While much of the attention paid to the sex industry is grounded in discussions of prostitution, adult erotic entertainment represents a dynamic and evolving segment of the expansive entity that is the sex industry. Moreover, sex entertainment is a form of art that not only stimulates arousal in those who seek its gratification, but also defines the attitudes, expectations, beliefs, social norms, gender roles, and authenticity of sexuality and sexual desire for individuals situated within the culture in which it is consumed (Webber, 2012). Like any other art from, the artists of the sex industry must develop, master, and maintain a series of skills and talents in order to succeed, have longevity, and earn a living in the sex industry. However, the common perception amongst the uninitiated denizens of society seems to be that those who are employed in the adult erotic entertainment industry are damaged goods; they are desperate individuals who have been subjected to abuse, trauma, and maladaptive childhoods while also lacking any aptitudes or form of intellect that would allow them to succeed in the conventional workforce (Griffith, Mitchell, Hart, Adams, & Gu, 2013). Furthermore, sex workers, including adult erotic entertainers, continue to be subject to dehumanization while being routinely relegated to the margins of society despite providing a service that fulfills the emotional, holistic, and carnal needs of millions of consumers throughout the world. The purpose of this essay will be to help shed these stereotypes and illuminate that those employed in the sex entertainment industry need not be cast in such banal, clichéd categorizations and instead be viewed as being no different than any other individual seeking self-actualiz...
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The 1990 romantic comedy, Pretty Woman, is a popular film that represents several aspects of feminism through the character of Vivian Ward, a prostitute who experiences a change in social class when she meets corporate businessman, Edward Lewis. The film demonstrates society's placement of sex workers and the inequalities they face in everyday life due to the stigma and generalizations of the whole sex industry. I argue that the film Pretty Woman addresses the issues in society of the marginalization of sex workers and the high stigmatization that is associated with acts of sex work. In addition, through the character of Vivian, it is emphasized that sex workers have agency and empowerment of their own desires. I believe Vivian’s strong sense
Kidd, Dustin. 2014. “Not that There’s Anything Wrong with That: Sexuality Perspectives.” Pp. 129-163 in Pop Culture Freaks: Identity, Mass Media, and Society. Boulder: Westview Press.
An analysis of the relationship between pornography and the American culture reveals that the industry is blamed for dozens of social ills for the men of our society. Those ills also work to damage the women in several irreparable ways. Some of the damages to men include: illegal sexual behavior, illegal non-sexual behavior, callousness, sexual harassment, casual sex, and multiple sexual partners. The problems for the women directly involved in the industry are long term and long lasting, creating overall issues that affect women’s economic and social status. But what are there damages caused by the type of movies most women love, the type of movies they drag their boyfriends and husbands to, the type of movies millions watch unashamedly in public-the romantic comedy?
Szymanski, Dawn M., Lauren B. Moffitt, and Erika R. Carr. “Sexual Objectification of Women: Advances to Theory and Research.” APA, 2011. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.
...ution than what is seen. There is a hidden side of this sex industry that objectifies America’s youth. The pimps target vulnerable people that have been abused and then use violence, threats, lies, false promises, debt bondage, or other forms of control and manipulation to keep them victims. (Polaris) The Johns with their lust and perversions continues to feed the greed of the soul devouring sex industry. Both of which, often escape any punishment or consequences for their deeds. The prostitute is once again left alone to bare the blame, shame and pain of it all. “What other victim in society do we lock up?” (Sher, pg. 240) American sex trade is a part of our economic system that degrades and devours the mother’s of our country. The time is now to remove the scales from our eyes and raise up our swords against any who plot genocide by the killing of our girls.
...d image of black women as purely sexualized creatures are now used by hip-hop and porn industry. Even though its survival and popularity have overcome the former representation of black sexuality, black women’s bodies are still seen as object for business purposes. We can now see black sexuality as authoritative, legitimate and powerful identity.
