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Women begin to be sexualized at a young age and through time this sexualization has been met with a mix of controversy and empowerment. One must understand what sexualization is to see how it can be seen with such contrasting ideas. Thomas G. Fiffer of the Good Men Project describes sexualization as a person being sexually objectified by others basing the individuals worth based on their sexual appeal. Furthermore, the hyper sexualization of women is a learned idea. For example in sports, the commentary of female athletes is not on their athletic abilities or accomplishments but rather objectification (3). In contrast, sexualization is sometimes seen as empowerment; an outlet for women to reclaim their sexuality. Dr. Durham, author of The Lolita
Travis, Cheryl Brown, Kayce L. Meginnis, and Kristin M. Bardari. "Beauty, Sexuality, and Identity: The Social Control of Women." Sexuality, Society, and Feminism. Ed. Cheryl Brown Travis and Jacquelyn W. White. Washington: American Psychological Association, 2000.
Sexuality has often been confused with pornography. It has been trivialised as something that is a denigration and denial of true feeling by sensationalising genuine expressivism.
Deborah Tolman author of “Dilemmas of Desire” dwells on uncovering a wealth of feelings about sexuality from teenage girls who are faced with a lot of struggles in developing sexual identity and detached from their sexuality. One of her main argument is centered on the juxtaposition of media representations of girls as highly sexualized objects. For instance, “the urban girl is viewed as the overly sexual young jezebel. Latinas are often eroticized as exotic, sexually alluring and available.” (Tolman, pg.170). I agree with this statement due to simple fact that we are living in a highly sexualized cultural milieu and evidence of sexualization is seen through mainstream culture. Images such as Sarah Bartman depict African American/ urban portrayal of sexual imagery formed socio-historical
Szymanski, Dawn M., Lauren B. Moffitt, and Erika R. Carr. “Sexual Objectification of Women: Advances to Theory and Research.” APA, 2011. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.
Sexual content of any nature was considered devils play in the highly Catholic society that was North America, up until early to middle 20th Century (Noble, 2013). There has been a fast swing in the Pendulum of Life as now today’s society has become extremely sexualized. This has lead to negative affects on both males and females in numerous ways. As various aspects of culture have primarily targeted females over the past several generations, this has been used to expand multiple industries. Males have predominantly contributed to this, but just as very well been negatively affected by this as well. Developing from past generations of media tabloids, advertising and twisting the cultural views on sex taboo and symbols, have led to distortion of male and female sexuality. This Literary Review will cover the question; how has sexualization affected family? Sexualization refers to the development of sexual thought associating with a sexual expression (Collins English Dictionary, 2013). Faced with a preconceived notion of what the average male and female are to physically look like and be treated as, sexuality have affected five specific areas; Media, Males, Females, Intimate Relationships and child- parent relationships. The secondary sources used for this Literary Review are a balanced mix of Internet journal articles and scholarly book research.
Along with new roles for women within a growing society, unrealistic standards and expectations have also followed. It took years and years of fighting and feminist movements for women to receive the same rights as men within a male dominated society. Although women are continuing to stand up for equal rights, women now have big roles within society and the idea that men are “better” than women is long gone. Women are now seen in every profession and businesses, holding high positions and leadership roles. However, due to growing roles of women, they have also had to endure a growning industry that has set unrealistic standards for them. Magazines, tv shows, social media outlets, adds, and commercials have all begun to objectify and sexualize women. The culture has set standards for women by putting the skinniest, flawless, tallest, and overall most sexually appealing women out for the world to see. Social media has become
The sexualization of women in the 21st century has led many to wonder whether or not the feminist movement actually resulted in more harm than good. Although the progress and reform that came out of the feminist movement is indisputable, things such as equal rights under the law, equal status and equal pay, the reality is that the subjugation of female roles in society still exist, and the most surprising part about this is that now women are just as much as at fault for this as men are. Ariel Levy defines female chauvinist pigs as “women who make sex objects of other women and of ourselves” (Levy 11). This raunch culture is mistakenly assumed to be empowering and even liberating to women when it is in fact degrading and corrupting to the modern feminist movement and makes it more difficult for women to be taken seriously in society. The shift in the nature of the feminist movement is in Levy’s opinion attributed to by the massive industry now profiting off of the sexualization of women, the reverse mindset now adopted by post-feminists and women in power roles in our society, and ultimately the women who further their own objectification as sex objects and thus, so by association, deem themselves lesser than man.
