Porn Chic Chapter Summary

This unit's readings are about the body and how it has been treated and exploited in today’s culture. Annette Lynch's book, Porn Chic, focuses on the impact of modern day style on young women and young girls and what this means in terms of sexuality and gender construction. Focusing on Lynch's book we see how the actual term “porn chic” has become prevalent in the modern day. “Porn chic” refers to the fashions and related trend-based behaviors linked to the porn industry that have now become mainstreamed into the dress of women and girls today (Lynch, 3). Chapter Six deals with the image of pornography being reflected in today's society. A large part of this is how the body is treated and portrayed in the world. The internet has grown substantially

Body narcissism is similar to the idea of body perception, the way an individual sees their own body. In this section of the book, Hewitt states, “Body perception is a large part of identity formation, and many factors contribute to a person's image of his or her own body (Hewitt, 22).” She goes on to list all of the ways individuals, mostly women, alter their body to fit an ever-changing idea of beauty. Pathological narcissism is introduced later in the section. Narcissistic individuals are noted as having a “lack of cohesive self” and therefore, constantly trying to alter their appearance in order to confirm their worth (Hewitt, 23). The disorder we see here directly ties into Lynch's argument in chapter six of Porn Chic, conforming to others' idea of beauty and “what you should look like.” They see themselves as objects for others to judge. They are very concerned with what others see and are constantly trying to fit the image of perfect beauty. As we saw in Lynch's book and Hewitt's book, the individual is separating themselves from their body and viewing it as an object, something that belongs to