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Sexuality as socially constructed
Sexuality as socially constructed
Effect of pornography in a society
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Sexuality and Discrimination Sex is one of the most central themes in society today, with generally everybody in the world, adults and children, either seeing it in the mass media or taking part in it, whether it be for their career, for reproductive reasons, or for pleasure. Because of its predominance, sexuality plays an important, if not the most important, role in social inequality, causing double standards, violence and internal self-worth issues for minorities. Factors such as pornography, prostitution, and the way people view homosexuality and intersexuality as repugnant all influence the prejudice ways in which society views and treats women, homosexuals, and intersexuals. Throughout the history of the United States, the way people …show more content…
Generally, if a woman sleeps around with a bunch of guys, society labels her as a “slut” and she’s viewed in a negative light, however, if a man sleeps around with a bunch of girls, society, considers him to be masculine and he’s viewed in a positive light. These types of moral assumptions that come with having sex, naturally place women on the bottom. Although things have become more progressive, with more women feeling comfortable to be sexually active despite the antiquated negative stereotypes, objectification of women in relation to sexuality is still entirely too …show more content…
Sexual videos, magazines, movies and websites set unrealistic expectations for both women and men, and contribute to rape culture. Most porn videos are set up with a male-domination power theme, with the woman being controlled, sometimes even violently. Since men, and even young boys, are viewing women in these scenarios over and over, they start to believe that that’s how sex really should be, and that women are just sexual objects to look at and be played with. This has real life repercussions on how men treat and view women, affecting relationships and potentially even creating criminals, by putting the idea in some men’s heads that assaulting or raping women is perfectly fine.
Pornography also has negative effects on women as well, mainly in terms of self-esteem and self-worth. If a woman is in a relationship with a man who watches porn frequently, she would most likely feel that she isn’t sexually fulfilling her partner, or that her body isn’t good enough. Not to mention seeing other women being controlled with such force and frequency could make one believe that they actually are just sexual objects and should be dominated by
Today, pornography has different targeted audiences based on various categories of pornography. There are pornographies made that are targeted toward women in which are slow and focused more on the people’s language rather than solely genitally focused. Most pornographies, however, are made specifically for men. These videos contain a large focus on the genitals, the men are portrayed as dominant, and the women please the men taking any measures necessary. According to a study, pornography that was intended for men and women aroused the men who were being studied. Women on the other hand, activated negative affects after watching the pornography intended for men and positive after watching the pornography intended for women (Mosher, 1994). In general, men are the main target of pornographies and women as well as feminists believe that pornography should not characterize women as objects. Also when making this study, it was difficult to find pornography that was made by women, majority of the videos are made by men and produced for
When individuals first encounter one another, the first thing noticed is not their intellect or poise, but it is the color of person’s skin that is seen first. At that point, assumptions are made based upon their race and ethnicity, which ultimately guides interaction. The stereotypes of blacks have not diminished, but have significantly heightened by the media depicting black individuals as obnoxious and ignorant. Many people may argue that affirmative action is no longer needed because African Americans are now on a leveled playing field; however, if women are only worth seventy-seven cents to a dollar, what makes individuals think that blacks, who were once considered three-fifths of a person, are treated any better? Regardless of socioeconomic
Rape culture is a culture in which sexual violence against both women and men is portrayed and rationalized in the media. It becomes the most prevalent through the language used among individuals, objectification of women, and the normalcy of sexually violent acts. In order to properly assess the link between exposure to pornography and increased rates of sexual rape, it is prudent to first understand the culture behind sexual violence and what contributes to it. The way women and sex are represented in the media is a huge part in the development of rape culture. Our media and culture has created the vision of sex as being more casual and unrealistic, mostly through movies and television shows, but more specifically pornography. This portrayal of sex on TV and in movies sends messages to its watchers that only promote the development of rape culture further, as well as plants unrealistic fantasies in the minds of it’s watchers. Let it be noted that the gender specificity described is due to the fact that women make up the majority of rape victims, although it is known that men
...: An Exploration of the Contemporary Double Standard." Journal of Sex Research 48.5 (2011): 437-449. Academic Search Premier. Web. 29 Nov. 2013.
