The LGBT community uses pornography for their erotic needs just like the heterosexual community. Similarly, they are present in pornography just as straight people are present. The lines between heterosexual and LGBT are blurred by the industry though, as Martin Amis from The Guardian writes about what porn-star Chloe tells him her prices are, “girl-girl: $700, plus $100 for an anal toy. Boy-girl: $900. Anal: $1,100. Solo [a rarity]: $500. [Double Penetration]: $1,500” (Chloe quoted in Amis). If a performer can get paid for all kinds of sexual acts, why would they limit themselves to just one? Therefore, people, no matter their identifying sexuality, can be in any kind of pornography. Interestingly enough however, homosexual, bisexual, …show more content…
Kangasvuo (2007) writes, “While bisexual women are presented as sexually uninhibited, experienced and open, bisexual men are presented as married and closeted gays who need a gay man to give them some cock” (p. 147). Even in this small quote, we see how not only does male bisexuality have a specific place, but a specific place in the heterosexual world; a man must first be married, legitimized in a heterosexual relationship, before he can be considered truly bisexual. Otherwise, men are at risk of being labeled as gay. Kangasvuo (2007) recounts a story in another one of the pornography magazines in her study where two men have sex often and have to valiantly prove they are not gay but, in fact, bisexual. They are told they both have to participate in a pornographic photo-shoot with a woman or no one will believe them. They do, and all seems well until, when going back over the pictures, it is discovered that one of the men never had his penis inside of the girl's vagina. Therefore, the editor concludes that he is gay. Kangasvuo (2007) goes on to write, “The story restores the binary sexual division, assuring reader that a man desiring other men is ultimately gay, independent of his self-identification or any other sexual acts that he may perform. Male bisexuality is ridiculously impossible since attraction …show more content…
. . The setting also has connotations of the remote, the separate, as in lesbian separatism or lesbian love life outside of hetero cities and hetero city limits, in an untouched zone where lesbians can express themselves freely and, although the scenes are shot out in the open, privately. (p. 175)
It was a good step towards normalizing lesbianism as an identity and not a quirk. Lesbians then went to be portrayed as suburb living middle ages women who had monogamous partners and jobs (Butler (2004) p. 179). They could be your neighbors; they are familiar. Homosexual lesbian pornography as opposed to heterosexual lesbian pornography gives lesbians this visible freedom of
In Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema, Mulvey states that, “Traditionally, the woman displayed has functioned on two levels: as erotic object for the characters within the screen story, and as erotic object for the spectator within the auditorium, with a shifting tension between the looks on either side of the screen.” (Mulvey 40). A woman’s role in the narrative is bound to her sexuality or the way she
Susan Brownmiller’s essay is directed towards the publishers of pornography, who knowingly publish for the public to see on a day-to-day basis. With this audience, her argument is mostly ineffective because of her harsh diction that does not appeal to the opposite sex. Other reasons the essay is ineffective are because of the sudden change in tone and scattered essay structure that leads the audience to become confused by unclear thoughts.
...of pornography as an expression that should be defended. I have described ways that pornography is currently being battled for in modern legislation, as well as the Liberal Feminist arguments for pornography as expression. The Radical Feminist arguments against pornography were addressed and negated, as not having any empirical support to their theoretical claims. Pornography has no substantial evidence in favor of harm to women, in terms of subjugation or violence, and therefore cannot be regulated as a form of free speech.
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.
In her essay “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema”, Laura Mulvey discusses the subject of how female characters, through various methods, are subjected to erotic objectification, by both the characters on screen as well as the spectators within the auditorium. While Mulvey makes an excellent point in acknowledging female’s exposure in cinema, she fails to realize that male characters are just as likely to be subjected to the same kind of objectification, depending on what type of audience the motion picture is directed at. Mulveys claim depends on a generalization of a homogenous audience and characters that only consists of heterosexual men. When transferring Mulveys claim onto homosexual male characters starring in a production that is in first-hand directed towards a gay audience, the erotic objectification of male characters share several similarities with those Mulvey describe women to be exposed to in her essay. Consequently, erotic objectification is governed by different circumstances, in which the audience plays a large role.
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?
