Private Dicks The film Private Dicks (Powers & Spadola, 1999) is a documentary of men discussing their penises while they are naked. They discuss their masturbation history, their penis size, loss of their virginity, and much more. The age range of the men goes from seventeen to seventy, and there is also a large diversity of races. A lot of the men are performers and entertainers, but others are lawyers, attorneys, students, and much more everyday occupations. Not only does occupation vary across the men, but so does sexual orientation. Some of the men identify as heterosexual while the others identify as homosexual or transsexual. This documentary (Powers & Spadola, 1999) takes what is considered a private matter and turns into a public …show more content…
matter. As I mentioned in the summary some of the main aspects of the film (Powers & Spadola, 1999) were penis size, masturbation, the loss of one’s virginity, circumcision, sexual orientation, and sexually transmitted diseases. For some men interviewed in the film (Powers & Spadola, 1999) penis size mattered, and others thought there was more to sex than the size of a man's penis. Bruce, who had a very small sized penis, was picked on the majority of his life because of his height and penis size. When he tried to have sex with a girl with the light on he was laughed at, because of his penis size. He goes on to mention that even though his penis is only two inches, he can still please women (Powers & Spadola, 1999). Another man in the film debates that penis size is everything, and that it helps boost self-esteem. This particular man stretches his penis for two hours a day to lengthen it. Then a man goes on to say that if penis size doesn't matter then why women do choose different sized dildos? Their is a very good debate over this particular aspect in the film (Powers & Spadola, 1999). Race was also brought up when discussing penis size. The men in the film (Powers & Spadola) came to the conclusion that race has nothing to do with the size of a mans penis. Rosenthal (2013) is consistent with this information by mentioning that penis size has nothing to do with someeones race, and that it is hereditary (pg. 52). Another aspect debated in the film Private Dicks (Powers & Spadola) is regarding circumcision. Some of the men debate that it look better or that it is just something done out of routine. Others debate that it is a “violation of our civil rights”. A man named Phil goes on to refer to circumcision as “rape” (Powers & Spadola, 1999). A good take home message from this film (Powers & Spadola, 1999) is that eventually sex becomes more than just sex, and that love matters.
Men throughout the film had very different perspectives on most topics, but one thing they all seemed to agree on is that when you mature, sex is about more than just yourself. One guy mentions that it’s nice to be able to lay in bed with someone after sex, instead of taking off right after (Powers & Spadola, 1999). They also seem to mention multiple times that it feels nice to be able to please someone else besides yourself. I find it important to remember that we are human, and as humans, we experience powerful emotions. Another important take home message of the film would be that as sexual beings we should enjoy our sexual lives, but to enjoy it safely. Boris lost his virginity at seventeen and then became a paraplegic two weeks later, because of a car accident. He can be satisfied by holding his penis in his hand, and he can still have an orgasm, but his sex life will never be normal again (Powers & Spadola, …show more content…
1999). I found it shocking that there was so much to be talked about throughout the film (Powers & Spadola, 1999). This comes as shocking because penis’s are usually used for jokes or for privacy, and this documentary (Powers & Spadola, 1999) covered multiple topics. On other media, it does not show men being passionate about losing their virginity, because it is usually about the women and her sexual history, but the men being interviewed seemed to be passionate about the subject, and very descriptive (Powers & Spadola, 1999). Media leads you to think topics like this do not matter that much to men, therefore it was quiet a shock to me. The film Primate Dicks (Powers & Spadola, 1999) does not directly mention the sexual education these men were provided by their families, but it is evident that a lot of men learned about their penises from a superior male in their life.