Gail Dines in her article Pornland discusses the different ways in which pornography - gonzo (hard-core) porn to be exact - has negatively impacted men and women’s sexuality. Dine disagrees with the concept of porn and calls it out for its hypocrisy regarding its goal of giving men and women sexual liberty. She also notes how porn has filtered into mainstream media, for instance, Cosmopolitan, which requires women to fit a certain archetype of femininity that is found mostly in porn. Dines observes the consequences of porn on culture, sexuality and the relationships between men and women (262). Her article provides substantial points which support her conclusion on porn.
To some people, pornography is just a harmless fad, but it has some many negative effects. According to feminist Andrea Dworkin, porn is more of a sexual explicit subordination of women (Dworkin, 1993). Ms. Dworkin and many people believe that porn is the mortification of a woman’s well-being. Young men get so wrapped up in pornography and begin to believe that sex has to be this
Since the time women were eligible to be an employee of a workplace, they have become victims of discrimination. Discrimination is the practice of treating a person or group of people differently from other people (Webster, 2013). Thousands of women have suffered from discrimination in workplaces because they are pregnant, disabled, or of the opposite sex. It is crazy to think that someone would fire a woman because she became pregnant and needed to have some work adjustments ("Pregnancy and parenting,"). A woman goes through a lot to give birth to children, and men will never understand the complications a mother encounters during the pregnancy. Sadly, males think that pregnant women don’t make a working hand, which is totally wrong.
It is evident that porn has become more abusive and aggressive than it ever was before. A statistic presented by Gail Dines, showed that young boys get dragged into the porn industry at an age of 11 by use of the Internet. The abuse and badgering of women is hidden or justified by men that the women involved choose to do so. Men do not often realize that women are forced to refrain from saying “no”, so what they think is pleasure might well be pain. Few women can say they chose this lifestyle for themselves. Many suffer from sexual assault, abuse and neglect, and abandonment and go on to experience post traumatic stress disorder. In other words, it is easy for women/young girls to be introduced to this life, but almost impossible for them to escape. Even though the media may not seem as harsh as porn itself it still sends strong messages to men on how women should dress or act. The media continues to exploit women in what seems to be a patriarchal society. The American Dream based on freedom and equality will never truly be equal among men and women if men continue to see themselves superior. The media also introduces double standards. If a girl were seen taking her shirt off at a party or engaging in sexual behavior with a bunch of guys present she is labeled a slut, however
Feminist writer Diana Russell believes that porn “predisposes some men to want to rape women or intensifies the predisposition in other men already predisposed; undermines some men 's internal inhibitions against acting out their rape desires; and undermines some men 's social inhibitions against the acting out,” (Russell 1988). Pornography is sending a message to men that in some cases rape is acceptable. In order for rape to occur, a man must not only be inclined to rape, but his internal and social inhibitions against acting out rape desires must be undermined (Russell 1988). Pornography pushes this inclination further by sending the wrong message to the men who watch it. Pornography also shows other violent acts happen to women like throat rape and anal sex are prominent among most pornographic films on the Internet (Jeffreys 2009). These deplorable acts are shown in order to get men horny and give them something to masturbate to. The video of being violent to women sexually excites men and may incline them to try the same acts they see in the film on the women in their lives. It is also important to understand who might be exposed to these violent acts against women. Many children and young men are learning how to treat a woman from their view of pornography. This exposure to pornography helps sustain young people’s adherence to sexist and unhealthy
When most people hear the term Sexism they think of discrimination aganist women. Sexism refers to a social structure that gives advantages to men, relegatng women to subservient positions(Bakanic, V 2006). As a woman I have been fournate that I have been subjected to this type of treatment. Although sexism mostly happens to women it can happen to men as well. Just as sexual harassment can happen to men so can sexism. It may not be widely admitte dor reported but it is possible it has. I questioned my brother whether he has ever faced sexism or had been discriminated aganist becuase of his gender. He said he had not. But he did mention that his boss, her boss, and the CEO of the company were all females. Did he think this has something to
There is nothing bad that comes from watching a porn. Overall, pornography affects every viewer negatively regardless of belief, gender, creed, or age. There are people who believe watching pornography will not affect their lives, or minds in any way at all. Pornography can affect your mind and life style in a few ways. Pornography can alter a man’s attitude and images towards women, cause crimes, and can also lead to sex and pornography addiction. .
