Pornography: A Prominent and Detrimental Form of Sexual Objectification

In Gail Dines section in Transforming A Rape Culture, she states that pornography viewed as a teaching tool almost like a how-to manual using words and images on legitimizing and objectivizing women as sex objects. Violence against the women within the pages or on video is so sexualized it becomes invisible as to what it really is. (p.107)

To make a long story short, I had been raped. Typically when the term rape spoken comments follow such as “she was probably asking for it,” and “what was she wearing? Had she had anything to drink?” During my assault I did not have on provocative clothing or under any influence from drugs or alcohol, but this happens to be the case for millions of other victims. I had not been raped because of my clothing, behavior, or actions. I had been raped and sodomized because a vile man picked me to fulfill his fantasies. The person who did this to me is broken and at fault, not me, and altering my life in any way, wouldn’t have prevented this from happening. If it didn’t happen to me it would’ve happen to someone else. Women bear no responsibility for their sexual assaults, no matter their outfit choices, alcohol intake, or decision to walk alone at night to their car at night.

The way in which sexual crimes are treated within the criminal justice system of the United States has changed drastically throughout time. Back in the 1970s there was no official protocol or way of dealing with sexual crimes, in fact most sexual assault cases never even made it into a court of law. One reason is that the definition of rape was structured in a way that many rapes that occurred were legally deemed not to be rapes due to terminology. The old law was designed to protect rape suspects by requiring victims to present independent evidence and corroboration. These laws were implemented because women were not trusted at the time and the thought of the word of a women being able to put a man into prison seemed preposterous. Even when cases were brought into court the victims sexual history could be brought up during the criminal trail strewing the juries vision of victims leading to victim blaming. But in some cases the defendants history could be blocked from entry into the courtroom yet again favoring the rape suspect. Not only that, but the lack of technology made collecting evidence of the rape even harder (Jackson).

The pornography debate has been an issue within the feminist movement that has been pushed to the periphery in recent times. It is not as widely seen on the main stage of the feminist agenda and this may be because of a division in feminist thought with regards to pornography. Generally speaking, there are “pro-sex” feminists who believe that women have the right to do what they wish with their bodies and there are “pro-censorship” feminists who believe pornography is inherently degrading and violent towards women. In this paper I am going to discuss the views and opinions held by each faction of the pornography debate and I will discuss the pros and cons of each view and discuss how every day women (i.e. not scholars/academics) feel about pornography.

MacKinnon believes that pornography maintains male-dominated views of sex and is an extension of the patriarchy and thus, from a feminist standpoint, it should be eliminated. First, it should be established that MacKinnon believes that “male dominance is sexual” (315). From that, it can be established that practices such as rape, sexual assault, prostitution, and pornography “express and actualize the

Susan Brison’s argument disagrees with Andrew Altman’s idea, that violent pornography is morally right and permissible. Altman argues that all pornography including violent pornography is permissible to produce and consume because one has a moral right to sexual autonomy. Altman also says one’s sexual autonomy is limited by duties one has to others. These duties include: preventing sexual violence, sexual inequality and sexual acts with non-consenting adults. If the pornographic production causes actual violence, sexual inequality or sexual acts with a non-consenting adult, Altman would say these productions fall outside of one’s sexual autonomy and as a result are morally problematic. Brison challenges Altman’s assumption that pornography doesn’t violate one’s sexual autonomy. Brison argues that violent pornography violates women’s sexual autonomy based on Catherine Mackinnon’s definition of these sexual productions. Mackinnon defines pornography as a sexualization of abuse stating, “Pornography sexualizes rape, battery, sexual harassment, and child sex abuse; it thereby celebrates, promotes, authorizes and legitimizes them.” Based on this definition, Brison clarifies her argument by proclaiming, “If pornography unjustly harms women, then there is no moral right to produce, sell or consume it.” She also lists several harms to women such as: harms to those who have pornography forced on them, increased or reinforced discrimination against - and sexual abuse of - girls and women, harms to boys and men whose attitudes toward women and whose sexual desires may be influenced by pornography, and lastly, harms to those who have already been victimized by sexual violence. I will critique the limited nature of Brison’s argument by exploring a role reversal where the man is being harmed, also homosexual pornographic productions. I will use her premise and apply it to these different scenarios to see if the standards are strong enough to be applied to porn universally.