One man mentioned his stepfather always walking around naked, and being obsessed with his penis, and another guy referred to seeing his dad penis as “emasculating” (Powers & Spadola, 1999). I do think the film (Powers & Spadola, 1999) implies that families or sexual education classes should provide children with the information that nobody has the same genitalia. Bruce was picked on a lot for being smaller than everyone, and another guy said he constantly felt “different” because his penis was so large (Powers & Spadola, 1999). Another important topic of discussion for sexual education is erections and hormones. Erections at school was a popular discussion in the film (Powers & Spadola, 1999), and providing children with the knowledge about puberty before it happens might better prepare
someone. The film (Powers & Spadola, 1999) briefly discusses sexually transmitted diseases, and it provides its audience with the fact that the United States has the highest rate of sexually transmitted diseases, which Rosenthal (2013) also confirms (p. 357). This is a good indicator that the United States sexual education programs should focus on sexually transmitted diseases and how to prevent spreading them. Providing children with proper information and guidance could help reduce the rates of sexually transmitted diseases. The film (Powers & Spadola, 1999) and the textbook (Rosenthal, 2013) seem to provide a lot of similar information not only about penis size or sexually transmitted diseases mentioned earlier but also about the abundance of slang terms for the penis. Rosenthal (2013) mentions some terms such as meat, hog dog, rooster, and much more (pg. 51). According to Rosenthal (2013) "There are more than 3000 slang terms for the penis" ( pg. 51). Psychology is my primary focus of study, and more specifically I would like to go into behavior analysis and/or neuropsychology. This correlates with my area of study primarily because a man's penis can affect his self-esteem along with many other emotional aspects. Sex also corresponds largely with the brain. Hormones and different chemicals in the brain can depict an abundance of information about a man's penis and his sex life.
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.
well-known stereotype. Sexuality is described in two different environments, showing how circumstances can change what is socially accepted.
Over the years America’s ability to address taboo issues by channeling them through popular culture has become increasingly popular (Pruitt, 2007). Among the many taboo issues as evidenced by the number of mainstream films which minimally address the matter, is the issue of men living on the down low (Hamilton, 2009). An example of such is the 2011 film “For Colored Girls.” The film like many bring up the issue of men being on the down low, but they have neglected to go in-depth as to why men chose this lifestyle – rather than the age old notion that they fear social rejection (Pruitt, 2007). As it relates to the drama “Angels in America,” written by Tony Kushner, the work does a great job highlighting men who have secret lifestyles and two of the characters within the drama that exemplify characteristics of living on the down low – Joe Pitt and Ray Cohn (Kushner, 1993)
Even in Brokeback Mountain, the story of two homosexual men, there is “a reproduction of heteronormative ideas and stereotypes concerning the relationship between the two cowboys and the way the cowboys themselves behave” (de Jesus 2016, p. 40). Despite the fact that both characters are men, they are still portrayed into the roles of a heterosexual couple, where one is distinctly feminine and one is distinctly masculine. Because of the pressures on them to conform to other heteronormative characters, they never directly discuss what is occurring between them and one of them even marries a woman to attempt to “[affirm] that he is not ‘queer’ and should not be classified as such” (de Jesus, 2016, p. 48). The accentuation of hypermasculinity often causes insecurity in men who do not fit these cookie cutter ideas, leading to a need “to prove their dominance, power, and manliness” (Kluch, 2015, p. 365) especially in regards to women. This internal struggle causes a conflict within the hierarchy between what has always been accepted and what is becoming the new norm.