The superiority men assume over women paves an imbalance on social encounters and the way women are treated. The stereotypical roles men and women are meant to follow has allowed several unjust issues of sexual wrongdoings to remain changeless for years. The archetype that men must be strong, successful and powerful idols has brought the ideals of women to be the complete opposite delicate, dependent, and loving. Although the characteristics of the manhood and womanhood are harmless and somewhat realistic, they have evolved this inequality in the way women are treated. Objectification is treating someone as an object and taking ownership over that person to carry out sexual desires. Men are treating women as if they can be objectified which
At my high school, the heteronormative hook-up culture that heavily promoted masculinity through sexual behavior, resulting in a double standard between women and men. Dude, You’re a Fag cites Renold: “students participate in a ‘heterosexualizing process’ in which children present themselves as ‘normal’ girls or boys through discourses of heterosexuality” (p. 26). As so much of what we do in high school is to impress others, or to at least appear to be in the norm to avoid insults or social exclusion, the majority of my peers (and myself) tried hard to fit in and abide by the norms. Popularity for the guys was very much based on frequency of sexual behavior and “attractiveness” of the girl they had been intimate with. Pascoe points out that “boys and girls engage in interactional rituals to achieve masculine identities, which are, in large part, based in similar homophobic and heterosexualizing processes” (p. 28). This very much describes the ways in which we interacted with one another at my high school. Conversely, the more people women were sexual with, the more social backlash they received. According to Stombler and Baunach (2014), men who are very sexually active are generally not subject to shame and sometimes lauded for sexual behavior, whereas women with “too many” partners are stigmatized (p. 71). While men are socialized to present their masculinity through sexuality, women grow up learning about all the negative consequences of sexuality. Nestle’s My Mother Liked to Fuck highlights the social consequences that come along with being a woman who is open about enjoying having sex (1983). Such consequences include harsh judgement, social exclusion, and even rape. Lorde’s The Uses of the Erotic present that sexualty is something women are taught to hide (2016). I can recall being told I was a “slut” for making out with someone and sleeping on the same couch
Another issue that results in the miss representation of women throughout the media is the result in the sexual double standard. Throughout the media women carry the sexual permissive image. A lot of women are influenced by this and act as such making them more sexual and permissive. A lot of girls want to be the Megan Fox in the movies. Women get this ideal of how they believe they should be based on how the media portrays them as. But still, we have the double standard on the men and women which rules in favor of men resulting in women being labeled as sluts and asking for it. Women are evaluated negatively while men are evaluated positively when it comes to engaging in sexual behaviors. According to the social role theory, sexual double standards are a result of gender role structures. Perceived violations of women’s sexual behavior are associated with the SDS. A sample of 483 participants evaluated target individuals who were either female or male, heterosexual/gay man or lesbian, feminine or masculine, and had 1 or 12 sexual partners. Results showed that SDS persisted for gender role– violating targets but is carried out differently for targets violating heterosexual sexual orientation norms and gender role
Other people around the country or world should care about gender discrimination not only in sports but in any other way, shape or form. This topic has come up plenty of times in court and there have been so many cases that have been settled but not finished because people care more about other topics that are not as bad or maybe just as bad as this. All these cases should be finished with a final decision and not just settled. This topic should not even be a problem here in the United States, we should live up to our high standards we set as a nation.