Women celebrities often remark that the media negatively displays women and sexually objectifies them through many mediums such as film, TV, video games, and advertisements. However, there are many female stars that are willing to pose provocatively for a wide variety of men’s magazines such as Maxim, a European magazine targeted at men. Their hypocrisy in shooting the pictures invalidates the argument that men exploit female sexuality, as they are likewise eager to take those pictures. These women are so quick to jump at an opportunity to pose seductively for the camera, a...
Kristol’s article writes that pornography and the pornographic industry has always been dominated by men (491). Throughout the history of the United States, men have taken precedence over women in many aspects. Men were considered the workers of the family while women stayed home and acted as housewives or catered to the men. The idea of feminism and women’s equality, however, is growing throughout the nation. With feminism and women’s equality at large, society must progress toward eliminating male domination and allowing the extension for women's opportunities; therefore, pornography and the male-dominated industry should be limited by the government. Aside from men and the power statuses they hold in pornography, Gail Dines in her article “Facts and Figures” discloses information about the male tendencies after watching pornography. Men have been reported to support female rape, have aggressive behavior toward women, have a decreased sex drive toward wives or girlfriends, and desire forced sexual acts after viewing pornography (1). Despite America’s best effort to protect all citizens, in reality, females are typically victims of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, and pornography is a cause of such violence. Although it is a key factor that plays a role in causing violence and aggressive behavior toward women, Americans are able to easily access videos or films instantly because of modern technology and the lack of pornography censoring. Because of the tendency to cause abuse in the real world, pornography must be censored in order to ensure that women are granted equal amounts of safety and
In this paper, I will attempt to review the debate on pornography in Chapter 4 - State and Society - of Philosophy and Contemporary Issues, Seventh Edition by John R. Burr and Milton Goldinger.
Richlin, Amy (ed). (1992). Pornography and Representation in Greece and Rome. New York: Oxford University Press.
The media is a large part of our everyday lives; everywhere we go we can find a source of media. It influences our thoughts, feelings and behaviours every day as it is a huge influence in today’s society. Society heavily relies on the media to show them what is in the norm and what is going on in the world. The media also serves as another way to display the normative of the society. Sexuality is a big part in the media and what is appropriate sexuality. The media negatively affects the people who do not fit society’s ideal normative. This includes people with a sexuality that is not the normative of heterosexuality. In the media, these people of other sexualities are excluded and made to feel they do not fit into society. My pyramid shows how society classifies people by their sexuality in the media. This involves highlighting the normative sexuality and excluded any other sexuality from the mainstream media.
Laura Kipnis has described pornography as “an archive of data about...our history as a culture”. Therefore if, she described it as such, what can it tell us about the sexual history of the 20th century? Examining the history of the forms of archive from pornographic playing cards to blu-ray discs and the internet, this shows the ever changing form of how as a society we view pornography. From the forms of archive come the social implications of pornography. This will be examined through the 1986 Meese Commission in the United States of America into the pornographic industry. Finally, this exposition will also examine the differing views of Gay and Straight pornography and the changes that have taken over the 20th century. Overall, the 20th century was a fundamental shift in sexual attitudes towards pornography.
Over the past decades, media has constructed and manipulated women into being the main form of sexual pleasure for the male viewer. Pleasure in looking, scopophilia, is one of many possible types of pleasure that media presents. Scopophilia does not only present looking as a source of pleasure, but also the pleasure in being looked upon. Freud explains in his book, the three essays on the theory of sexuality (1905) that one of the main instincts of sexuality is scopophilia, and that scopophilia should be isolated as an independent source of pleasure because it does not depend on the erotogenic zones. Freud further demonstrates that “he associated scopophilia with taking other people as objects, subjecting them to a controlling and curious gaze” (Mulvey, 1975, p. 16.). As such, the theory of scopophilia does not only involve pleasure in being looked at and the pleasure in looking, but also the pleasure of looking at someone as an object. Freud ties scopophilia to the curiosity children show considering the human body and other people’s genitals. The media pleases the primitive lust of looking, while developing a narcissistic form of scopophilia in the audience (KILDE.
Rendering Cinema as visual equipment being perfected to satisfy and provoke male desires. (Smelik, 1999)
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