Andrea Dworkin
Andrea Dworkin has been an influential write, speaker, and activist for over two decades. She claims to be a feminist, and that her ideas are beneficial to women. This paper will show that many of her most popular beliefs are not only detrimental to society, but also not in the best interests of women.
In letters from a war zone, Andrea Dworkin presents a collection of speeches and short articles she has composed during her career as a writer and activist. Many of her articles deal with censorship and pornography. One claim is central to all of these, pornography is an act and not an idea, thus censorship is not relevant to it.
In response to a New York Time Review of her 1981 book, Pornography: Men
Possessing Women, Dworkin writes, “Pornography says the women want to be hurt, forced, and abused; pornography says women want to be raped, battered, kidnapped, maimed; pornography says women want to be humiliated, shamed, defamed, pornography says that women say no but mean yes - Yes to violence, yes to pain.”
(Dworkin p 203)
In response to Dworkin's fiery rhetoric, Wendy Mcelroy writes that
Dworkin has scientific backing and even cites evidence to the contrary. “In
Japan, where pornography depicting violence is widely available, rape is much lower per capita than in the United States, where violence in porn is restricted.” Mcelroy attacks the belief that pornography cause violence, stating that even if a correlation is present, is does not necessarily mean there is a causal relationship. (McElroy 102)
Lynne Segal sees in inherent harm in trying to link the two together.
She believes that feminists who try to do so are wasting valuable time that could be spent on other important issues. “In the end, anti-pornography campaigns, feminist or not, can only enlist today, as they have invariously enlisted before, guilt and anxiety around sex, as well as lifetimes of confusion in our personal experiences of sexual arousal and activity.” “In contrast, campaigns which get to the heart of men's violence and sadism towards women must enlist the widest possible resources to empower socially.” (Gibson 19)
Another argument of Dworkin's is that pornography should not be protected as free speech under the first amendment. It is her contention that protecting what pornographers say, is protecting what pornography does.
Pornography is more than words. They are acts against women. “Pornography happens to women.” As a result, bans on such material are warranted, not only because it is harmfully and discriminatory to women, but also because there are no civil liberties that are violated in preventing an act.
Accordingly, “pornography can be considered mainstream” (page 460, paragraph 1, line 5), said the author. However, there were problems brought up since the pornography glorify the violence and crimes, and it had no difficulties in being shown in mass media. Jean Kilbourne, though, did not place all the blame on advertising when she pointed out: “Ads don’t directly cause violence, of course. But the violent images contribute to the state of terror” (page 466, paragraph 2, line 1). Such erroneous attitudes are known to be existed as: “women are valuable only as objects of men’s desire, that real men are always aggressive, that violence is erotic, and that women who are the victims of sexual assault “ask for it”” (page 478, paragraph 5, line 2). The impact it made on women well-being is dreadful when it comes with them along their journey through life starting from being misbelieved as young to ending up with self
To sufficiently take a side in the ever-growing debate of pornography, one must first define the concept around which this discourse surrounds itself. A working definition for pornography is a piece of material that has the object purpose of arousing erotic feelings. Radical feminists, however, strictly define it as “the act of sexual subordination of women” (Dworkin 1986).
So after Emperor Hirohito continued to ignore the threat on August 6th, 1945 Little Boy was aimed over Hiroshima Japan and dropped. This atomic bomb destroyed the little city and killed at least 66,000 individuals. Hirohito continued the fight and refused to surrender unconditionally. A few days later it was the decision to drop the plutonium bomb (Much stronger than Little Boy) named Fat Man over an untouched and unscathed area in Japan. The choice that was made was to bomb Nagasaki. On August 9th, 1945 the bomb was dropped and missed the target and hit the side of a mountain. The destruction was phenomenal and would have been even more devastating if the bomb had hit it 's intended target. Over 39,000 people had died in this
As the American Library Association notes, books are usually banned "with the best intention…to protect others, frequently children, from difficult ideas and information." (Brunner). If a book has frightening or controversial ideas in them, adults willing often censor that book from children. From 2000 to 2009, of the 5,099 challenges that were reported, 1,639 of these challenges were in school libraries and 30 challenges in academic libraries. (Frequently Challenged Books). At various times in American history, even some of the tamest books have been banned. Harriet the Spy, was banned because it supposedly taught children to "lie, spy, back-talk, and curse." Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl was banned for being too depressing. A Light in the Attic, by Shel Silverstein, was banned because it might encourage kids to break dishes so they won't have to dry them. (Frequently Challenged Books). While some of these excuses are more reasonable than other excuses, the banning of these books prevents the children from empathizing...