Humans are adverse to change and it is a law of nature to follow the principle of least effort. Things run more smoothly when a routine is implemented and results are more consistent with a pattern. This is where we get our cultural and societal norms; a majority of people deems a form of thinking and acting as acceptable. Society is built around these accepted forms of operating and thus our institutions reflect the values of society. When those values are oppressive or degrading to a certain class of citizens, they not only face personal discrimination but they are surrounded by oppression from the entire system. While often-considered taboo, pornography is an aspect of modern society that seems to be the most relevant to female abuse. Andrea Dworkin sums up her thoughts on “porn culture” by saying, “One can know everything and still somewhere inside refuse to believe that the personal, social, culturally sanctioned violence against women is unlimited, unpredictable, pervasive, constant, ruthless, and happily and unselfconsciously sadistic” (130). Cindy Jenefsky further analyzes Dworkin’s work and says, “Within the governing logic of ‘woman as whore’ anything done to women is presented as sex in pornography, despite the absurdity or violence of the act” (134). Pornography depicts the beautiful act of sex and love making as a violent, demeaning action for women and wraps it up in a neat bow to sell to us. Using words like “consent” and “free speech” society facilitates

Pornography sits at the intersection of art and obscenity, sexuality and morality. Explicit depictions of sex predate civilization, from figurines of Venus to cave paintings (Rudgley, 2000, p.195). However, during several periods throughout history more structured and intentional erotic works have been viewed as scandalous and immoral, especially in times of conservative religiosity. As sexuality became villainized into a personal sin and private affair, pornography became increasingly taboo, and blurred lines were drawn to divide fine artistic depictions of sexuality from depraved acts of carnality. Consequently its consumption has oscillated in legality, industry, and cultural acceptance. In more recent times, pornography has become a commodity coupled with culture and sexuality, especially as sex has become a topic for public rather than strictly private discussion (Cossman, 2009). Being able to freely explore eroticism is a symptom of a larger phenomenon of sexual liberation, which is also reflected in modern gay and transgender rights movements. Unfortunately, the timing of society’s greater freedom of sexual expression coincides with and, perhaps, perpetuates the heightened risks of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), in particular, the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the subsequent acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

There is a new threat to society, an up and coming monster slowly awakening from its deep slumber. Pornography is this monster and it is a problem. Pornography has been around since the mid-1600’s, during the 1970’s the industry was revolutionized by the beginning of the internet and the changes in social mores, allowing them to create more uncommon and risque media. Since that time though it has only grown into a bigger problem for many people, which can become an addiction. Pornography is a growing addiction and it can cause the user lots of harm because, it changes the way the userś brain works, cause you to become violent, and can change the way you look at and love others.

Before, I started this course I would have defined pornography by saying porn is porn. This quote sums up how I felt. “I can 't define pornography, but I know it when I see it,” said Justice Stewart (West, 2012). However, just after reading the resources from the first few weeks I see why defining it is so hard, it is too broad and there is too much ‘it depends on.’ The definition of pornography is every changing and will be different depending on the country, country, culture, and family and down to the person you are talking to. This is such a subjective category that finding one end-all-be-all definition is quite hard. I think the best way I would define pornography is any representation of sexually explicit material in any media form that is made with the intent or possibility to cause sexual arousal. While this is broad it leaves opening for people to base what ‘sexually explicit’ is that causes ‘sexual arousal.’ In some cultures, this could simply be showing ankles yet others it could be full sexual intercourse.

With the surge of wider-spread accessibility to the internet on mobile phones and laptops comes a surge in the accessibility and viewing of pornography. Much research has been done to study how such an increase in pornography consumption is impacting the marriage relationship. Some findings have indicated that users incur serious negative effects, including a 25% higher divorce rate, are 101% more likely to be unfaithful to a spouse, and were 12% less likely to describe their marriage as ‘very happy’ (Doran & Price, 2014). Interestingly, various studies have also noted that the effects may be different for men than they are for women, stating that “for women who viewed pornography in ranges between “2–3 times a month” and “once a day or more,” their marital quality was actually higher than those who never viewed pornography…” (Perry, 2017).

dominated, or should be treated as if they did’, that it is comparable to speech

The Scriptures present us with a dynamic tension in which “Wine is a mocker and

In just five days I had my view of pornography taken apart, dissected and reassembled, and while I don’t believe my views on pornography have drastically changed, my perspective has certainly shifted. There truly is so much to consider when attempting to form an opinion of porn, it’s mind-boggling, but in many ways, it is essential. My genuine feeling after taking this course is that in a perfect world, everyone who enjoys pornographic entertainment, or is curious about it, would take this class. Because although my views on porn haven’t changed drastically, they are far better informed and I now feel equipped to defend them with gusto, should I ever have to do so. My initial self-reflection focused on my views on violence and addiction related to pornography. However, because there is so much to discuss, I limit myself in this self -critique to revisiting the subject of violence; mainly, I consider the cultural context of the relationship between pornography and violence, as well as contemporary research surrounding said relationship.

Whether for procreation, as with early humans who knew that a large group meant more protection and a better chance at survival, or for pleasure, as many current societies interpret and present it sex has driven decisions and cultures throughout history. However, modern technologies and interpretations of sex, in particular the way it is portrayed in advertisements and entertainment, have begun to alter the way that society views individuals—particularly women. With the creation of the internet, a person’s access to sex in the form of pornography has sky rocketed. In addition, many companies have begun to increase the number of advertisements produced that contain sexual images or themes—subscribing to the notion that sex sells. Massive amounts of sexualized images, particularly of women, are available for free consumption. Overall, the increased prevalence of pornographic images, particularly violent images, both through advertising and entertainment media, has led to changes in how society perceives women and gender in a modern setting.