The question as to whether Lolita, a novel written by Vladimir Nabokov, has become a new form of pornography or a form of literature has yet to be answered. Because of the many controversies surrounding this novel, an entirely new form of writing was created during its time period. The idea of having what many people considered being “porn” in the form of a novel was not something that many people agreed to, which is the exact reason Nabokov experienced so much trouble when it came to actually publishing the novel. In fact, Nabokov couldn’t find anyone who was willing to publish his book and because of this he tried burning it. Luckily enough his wife Vera Nabokov, stopped it from happening. It was she who allowed Lolita to keep moving forward and eventually become the novel that it now is. Whether it is pornography or a new form of written work, Lolita will always be a novel that impacts people differently and stirs up controversy.
It is shocking to see the digression in humanity’s morals and values over the past decade. As cliché as it sounds, the media is the center of it all. The way women are being represented, from our television sets, the radio, pornography and even art has pushed beauty to the top of the list of controversial and widely debated topics around the globe. “Whenever we walk down the street, watch TV, open a magazine or enter an art gallery, we are faced with images of femininity,” (Watson and Martin).
Fausto-Sterling, Anne. Sexing the Body: Gender Politics and the Construction of Sexuality. NY: Basic Books, 2000.
In his essay, "On a Novel Entitled Lolita," Vladimir Nabokov tries to answer the age-old question, "What is the objective of the novel?" He quickly replies, "...I happen to be the kind of author who in starting to work on a book has no other purpose than to get rid of that book..." (311). There is more to his response than this, however. He goes on to say that his book was not written to celebrate pornography or pedophilia, nor was it written to promote Anti-Americanism (313 - 315). What's the purpose of his novel then? Well, Nabokov writes, "For me a work of fiction exists only insofar as it affords me what I shall bluntly call aesthetic bliss, that is a sense of being somehow, somewhere, connected with other states of being where art (curiosity, tenderness, kindness, ecstasy) is the norm" (314 - 315). He sees his novel in simple terms: art. Whether it be the novel Lolita or the name Lolita, a sexual meaning has been given to the word Lolita, and this is largely due to the strong sexual overtones used by the novel's main character Humbert to describe his character of obsession Lolita; thus resulting in different and confusing interpretations of the novel and the author's intentions.
In Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita, the overruling drive of the narrator, Humbert Humbert, is his want to attest himself master of all, whether man or woman, his prime cravings, all-powerful destiny, or even something as broad as language. Through the novel the reader begins to see Humbert’s most extreme engagements and feelings, from his marriage to his imprisonment, not as a consequence of his sensual, raw desires but rather his mental want to triumph, to own, and to control. To Humbert, human interaction becomes, or is, very unassuming for him: his reality is that females are to be possessed, and men ought to contest for the ownership of them. They, the women, become the very definition of superiority and dominance. But it isn’t so barbaric of Humbert, for he designates his sexuality as of exceptionally polished taste, a penchant loftier than the typical man’s. His relationship with Valerie and Charlotte; his infatuation with Lolita; and his murdering of Quilty are all definite examples of his yearning for power. It is so that throughout the novel, and especially by its conclusion, the reader sees that Humbert’s desire for superiority subjugates the odd particularities of his wants and is the actual reason of his anguish.
The article Exposure to Sexually Exposure to Sexually Objectifying Media and Body Self-Perceptions among College Women: An Examination of the Selective Exposure Hypothesis and the Role of Moderating Variables is a two year study conducted on female undergraduate students and was written by Jennifer Stevens Aubrey. The main premise of the article is the exploration of objectivity theory. Objectivity theory states that “media that places women’s bodies and appearances at a premium can acculturate women to self objectify or to feel anxious or ashamed of their appearance”(Aubrey 161). The article tries to understand if media that sexually objectifies women, creates the environment whereby women think of themselves as objects to be appreciated. The article points out that this is a direct result of the American media’s focus on women’s bodies and body parts. Also, the other part of the study is to “understand the...
"Are Sexualized Women Complete Human Beings? Why Men and Women Dehumanize Sexually Objectified Women." European Journal Of Social Psychology 41.6 (2011): 774-785. Academic Search Premier. Web. 8 Nov. 2013.
16.)Utt, Jamie. "Navigating The Difference Between The Appreciation of Beauty and Sexual Objectification." Everyday Feminism 18 Apr. 2013: n. pag. Web. 19 Apr. 2014. .