard advertisement, which was later discontinued, read: “I’m black and blue from the Rolling Stones and I love it” (Gray, n.d.). As formally discussed, through the use or reiteration, pornography gradually erodes inhibitions against aggression toward both men and women (Gray, n.d.). Women Against Pornography target material such as this and attempt to let society know that media depicting violence towards women shouldn’t be commonplace. The increase of adolescents having sex with a lack of emotion is a worrisome attitude because the use of impersonal and violent statements such as “I hit that” and “I nailed that bitch” are becoming more conventional when they should not be. The moral implications of this is that erotica and pornography depersonalize sex by referring and instilling in youth that women are sexual objects. This is problematic as it seduces people into a world of fantasy. It stunts moral development in youth because it normalizes the use of derogatory language