Upon entering World War II as a result of Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the United States faced the burden of fighting two dangerous military powers: Germany and Japan. Germany was developing new, secret weapons that could very likely be a potential threat to the United States. It had been reported that German scientists were experimenting with splitting the atom, which would release an enormous amount of energy.1 Whoever was successful with this tactic had the power to control the world. After receiving this information, President Harry Truman went into shock. The United States began atomic research shortly after with the help of physicists Leo Szilard and Albert Einstein.2 This effort was code-named the Manhattan Project, which took place in Los Alamos, New Mexico. The project involved more than half a million people working to design and predict the results of an atomic bomb. After spending two billion dollars, a test called Trinity was cond...
To draw into the poet’s world, the poet must draw relations between them, including the reader, making them feel what the poet feels, thinking what the poet thinks. Wilfred Owen does this very creatively and very effectively, in both of his poems, Dulce et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori and Anthem of Doomed Youth, who is seen as an idol to many people today, as a great war poet, who expresses his ideas that makes the reader feel involved in the moment, feeling everything that he does. His poems describe the horror of war, and the consequences of it, which is not beneficial for either side. He feels sorrow and anger towards the war and its victims, making the reader also feel the same.
In his defense, “Pap always said it warn’t no harm to borrow things, if you was meaning to pay them back, sometime; but the widow said it warn’t anything but a soft name for stealing, and no decent body would do it” (75). Huck is morally conflicted because he has two different belief systems to choose from, forcing him to pick his battle and interpret what is right and wrong in his own terms. On the one hand, his dad genuinely believes that the stolen item is borrowed if the stealer has the intention of paying it back to the original owner. On the other hand, the widow argues that taking anything that has not yet been paid for is stealing; there is no such thing as borrowing in the given situation. This prompts Huck to establish his own middle ground and make a compromise between the two. He decides to choose three items that he would no longer borrow, and that puts him at ease. Upon closer examination, his decision is a critical one because it shows his moral position evolving. He does not follow any of the beliefs imposed on him by his father or the widow. In fact, he adopts a new system to live by, one that caters most to his values. Ultimately, Huck does more than defying society; he rejects the beliefs he has been brought up by, which gains him the ability to grow into his own system
There are many books that have been put on a list for many years that has been banned or is banned from people or more likely children under the age of 17. These books were banned because one of the many officials, pare...
Growing up as a child, parent’s shelter their children as much as they cannot allowing them to take in negativity and vulgarity in the world, but what happens when they go to school and talking amongst other children? Some parents do not always shelter their children as much, letting them know what is happening in the world at a much younger age than others. Teachers, but mainly government, try to correct what they think is wrong by censoring what content children can and cannot read. Censoring books should not be allowed today because children are maturing at a younger age; they are exposed to more vulgar content now with cellphones than when reading a book such as The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, or a modern title like the Harry Potter series (American Library Association). Censoring books should not be allowed since children are maturing at a younger age; that is, children and teenagers should be able to choose whether or not they if they think books are too vulgar for their own preference.
(Goldberg, par. 3). Every year on the last week of September there is the National Banned Books Week. It is an exciting time where there are special readings of banned books. It is also the times where the newspaper prints off the threats from the American Library Association to have the freedom to read. Last year on Banned Books week the ALA’s official magazine, American Libraries, ran a story headlined, “Book banning alive and well in the U.S.” What do books from the Twilight series, To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Hunger Games have in common? They all have faced removal from library bookshelves in the United States within the past year. It is understandable why the Twilight series have been banned, because of the romance and make believe characters. Some parents caution their children who might read them and get their heads glued to the possibility of having a romance like that in the future. The reason of To Kill a Mockingbird being banned is racism and violence. It is a simply written book that many Junior High students can read, but only in high school are they able to read it. The popular Hunger Games series was banned form the graphic violence and it gave some kids nightmares. ( Piesyk, Par. 1) Some parent believes that violent books are the cause of all the violence that is happening in the world at this moment. With the parents complaining about the books that are available to the students, their words are what bring t...
