The Pros and Cons of Pornography Essay

Susan Brownmiller indisputably believes that the inappropriate visual of pornography degrades and devours women in the eyes of society. The author states “pornography represents hatred of a women, that pornography’s intent is to humiliate, degrade and dehumanize the human body for the purpose of erotic stimulation and pleasure. The blunt statement left no question on how Brownmiller felt on the effect of improper uses of pornography on

Pornography is commonly used in many cultures across the world. Within the United States, alone, roughly 40 million people regularly visit porn sites (Streep, 2014). And yet, despite its growing popularity, only a handful of studies have explored pornography’s potential effects on sexual satisfaction for those in exclusive relationships (Bridges & Morokoff, 2011; Daneback et al., 2009; Maddox et al., 2011; Stewart & Szymanski, 2012; Stulhofer et al., 2010; Zillmann & Bryant, 1988). As using pornography can potentially have negative effects on both the user’s and their intimate partner’s sexual satisfaction, it is important to

Pornography is a controversial subject all around the world. Part of its appeal is its taboo nature. It has been argued that pornography is harmful. Porn is an underground market that is more or less legal but is it harmful? An article written by Diana E.H. Russell in “Dangerous Relationships: Pornography, Misogyny, and Rape” argues that it is. Diana E.H. Russell is a sociology professor. She has researched the issue and argues that pornography is profoundly harmful. Professor Russell believes that it inclines men to want to rape women and that it encourages them to act out rape fantasies. However, Michael C. Seto disputes Professor Russell's theory that pornography is harmful. Michael Seto's article, written with

The controversy and perspective of women against pornography is one of the most beetling debates waged between modern-day feminists amongst themselves as well as between other opinionated individuals. As defined in this essay, pornography is any printed or visual material containing the explicit description or display of sexual organs or activity, intended to arouse erotic, sexual rather than aesthetic or emotional feelings. The growing feminist population hosts many apprehensions as well as positive outlooks concerning the pornography industry and its portrayal of women, thus causing it to be a highly debated affair amongst those that share contrasting opinions on the matter. With the increasing interest on the matter, more feminists develop reasoning as to why they either support or oppose pornography. A copious number of those that oppose pornography believe it regresses the movement of feminist in its entirety.

From a young age, girls are put under pressure to be sexually appealing for those around her. But women, being people who still have biological needs and desires to be fulfilled, have rarely been offered a direct but safe pathway into sexual self-discovery other than through experience, which carries the risks of sexual assault, unwanted pregnancy, and STI acquisition. Men have an entire industry dedicated to fulfilling their sexual desires—the porn industry’s treatment of women is nothing to bat an eye at. Off screen, girls grow up being treated as sexual objects from a young age, surrounded by sexy women in advertising, movies, and TV. Having to deal with others’ “schoolgirl” fantasies and the idea of being “jailbait” make it hard for a woman at the apex of puberty to safely explore her developing sexuality. Girls also grow up with a ridiculous double standard telling them to avoid being sexy while avoiding prudishness: to dress conservatively if they don’t want to get assaulted, but to show some skin because nobody likes a bore. Speaking from experience, it gets tiring being told to be two things at once in order to please somebody else, and media has a powerful effect on how women see themselves, as stated by Katie Barnes in her piece, On The Importance Of Media Representation

However, no explanation is given for how the connection between pornographic representations and beliefs or physical actions is made. As Demare, Lips and Briere note in their study of the relationship between pornography and violence, as much as we may want it to, correlation does not prove a causal relationship. While MPW demonstrates the prevalence of sexual abuse within pornographic material and within society, the only explanation as to how the consumption of pornography is directly related to violence against women amounts to little more than an extended, poetic variation of “monkey see, monkey do”. Dworkin’s information on pornography-based violence, as she states in the introduction of her book, is partially based on one-step-removed accounts of pornography by “only a few of the thousands” of women who she says to have known personally, all of which blame porn as the catalyst of their sexual assault. Other sources include novels, pornographic fiction, excerpts from the biographies of Marquis de Sade and Marilyn Monroe, and excerpts from ‘scientific’ works by Alfred Kinsey and his co-workers - none of which contain a sex-positive perspective on female sexuality. Dworkin’s sources, listed in the ‘Notes’ section of her book, are many, and paint a heart-wrenching image of pornography and female heterosexuality at the time of the book’s publication. One cannot deny the extent to which women endured family sexual abuse, rape, battery, and coercion during the

