Tolerance of Disturbing Evidence Most would not be pleased with someone incessantly calling them a child molester or one who enables child molestation. In fact, most would be livid and cease communication with that person immediately, but somehow James Kincaid manages to keep readers receptive while accusing them of eroticizing children in his essay, “Producing Erotic Children.” Kincaid uses several techniques, linguistic, and stylistic choices that differentiate his work from that of a standard scholarly essay, and keep readers engaged without repulsing them. The most damning accusation that Kincaid makes is that we use stories about child molestation and protest molestation to fantasize about children in a socially acceptable way. His claim that society fantasizes about erotic children is a difficult one to make, but Kincaid makes his thesis tolerable through his use of colloquial language. In Kincaid’s essay, “Producing Erotic Children” he argues that the protest of child molestation and the discussion of cases involving child molestation is a way for those who participate in this activity to fantasize about it in a way that is not morally reprehensible to society. He indicts his audience with the sentence, “It is just that molesting and the stories protesting the molesting walk the same beat” (249). His use of the phrase, “walk the same beat” is an interesting choice for a scholarly essay. Kincaid uses that casual tone in order to make sure the audience understands and
Masturbation and the sexualization of minors was seen as evil, and sinful, and as a result, society tried to curb these ailments through genital mutation of both sexes. However, while minors being seen as sexual beings was taboo, at the same time, child sexual abuse occurred commonly behind closed doors. Child prostitution and pornography flourished during this period, as well as slave owners frequently used rape and sexual abuse to crush the spirit of young African-American girls. Similarly, in the 20th century, many popular stories pushed the idea that young girls were capable of willingly ‘seducing’ older men who were ‘helpless’ and unable to resist the temptation. Likewise, stories such as “Greek Love” by J.Z. Eglinton put forth the idea that boys who were forced into relationships with much older men were simply being prepared for sexual experiences in adulthood. Society often contradicts itself even today. Its said children should not be exploited sexually, yet child pornography thrives and is sought after, child sexual abuse is rampant, victims of CSA are often belittled in court while their abusers are believed and protected; as well television often portrays teenagers, particularly young girls, in “seductive” and sexual ways. While incest has mostly been seen as universally taboo and has been stigmatized, the sexualization of children has often been used to rationalize incest and child sexual
Margaret Atwood begins her essay by explaining the distinction between mild pornorgraphy, which portrays the nude form and sexual activities, and violent pornography, which depicts extremely violent activities in a sexual manner. When discussing pornography, people often assume Atwood is referring to mild pornography; however, even though this pornography is considered “mild” by Atwood, the reactions and perspectives from people are rarely mild. The passionate accusations declaring opposing sides “prudish” or “perverted” lead to the question of what is the meaning of pornography, if there is any? Whether it
Throughout the ages, media and society have been concerned over children. Instead of youth as folk devils, children nowadays serve as the victims of folk devils (Critcher, 2002, p.532). With these trigger events popping up, stereotypes are gradually formed. In recent British history, Paedophile had become one of the most terrifying folk-devils (Jenkins, 1992, p.99). Paedophile behaviour is a moral panic one legal case and the panic is generally fuelled by the sensationalism of media in
Since the early-2010s, debate around the sexualisation of children has instigated much social alarm. A number of media articles (Cameron 2010; Critchley 2009; Doherty 2011; Kermond 2012, Jones & Cuneo 2009; Snow 2013; Tuohy 2012) have depicted the sexualisation of children as a prevailing social matter which accentuate concepts represented in moral panic discourse. In everyday practices of reporting public and social events, moral panic frequently becomes elicited by society’s mass mediated exaggeration of certain social events. What becomes apparent from Critcher’s work (2003), is how understandings of public incidents become portrayed as concerning through socially constructed and distorted notions of panic which become widely adopted views. As Cohen (1972) suggests, moral panic becomes a state of panic through the encouragement of important social agents which believe that an ideological perspective is threatened or endangered by a particular view. Thereby to accentuate these notions using moral panic discourse, this essay will investigate whether representations of sexualised children constitute a moral panic contrived by mediated distortions or is truly a concerning societal issue through an analysis of the processual and attributional model (Critcher 2003). Drawing on both discursive models of moral panic will allow a thorough investigation of the catalysts for moral panic involving the sexualisation of children. This paper will demonstrate how moral panic discourse
In the riveting documentary Audrie & Daisy, husband and wife director team Bonnie Cohen and Jon Shenk retrace the events leading up to the harrowing sexual assaults of three teenage girls; Audrie Pott, Daisy Coleman, and Paige Parkhurst, and expose the agonizing after effects and exploitation of the assaults. Subsequent interviews with family members, friends and law enforcement officials give important details about the aftermath of the events, and introduce viewers to possibly the biggest villain of all, Sherriff Darren White of Maryville, Missouri. Throughout the documentary White appears smug when he states that “as County Sheriff, “the buck stops here” (Darren White), and when asked about the crimes committed by Maryville’s football star, he rebuts with “was there a crime?” (Darren White). As the film moves through the twists and turns of the cases, the settings, conflicts, and tragedies are enhanced by the use of montage, long and subjective shots, close-ups and personal sketches that submerge the audience into the victim’s point of view. At the conclusion of the film, the viewer is left to decide what constitutes sexual assault and rape, and if society and law enforcement are to blame for today’s ‘rape culture’ acceptance and the continued victimization of young girls. It also reveals how much can be hidden from parents, and how disconnected they can become from their children in a social media world.