In her article “Should There Be Only Two Sexes,” Anne Fausto-Sterling discusses the implications of this genital surgery. She states that infantile genital surgery “causes extensive scarring, requires multiple surgeries, and often obliterates the possibility of orgasm” (80). Fausto-Sterling explains the consequences of these surgeries in order to argue against them. She instead says that intersex individuals should be allowed to make their own decisions regarding their bodies after being well-informed about the choices they have. The individuals interviewed in the documentary confirm the consequences Fausto-Sterling discusses and her conclusion. One person discusses how doctors had removed her clitoris and performed multiple surgeries to widen her vagina during her youth; however, these surgeries have caused sex to be painful and eliminated the possibility of orgasm. Another individual talks about how multiple childhood surgeries had led to significant pain and infections, resulting in scarring. These stories are not uncommon among the interviewed individuals, and all of them express the belief that genital surgery should be a choice made by the intersex individual later in life rather than by others early in life. While they concede that some intersex individuals may feel differently,
This essay sets out to distinguish how male characters can be portrayed in the same fashion as their female counterparts, and therefore become subjected to the same erotic objectification. This will be researched under the circumstances that the production revolves around gay characters and the assumed audience is exchanged from a homogenous crowd of heterosexual spectators, to a homogenous crowd of homosexual spectators. To support this claim there will be references to a segment from the American remake of the television series Queer as Folk (USA, dev. Ron Cowen, Daniel Lipman, 2000-2005) where Brian Kinney (Gale Harold) and Justin Taylor (Randy Harris) first meet.
From a young age, children are bombarded by images of the rich and the famous engaging in torrid public affairs or publicly discussing their increasingly active sex lives. No longer is sex education left to teachers and parents to explain, it is constantly in our faces at the forefront of our society. Regardless of sex education curriculums and debates about possible changes, children and teenagers are still learning everything they think there is to know about sex from very early on in their young lives. However, without responsible adults instructing them on the facts about sex, there are more likely to treat sex in a cavalier and offhanded fashion. According to Anna Quindlen’s essay Sex Ed, the responsibility of to education children about sex is evenly distributed between teachers and parents.
Over the past couple centuries that the United States has existed, society has always had a judgement to make on one’s sexuality. At the head of society has consistently been white, Christian, hetereosexual males; therefore, they had the power to define sexual and societal norms. As a result, judgements on one’s sexuality have always intersected with one’s race, class or gender, groups of people that are not dominating society.
Milstein, Susan A. Taking Sides Clashing Views in Human Sexuality. Ed. William J. Taverner and Ryan W. McKee. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print.
Sexuality is a fundamental part of our self-discovery, involving much more than just being genetically or anatomically male and female and it is not defined solely by one 's sexual acts (Ministry of Education 1989, p.79 cited in Gourlay, P 1995). The notion that sexuality is fixed and innate disregards the social aspects that impact ones’ sexualities. Gagnon and Simon (1973) further commented that sexuality is a feature of social
For the purpose of this study, I will critically examine the representation of homosexuality in Hollywood cinema. I will specifically analyse films from the early 90’s to mid 2000’s from ‘Philadelphia’ to ‘Brokeback Mountain’. This dissertation will argue that over the space of 12 years homosexuality has become an acceptable part of cinema. I will look at early Hollywood’s representation of homosexuality depicting how aesthetically so much has changed. The current paper will predominantly focus on the two films ‘Philadelphia’ and ‘Brokeback Mountain’, by critically analysing the aesthetic differences between each film as well as their overall importance to gay culture.
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.
The condoms display in the Hidden Heroes: the Genius of Everyday Things exhibit is a showcase that would cause an individual to wonder about adolescents’ overall knowledge of human sexuality. In today’s society, children are susceptible to learning about such a delicate topic not only from their families and peers, but through the media as well. These sources often provide misrepresentations of the information due to ignorance and biased views. Therefore, in order to inform individuals more accurately, sex education programs have been created with the intention to be implemented into schools across the country. This has led up to being one of the most controversial issues hovering over educational institutions, where the inclusion of such programs has been hotly debated. However, recently, the dispute is not so much about whether sex education should be taught in schools, but rather what content should be taught and what approach should be taken.
Adam Sharpiro, Megan Schultz, Christina Roush, Cassandra Schofar, Emily Shilling, Tawnia Simpson, Natalie Sampiller. Portrayal of Homosexuality in Media. 26 March 2014 .
First, sex education gives the children general knowledge about the sexual side of life, such as the differences between boys and girls and puberty. Teachers must clearly and intelligibly ...