Feminists vs. Playboy Playmates
Naked women have been in the front of feminist's minds for several decades. Especially when they are pictured in soft-pornography magazine Playboy. Feminists for years have been yelling that Playboy is harmful to both men and women. Males around the country have countered that there is nothing wrong with their Playboy, it is merely a harmless vice. The problem I see with Playboy is not that it demeans women or subjugates them, and its not that it leads to violence. The main problem is that it fosters unrealistic images and expectation in men's minds about women. But since there is little we can do about it now, we merely need to take that first step and recognize Playboy for what it is doing to our nation's men.
Playboy has a definite culture surrounding it. The Playboy rabbit is almost as universal as a stop sign. Playboy is one of the most popular magazines in America. While Playboy Enterprises owns many different companies such as the Playboy Channel, Spice T.V., and the Playboy CyberClub, Hugh Hefner will forever be entwined with the Playboy magazine in men's minds. He embodies everything that we see as being a "Playboy," from the A-list pajama parties to the huge house and limo and the seven beautiful blond girlfriends. There is no doubt, Heffner started a small, under-funded men's magazine that has become a national icon. James Beggan says that Playboy has had a definite influence on society in the last quarter century (Beggan, 342). Is having a magazine that has pictures of naked females becoming an influential piece of our culture helpful? Feminists around the world would shout in unison NO.
The feminist critique of Playboy center...
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...Ace trade ed. New York: Berkley Pub. Group, 1991.
Hiebert, Rick. "A Hard Line Against Soft Porn." Report/Newsmagazine 5 February 2001: 47. Academic Search Elite. Palni SiteSearch. Goshen College Good Library. 10 March 2002. ASE Fulltext.
Martens, Ellin. "Hoop Dreams." Time 3 Sept. 2001: 97. Academic Search Elite. Palni SiteSearch. Goshen College Good Library. 10 March 2002. ASE Fulltext.
Orecklin, Michele. "Innocence Lost, Part II." Time 18 Feb. 2002: 83. Academic Search Elite. Palni SiteSearch. Goshen College Good Library. 10 March 2002. ASE Fulltext.
[1] Both the interviewees names have been changed at their request to protect their reputations.
[2] See Sara Diamond's paper in Women Against Censorship, she is talking about symbols and camera work in pornography and then somehow begins generalizing all pornography as violent.
Why do colleges ask for “race” when filling out an application? Does it really matter? It may seem like a simple question, but it is not. There has been a great deal of controversy over this question and other similar ones. Giving certain groups of people a competitive edge when they apply for schools and jobs is known as affirmative action. There are people who are directly opposed to it and those that support it completely. More often however, people agree with certain aspects of affirmative action and disagree with others. The following introduces a small sample of people who have talked about affirmative action and their views on it. Few of the results are factual but rather they are opinions. The hope is that by combing other author’s thoughts and views it will make it easier for an individual to formulate their own.
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
Rosenfeld, Michel. Affirmative Action and Justice: A Philosophical and Constitutional Inquiry. New Haven: Yale. 1991.
Johnson, John W. "Affirmative Action: Illiberal Education (1991): The Cost of Affirmative Action. “Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 2 Jan. 2014.
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).
After reading “McDonaldization of Society” I began to question the way our world works. George Ritzer and Max Weber are very intellectual and think way outside the box, and by coming up with these theories they have made it easier to identify the problems with our society. Should food be as easy to access via drive-throughs? This book remained unbiased throughout the whole read and provided facts about every-day living. Ritzer provided a commentary on the aspects of society that humans often do not think about questioning, such as the way food can be put out within two minutes in order to maintain customer satisfaction. This is not an opinion, but rather, it is fact. Businesses that follow the idea of McDonaldization are only destroying the aspects of life that make life liveable. I would recommend this book to anybody that is trying to expand their knowledge about living and how to get the most out of their lives. I would encourage everyone to put an end to the McDonaldization of civil society by going to the grocery store and spending an extra penny in order to prepare hardier, healthier meals that are made of ingredients other than highly processed foods. Afterall, living is more enjoyable when one is energetic and fit rather than stuffed and feeling lazy because they ordered a factory-packaged, frozen, then quickly grilled Big Mac off a
Susan Brownmiller is a feminist, the founder of Women Against Pornography, and an author of several books (57). The essay “Let’s Put Pornography Back in the Closet” comes from the book Take Back the Night, published in 1980 (57). She clearly wants to inform and persuade the audience of this essay to believe that pornography is degrading to women. In her introduction, Brownmiller tries to gain the reader’s sympathy by stating, “Free speech is one of the great foundations on which our democracy rests” (57). However, she does not think that pornography should be protected under the First Amendment. Her reasoning is biased and based on her own moral beliefs.
Affirmative action is an attempt by the United States to amend a long history of racial discrimination and injustice. Our school textbook defines affirmative action as “a program established that attempts to improve the chances of minority applicants for educational or employment purposes, although they may have the same qualifications, by giving them leverage so that they can attain a level that is equal to caucasian applicants” (Berman 522). There are people that support and oppose this issue. Opponents of affirmative action have many reasons for opposing this issue, one of them being that the battle for equal rights is over, and that this advantage made for people of color discriminates against people that are not of color. The people that defend affirmative action argue this advantage is needed because of how badly discriminated the people of color once were. Because of the discrimination that once was these people claim that they are at a disadvantage, and always have been, therefore equality of opportunity is needed. It is also said that affirmative action is used to encourage diversity and integration. This paper will discuss the history of affirmative action, how it is implemented in society today, and evaluate the arguments that it presents.
Ritzer, George (1993; revised edition 1996) _The McDonaldization of Society_. Thousand Oaks, Ca.: Pine Forge Press.
Innocence is usually associated with youth and ignorance. The loss of one’s innocence is associated with the evils of the world. However, the term “innocence” can be interpreted in a variety of ways. Similarly, the loss of one’s innocence can be interpreted in more than one way, and, depending on the interpretation, it may happen numerous times. The loss of innocence is culture specific and involves something that society holds sacrosanct.
The issue of Affirmative Action, preferences towards persons of racial minorities to compensate for prior discrimination, in college admissions is a quite complicated one. Many sides must be explored to gain a better understanding of the theories and views on this issue. It is not easily answered with a yes or no. Since its inception, Affirmative Action’s use has been a major debate in American society. Many questions are left to be investigated. Many believe that we should live in a society where preferential treatment could be eliminated, and admission to college is based solely on one’s merit and character, yet this view seems quite unrealistic.
Is affirmative action in higher education needed? This question provokes a myriad of emotions. Is affirmative action antiquated and unneeded in 21st century America? Or are the racial boundaries of this country’s ancestors still in effect? America’s Declaration of Independence states, “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” yet quotas, check marks, and plus factors give minority students advantages in the admission processes of the country’s universities and colleges (NARA).
Keel, Robert. 2010. “The McDonaldization of Society”. Introduction to Sociology, Sociology 1010. Retrieved October 1, 2011 (http://www.umsl.edu/%7Ekeelr/010/mcdonsoc.html
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.
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.