Andrea Dworkin and Catharine A. Mackinnon(Feminist Perspectives), are just two of the women that have stood up against pornography. There are a plethora of feminist see pornography as a way to keep women oppressed and subjected to man. Almost as if porn is taking women in a step backwards.Mackinnon believes porn is an act of sexual violence (McElroy) and Dworkin sees it as sexist and a “deliberate means of subordinating women to men” (Feminist Perspectives). Dworkin and Mackinnon collectively view pornography as not a form of speech, but as an active discrimination and violence against women (Feminist Perspectives). Popular pornography includes abusive scenes and language that is extremely derogatory towards women. Through research it is also believed that due to the acts of violence and sexual abuse depicted in pornography it is causing men to reenact and bring what they’ve watched to life (Purcell).

Another argument is that pornography causes the mental health issues and low self-esteem in women. The idea is that women who self-objectify have low self-esteem, prompting phrases like “Don’t you have any respect for yourself?” Well, as it turns out, they have about as much self- respect as the average college aged girl.

It can be argued that pornography silences women. The clips may be used to convince people that women who turn down men’s sexual advances are mean. Many feminists fail to understand why pornography has much influence in the

In today’s culture, sex is worshipped. From the television shows we watch to the billboards we pass on the freeway, sexually explicit material permeates itself into our world whether it is conscious or not. Research shows that this type of material has the greatest effect on women, children, and marriages. Women and children are the most obvious choice among those assuming the affect this material has on our society, but what many forget is the affect it has on marriage. The women shown in commercials, ads, and movies are far from an ordinary woman. They are perfect. What men, and women, see is an unrealistic expectation of what women today should look like. Another harmful product of today’s sexually acceptable material is pornography. Men and women alike find completely unrealistic sexual scenarios in which they let deeply affect their sexuality. When conducting research, school psychologist and Master of Education Julienne Colbow concludes that this type of material may or may not bother women or “change their attitudes”. She even goes to state that the data is “inconclusive” as to whether or not women really care about the affect this material has on them. Regardless of the way women feel about this type of material in general, I plan to argue the point that this material is detrimental to women, children, and marriages. Sexually explicit material and

Violence against women in pornography has become commonplace: force, humiliation, torture, degradation and so forth make impuissance erotic (Dworkin 28 & 35). Sexual abuse can be categorized as: “you do what I say,” and it is precisely this type of scenario that becomes sexuality (MacKinnon 325). Thus the violation of women through a power dynamic defines American eroticism (MacKinnon 325). Acceptance of rape as normal sexual behavior becomes sex (MacKinnon 330). Pornography endorses a rape culture through the depiction of forcible violence as central to sexual behavior (MacKinnon 329). The portrayal of human degradation is to recommend immoral behaviors and ascribe them normalcy. Male supremacy is defined, maintained and romanticized by the permeation of pornography in our society (MacKinnon

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).

Centerfold syndrome, previously mentioned and encouraged by explicit material, causes women to be viewed as sexual objects and as bodies to be conquered (Tylka 98). The objectifying and degrading content of pornography is typically aimed against women creating negative body-image and self-esteem for the benefit of sexual pleasure. Gender role conflict is often a concern with viewing pornographic material and is said to “be related to negative and stereotypical thinking about women, hostility towards women, acceptance of rape myths, sexual entitlement, sexually aggressive behavior and/or the likelihood of forcing sex, and positive attitudes toward and tolerance for sexual harassment” (Szymanski and Stewart-Richardson 65). This creates problems within both society and relationships against females and can place women in victimized situations. The attributes of the women featured in sexually explicit material for male audiences are the standards that most women are pressured to uphold. Pornography creates a dehumanized and sexual perception of women and causes unrealistic expectations and harmful

the issue of pornography requires a logical analysis and ample reaction. An scrutiny of the

In recent years, pornography has established itself as perhaps the most controversial topic arising out of the use of the Internet. The easy availability of this type of sexually explicit material has caused a panic among government officials, family groups, religious groups and law enforcement bodies and this panic has been perpetuated in the media.