When women’s desires are less worthy of concern or not worthy of concern at all, it becomes evident that the hookup culture promotes women being used as a tool or a means to an end for male satisfaction. According to the Kantian moral theory, the culture is immoral because the woman is no longer being respected. The ambiguity of the hookup culture couple with societal effects of inegalitarian porn, according to Eaton’s “A Sensible Anti-Porn Feminist” and power imbalances in the sexes creates a culture that fosters rape. Women are placed in predicaments where they have to give in to pushy, coercive behavior by men who want to go further than the women intends to. Even if a woman feels liberated by participating in the hookup culture, that doesn’t mean she wants to go all the way, with every partner, every time. The objectification of women and rape are two serious and harmful effects of the hookup culture.
Both Altman and Brison write their opposing sides of pornography. Pornography is defined as “the graphic sexually explicit subordination of women through pictures or words that also includes women dehumanized as sexual objects, things, or commodities; enjoying pain or humiliation or rape; being tied up … injury, torture, shown as filthy or inferior; bleeding, bruised, or hurt in a context that makes these conditions sexual” (Brison, 378-379).
Pornography can be defined as printed or visual material displaying erotic descriptions or visuals of sexual body parts or sexual activity, and is largely aimed to appeal to a male audience through sexual scenarios which often dehumanize and exploit women and their bodies. Though largely, pornography is is designed to please a masculinized audience, there are some feminists, from multiple genders, who aim to “reclaim their right to enjoy sexual images without violence and negativity” (Klinger). Ideally, pornography would be a context in which there would be a conscious movement towards eliciting a healthy reclamation of sexually charged images from all genders- especially women. Those against pornography usually emphasize the specifics of porn as it occurs in modern culture. Oftentimes anti-pornography feminists point out the extremely male-oriented vision of sexuality, the sexism, and with descriptions such as: “women presented as dehumanized sexual objects, things, or commodities; shown as enjoying humiliation, pain, or sexual assault; tied up, mutilated, or physically hurt; depicted in postures or positions of sexual submission or servility; shown with body parts- including though not limited to vagina, breast, or buttocks- exhibited such that women are reduced to those parts; women penetrated by animals or objects; and women presented in scenarios of degradation, humiliation, or torture, shown as filthy or inferior, bleeding, bruised, or hurt in a context that makes these conditions sexual” (MacKinnon). As the pornography industry is now, it contributes to the ideals of rape culture by fetishizing femininity and female “fragility” and/or “innocence”. This obviously misogynistic practice also creates a reliance on understanding...
The minds of children are the most impressionable. Children are not born with any predetermined judgments or ideas about controversial subjects. They do not know what racism, homophobia, or discrimination are, or how to practice them. They are not born knowing what religion they will practice, or even what religion is. This fact about children is among the reasons that children's literature is as important as it is. For as long as humans have been creating them, there have been books that have been considered controversial. Children's books are no different. There have been children's books that have been banned from various places or groups, such as religious groups, schools, and even entire countries. The reasons behind the banning of these books vary, and the criticism of censorship as a practice is an issue that is widely debated. One modern book series that has been censored in varies outlets is the Harry Potter series by J.K Rowling.
To some, pornography is nothing more than a few pictures of scantily clad Women in seductive poses. But pornography has become much more than just Photographs of nude women. Computer technology is providing child molesters and child pornographers with powerful new tools for victimizing children. Pornography as "the sexually explicit depiction of persons, in words or images, Sexual arousal on the part of the consumer of such materials. No one can prove those films with graphic sex or violence has a harmful effect on viewers. But there seems to be little doubt that films do have some effect on society and that all of us live with such effects.