Webcamming’ is the modern day equivalent of the centuries old remunerative peeping toms industry. It is a virtual world that entertains an expanse of innumerable sexual desires. These desires are performed in exchange for money or goods from within the homes of both the performer and the voyeur (Sammy Said. 2013).
This paper has been based around primary research with one Webcam Girl in particular. From reading Nicole Westermarland’s (2001) ideas surrounding ethics of feminist research, a qualitative rather than quantitative method of research was chosen with one Webcam Girl to ensure a rounded depiction of what affects the profession can have on the psyche. The adoption of a conversational type interview was used to understand the complexities of The Webcam Phenomena. These methods will be explained in Chapter 1. A second layer of voyeurism was noted when researching this recent profession, raising an ethical issue; caution was required not to abuse the role of researcher to offer a rounded insight into this unknown world.
The functionality of a Webcam Girl will be explored as well as a brief history of its origin in Chapter 2. An attempt to explain some of the reasons behind the profession’s taboo, and the negative preconceptions that are held in association with this line of work will also be examined.
There is a level of narcissism found within the practice, due to the computer screen acting as a mirror. Jacques Lacan’s theory of The Split Self (Terry Gamel. 2009)
Feminists that approach analyzing popular culture proceed from a variety of theoretical positions that carry with them a deeper social analysis and political agenda. Popular culture has been a critical part of feminist analysis. “Cultural politics are crucially important to feminism because they involve struggles over meaning” (Storey, Intro 136). Analyzing a piece of pop culture through a feminist viewpoint, whether it be a music video or any sort of media, opens up a broader discussion about the structure of our patriarchal society and the ways in which politics are constantly portrayed and
Anti-porn feminists believe that pornography is humiliating to women and turns them into sexual objects that satisfy men’s sexuality. But McElroy disagree saying that when it is analyzed critically it means nothing. Humans only are the ones known to have sexuality then how can objects have sexuality. McElroy basing on this concludes saying that anti-porn feminists who believes in this are lessening their fellow’s dignity. In her article McElroy continues to disagree with this saying that there is nothing shameful on focusing on woman’s
The documentaries Dream World 3 and Killing Us Softly 4 examine the exploitation of women within the media. The media, such as advertisement and the music video industry, relies heavily on the seductive image of female sexuality. Evident in not only every genre of music, but also every form of advertisement, the videos and advertisements expose and, subsequently sexualize the female body. Such sexualization inevitable leads to
Viewers must voyeuristically peer into the work, feeling as if they are trespassing into an intimate family space. Thus, Galindo at the same time highlights the conflict between the domestic nature of the work and its political impact.
Professor’s Comment: This powerful essay contrasts the views of two feminist, Catherine MacKinnon and Sallie Tisdale, each of which perceives pornography in widely divergent ways. While MacKinnon's 'Not A Moral Issue' explains the adverse impacts of pornography to women and society as a whole, Tisdale's 'Talk Dirty to Me: An Intimate Philosophy of Sex' is receptive to pornography despite these adverse impacts, suggesting in fact that the solution to the problems associated with pornography is a greater role of women in production of that pornography.