Sex is one of the most central themes in society today, with generally everybody in the world, adults and children, either seeing it in the mass media or taking part in it, whether it be for their career, for reproductive reasons, or for pleasure. Because of its predominance, sexuality plays an important, if not the most important, role in social inequality, causing double standards, violence and internal self-worth issues for minorities. Factors such as pornography, prostitution, and the way people view homosexuality and intersexuality as repugnant all influence the prejudice ways in which society views and treats women, homosexuals, and intersexuals.
Throughout Sex Work and the Law: A Critical Analysis of Four Policy Approaches to Adult Prostitution Frances Shaver discusses the need for change for women working as prostitutes. Shaver explains the ongoing problem surrounding prostitution in Canada and provides four possible ways to resolve the issue in her work. Three well thought out points Shaver writes about are the health benefits as well as personal safety for the women in the sex industry. She also touches base on the decriminalization of prostitution and the impacts it will have on nearby neighborhoods and the residents as well as a few other topics. Although Shaver discusses important areas, she does leave out some particular parts for concern such as the issues surrounding minors involved in the sex industry as well as the men and women who are involuntarily put into prostitution also known as human trafficking. While Shaver touches base on extremely well thought out points and provides a solution for dealing with Canada’s prostitution problem, she fails to elaborate on a few major issues that should be discussed as well when discussing the decriminalization of prostitution.
The image of female sexuality in our society has been corrupted in Levy’s opinion, tainted by the countless industries profiting off of the sexualization of women, who are the main driving force behind our current day raunch culture. Take Girls Gone Wild (GGW from henceforth), GGW is a perfect example of how the younger generation of women is effected by our current day raunch culture. GGW often targets women whom they see as the average looking girl, “the girl next door” so to speak. They are often college students ...
She tries to investigate the reasons why these women are in the profession, their interactions with their ‘pimps’ and customers, their attitudes towards safe sex in light of the AIDS endemic, and above all, prostitution’s link to drug use. Her basic thesis revolves around these women’s thoughts and feelings regarding prostitution and the effect it has on their lives. Through her research, Sterk uncovers a demographic that ranges from 18-59 years in age, is largely African-American, and that most have completed high school. As these women reveal more about themselves, it becomes apparent that there is a spectrum of opinion regarding controversial topics such as drug use and safe sex. Many women admitted to not having used a condom with a partner who they were aware had HIV/AIDS.
Some ask why prostitution spreads like a wildfire through our cities and streets. This is an easy question for functionalists, prostitution flourishes because it satisfies sexual needs that are not able to be met elsewhere(Henslin 51). Prostitutes almost seem to serve as an outlet for sexually frustrated men. When a man is unable to find a partner he always holds the option of paying for sexual pleasure. A functionalist, Kingsley Davis, concluded that prostitutes provide a sexual outlet for men who: have difficulty in establishing sexual relationships, cannot find long-term partners, have a broken relationship, want sexual gratification that is defined as immoral, desire quick sexual gratification without attachment, are curious, and are sexually dissatisfied in marriage. From this it is shown that by meeting such needs prostitution functions as a form of social control over sexual behavior. This is beneficial because it brings men with sexual desires away from unwi...
For the purpose of clarification there must be an examination of what pornography actually constitutes. As stated by Leanne Katz in her essay entitled “Women, Censorship, and Pornography” she says,
Sex work is terribly profitable for girls, and plenty of girls might fancy work that permits them to creatively categorical their sexuality Sex work will enable individuals how to securely explore their sexual needs in ways in which they can not through the present social
Smith, Claude J., Jr. "Bodies and Minds for Sale:Prostitution in Pretty Woman and Indecent Proposal." Studies in Popular Culture (1998): 91-99. Web.
Stark, Cynthia A. "Is Pornography An Action: The Causal vs. The Conceptual View of Pornography's Harm" Social Theory and Practice. v.23 p. 277-306, 1997