After sharing our pornography research papers with the class, we discussed the common themes presented in each project and what we have concluded. The following post is composed of my immediate thoughts upon hearing my peers’ research projects and discussing them as a group.
Socially constructed gender roles and the relationship they have with pornography was a topic brought up. I am really interested in the dilemma: does porn in the media mirror our reality or is our reality shaped by such porn? This question is particularly important because of the accessibility and influence that sexualized media has over our society. Pornography can be obtained free of charge to any age group via the Internet. Not to mention the mainstream media that depicts pornographic images in a less intense manner. When people see such images constantly, they begin to accept it as a norm. These internalized ideas are then displayed in day-to-day actions, forming not only what people think or do, but also who they become. As seen, the heavy influence pornographic media has over individuals is a scary reality.
Life is composed of relationships- relationships we have with ourselves, family, friends, coworkers, acquaintances, etc. When individuals’ have trouble forming and maintaining relationships with others, they are jeopardizing their potential at a successful life. I definitely think that individuals who view these pornographic images, especially in their more intense form, are at risk of having these images and the ideas they depict burned in their minds, affecting how they think and act. Although not all people are affected this way, I believe that it is a possible risk to some. This risk should not be taken so lightly by pornography industries and the media. A specific idea that is brought through pornographic images is male privilege. When this idea is a primary focus, it distorts the viewers’ mind into believe that males have an innate privilege over women. Obviously, such thinking can be extremely harmful in forming and maintaining relationships.
Porn focuses on male privilege, a theme depicted in our patriarchal society where men often dominate the home, the workplace, and even predominantly run our country. Similarly, women in pornography are depicted in ways that also mirror society. On one hand, they are shown as hypersexualized beings, only needed for pleasure. They are often submissive, naïve, and willing to do anything to please a man, no matter what emotional or physical effects it has on them. This can be seen in society, where women dominate the prostitution and stripping industries. Also, women are often seen as only a means of reproduction- for men to be able to create children that will carry on their legacy. The stereotype is that women are to bare and rear the child while also nurturing the man. This thinking, then, claims that women only exist in context to the men they are to care for.
On the other hand, women in porn are sometimes depicted as dominatrix. Some may argue that this is their attempt to take control of the sexual situation- giving them the power that men usually have. However, is this really the case? Can women depicted in pornography really have complete control over a man? This “flipping the script,” as it is called, may be an attempt for women to gain control. However, once again, they are seen by male viewers in one light- as a means of sexual stimulation. No man watching such pornography is sitting there thinking that the woman taking sexual control over the man is respectable. Instead, they find it as a means to fulfill sexual desire, a desire incorporating women having control only in the bedroom.
Therefore, back to the question at hand- does pornography mirror society or does society mirror pornography. Well, obviously society came long before pornography was established, even as an idea. All a society needs is a few individuals to lead a product to success and a large enough audience to demand the product. Pornography was created as a glorified and magnified version of hegemonic men’s ideas that women have a specific, subordinate role in society- to please men and bare children. Pornography is the number one aid to this way of thinking. Although it is a common way of thinking for some men, if pornography was to be monitored more closely and tamed appropriately, I think society could potential deter such thinking, especially in young children.
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