When one contemplates the concept of eugenics, few think of modern contraception and abortion when in reality they are one in the same. The American Eugenics Society, founded in 1923, proudly proclaimed that men with incurable “conditions” should be sterilized. However these conditions were often none that could be helped, such as, one’s intelligence, race, and social class (Schweikart and Allen 529-532). The purpose of the society was to create the perfect class of men; elite in all ways. Likewise, Margaret Sanger’s feminist, contraceptive movement was not originally founded with this purpose. It was marketed as a way to control the population and be merciful to those yet to be born, again determined also by race and
What are the issues of watching and voyeurism in film? The intention of this essay is to discuss both films (The Truman Show, 1998 and Rear Window, 1954) alongside established theoretical criticism (Laura Mulvey and Norman K. Denzin) in an attempt to demonstrate how the issues of watching and voyeurism, as seen in todays mainstream Hollywood cinema, both engages and entices the spectator and to look at how the definition of the voyeur has changed. Before entering into a discussion about voyeurism in Rear Window and The Truman Show, an understanding of what is meant by ‘the dynamics of voyeurism’ in film must be attempted. The dictionary definition of a voyeur is: (1) a person who gains sexual pleasure from watching others when they are
The author points toward the definition of sexualization by borrowing APA’s description stating ,” In 2010, the APA released a report on the sexualization of girls, which it described as portraying a girl's value as coming primarily from her sexual appeal.” and further adds to show where it’s found rampant, and the damage that is seemly spread, “It found increased sexualization in magazines, by marketers, in music lyrics, and on television – a phenomenon that includes "harm to the sexualized individuals themselves, to their interpersonal relationships, and to society." One of the biggest markets for sexualization is on the internet, the self-evident point made by the author saying, “Children often come across Internet pornography unintentionally:University of New Hampshire researchers found in 2005 that one-third of Internet users ages 10 to 17 were exposed to unwanted sexual material, and a London School of Economics study in 2004 found that 60 percent of children who use the Internet regularly come into contact with pornography.” Although they may be facts and research statistics, the article how a powerful pathos appeal by the startling realization of how easily exposed children are to pornography. The article shows how dangerous this phenomon is, however not without a
In this book, the writer critically explore the world of camgirls and their viewers from 2000 until 2004. The phenomenon of camgirl is an online sexual practice that is a large part of cyber sexuality. The book also give general information about the involvement of internet and life. Topics such as work of web and digital era, challenges of network society, presentation of self, branding and publicity. Senft explains that the act of people in such a network gets relational, by complexing private, public and pornographic (p. 117). The writer also talks about “familiar stranger”, which comes from Stanley Milgram, and explains about it more in her other article “microcelebrity”.
From 1980-1990, video dating started where you could go to a facility make a video and watch the video of the opposite sex and choose a mate. Then we had the cell phone mobile app where you could do something called “sexting” with your partner or a person of interest. Other computer sites were created like “Adult Friend Finder” another form of computer dating. The technology here is the video recorder, video monitor of tv, VCR, computer, and mobile
There are many ways to define trolling. Although both authors acknowledgement this issue exists, their definitions and the possible resolutions they each offer are as based on their own perceptions. This is a good example of why it’s so hard to resolve this overall issue under our constitutional right to free speech to begin with. Everyone perceives the problem and solutions in their own, individual way.
In addition to the more tangible effects on adolescents, in one section of the article Ms. Turkle delves into the psychoanalytic ramifications; how this tethered lifestyle can affect narcissism; how it applies to Erik Erikson’s theories of child development, and in the end concludes that “By Erikson’s standards, the selves formed in the cacophony of online spaces are not protean but juvenile. Now I suggest that the culture in which they develop tempts them into narcissistic ways of relating to the world.”(Turkle 436). I find these worries unmoving. What Erik Erikson would make of modern connected society
Thesis – Multiple outlooks have been taken on the ethics of pornography, and the means by which it may either negatively influence power in sexuality, or actually provide some sort of social value and worth. These different ethical perspectives display the flaws in the industry and what it represents; yet they also end up proving the fact that it can be modified with positive influence and that pornography is not something to be deemed utterly unethical.
Sex culture in modern day Japan has demonstrated to be an integral part of their cultural identity and is more progressive than any other countries. Japan’s sex culture has surpassed boundaries that are standardized in other countries. The West sees the Japanese as emotionless, controlled and even sexless. Publicly they are shy, reserved and terribly proper, however Japan is an extreme contradiction. If we examine the surface of their culture, the private life of these Japanese people can be a real eye opener. The role of sexuality and more specifically the role of pornography in women’s lives is perhaps the biggest debate among the people from the West. This paper will examine how pornography is gendered in Japan and the effects of this to the West. It will also delve into the Japanese cultural identity and its contradistinction to the American cultural identity. An important argument that people may debate about is the fact that Japanese people have the oddest sexual culture that outstands their cultural identity.
The idea that pornography gives feminists of differing opinions this middle ground that they can meet on and see how to articulate the different desires of feminism and what they want to turn it into is one of the main reasons Catherine Lumby argues that feminists need pornography (par 60). As Lumby writes in “Why Feminists Need Porn,” chapter five of her book Bad Girls, “the notion that you can draw a cause and effect line between fantasy and social practice is disturbing and distasteful to some feminists,” (par 60).