Sexual transgression and sexual exploration is one of the most highly talked about topics in today’s society. The path to sexual liberation within society begins with experimentation and exploration, followed by personal acceptance, and finally, although not always, societal acceptance. Although we have come a long way on the path of acceptance of different sexual transgressions, the stories of Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, Tennessee Williams’ “Vieux Carre,” and Lyle Saxon’s “The Centaur Plays Croquet” show that this type of acceptance has not always been the case. Each story plays an integral role when looking at the steps on the path to societal acceptance. Chopin 's story dives deep into the area of experimentation and exploration, whereas Saxon 's story looks more at the areas of personal acceptance, and Williams ' story lies more along the area of societal acceptance, and whether or not acceptance is always the end result.
As time progresses on, more reports of child sexual abuse (CSA) have been documented. According to Colangelo and Cooperman, CSA is defined as “the use of a child under 18 years of age as an object of gratification for adult sexual needs and desires.” Another definition of CSA is “sexual abuse [that] occurs whenever one person dominates and exploits another by means of sexual activity or suggestion.” (Hall, M., & Hall, J., 2011) it is difficult to
Sexual Revolution and Changing Adolescence The short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” by Joyce Carol Oates can be viewed as both a metaphor of the sexual revolution and its consequences on youth in the 20th century and a thematic image of the struggle to understand sexuality and vanity as an adolescent in modern society ruled by sexualized media. Oates published this short story in the 1960s, in a climate of post-war celebration and sexual revolution with the rise of birth control and the decline of sexual abstinence due to a less uber-religious America. This world context gives insight to the extended metaphor that is this story and also shows how this seemingly horrific story of a pedophile attacking a young woman is not what it appears.
With the Pandora’s Box opened, we may find ourselves forced to rediscover morality due to our natural tendencies. This does not mean accepting adult-child relationships. Figure 3 indicates if we are serious about protecting children, then that ultimately requires some level of understanding, which is a problem for most because that is dangerously close to compassion. On the contrary, the risk they pose is the very reason why we need to support pedophiles who do not want to become sex offenders. We all want the same thing. We do not want them to offend nor their potential victims to offend. In 2008, Michael Seto, a forensic psychologist, published a book stating that the onset of pedophilia is right around the stages of puberty, as with any other sexual orientation. I believe we can prevent a greater number of victims if we put more energy into early detection and providing support before the first offense occurs, rather than solely relying on punishment after the fact. We need to be thinking about the children that pedophiles once were and catch them at their vulnerable stages, which are during puberty. There we can find a sense of compassion and support to want to help. In 2014, Margo Kaplan, an associate professor at Rutgers School of Law, wrote an op-ed in New York Times stating that pedophilia is neurologically rooted, supporting Cantor’s research.
Joyce Oates wrote the popular story “Where Are You going, Where Have You Been?” that features a powerful message about the relationships between sexual predators and their victims. By writing this story, Oates brings awareness to an important issue: child sexual abuse. A research article written by Margareta Hallberg and E.M. Rigne states that “sexual relations between children and adults is an issue that has been and continues to be problematic in all types of societies” (141). The main character is a 15-year-old girl named Connie who forms a fascination with an older guy who is referred to as Arnold Friend. At the beginning of the story, she meets him while out with some friends and he said to her, “Gonna get you, baby” (Oates 206). All throughout her summer, she dreams of him and the times they could share together. Little does she know, Arnold Friend is keeping tabs on her and her family, with the hope and intent to eventually kidnap and abuse her as the story reveals. By the end of the story, he and his friend are at her house ready to make a move, and Connie’s response is a pivotal part of the story’s plot line. By giving insight of the psychological impact and thought process of sexual abuse victims and their predators, Oates creates a story that accurately portrays the response and actions of a victim and a predator in this context.
Cohen, Seghorn, and Calmas (1969) described three types of child molesters derived from their clinical studies. One type had a history of relatively normal functioning and the incident of molestation appears to reflect a reaction to a severe threat to their sense of sexual adequacy. Another type had a history of poor social-sexual functioning and is regarded as primitive and immature in terms of social-sexual skills. The last type they found in their study had offenses involving cruel and vicious assaults on children and the act of molestation is regarded as more aggressive then sexual. (Mc Creary, 1975)
The representation of sex and sexuality is an issue that occurs repeatedly in children’s and young adult literature, often being challenged by adults for unsuitable content. Maurice Sendak’s In The Night Kitchen, Francesca Lia Block’s Weetzie Bat, and Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki’s This One Summer are all pieces of literature that have been challenged because of the way that sex has been represented. For Sendak’s children’s book, Mickey is shown with full frontal nudity.
In John Patrick Shanley’s play, “Doubt: A Parable”, and Paula Vogel’s play, “How I Learned to Drive”, both have strong themes of sexuality in the forms of sexual predation and pedophilia. Although these two stories are considerably different, the message is the same. “Doubt” is a play that concerns a mystery over whether or not a boy (Donald) has been raped by a priest, and “How I learned to Drive” is a play about a woman (Li’l Bit) who reminisces about the sexual molestation and the emotional manipulation she had to endure at the hands of her uncle. Although these plays both have main theme of sexuality, they each have vastly different settings, desires, and outcomes. In this essay, I will compare and contrast the theme of sexuality in both of these plays.
Child pornography has been present in society for centuries, but has only recently become more accessible through the development of the printing press and subsequently, the technology of the Internet. Until the mid-1990s, "illegal child pornography [had only] involved depictions of actual children engaged in sexually explicit
Central Idea (Thesis Statement): Most people fear the fact’s of child molestation, but the truth is there is a very distinct definition to child molestation, severe effects to the child in the aftermath, and a long road to a successful recovery.