Aggression towards Women in Mainstream Pornography
Is the mainstream pornography harmful to women? In what ways is it or is it not? What kind or level of censorship of pornography is appropriate, and why?
The concept of pornography is more than just a cultural violence, it is the inappropriate objectification of women in the male-dominated world. Women and mainstream pornography have been a long debated topic in the current era. The depiction of women in the pornographic films is not empowering but degrading (DeKeseredy & Corsianos, 2015). Though in the context of the right to freedom of action, it is the choice of the women whether to be a part of an adult film, according to researchers and the current era, the women in the mainstream pornography are targeted for much aggression and degradation (Lykke & Cohen, 2015).
The analysis by various researchers in the field of mainstream pornography and women illustrates the presence of massive acts of aggression towards the female actress of the pornographic female (Lim, Carrotte & Hellard, 2016). Both physical and verbal acts of aggression were portrayed in the pornography which includes spanks, gagging, insulting, torture, slapping and forcing inappropriate objects in the female genitals and private parts. The objectification in the pornography is no less than a horrendous rape act towards the women in the act. Most of the mainstream targets the female for the physical and the verbal aggressive acts. In case of women being the perpetrator, it is often shown that they are frequently aggressive towards the other women in the film. The rate or the percentage of men facing aggression in pornography is as less as 1.4% (Burke, 2016). Furthermore one of the major factor that contributes to the harm of women in the mainstream pornography is the act of aggression among women and women.In the context of true empowerment, it is important for every other women to support and encourage other fellow female worker and not abuse her both verbally and physically. This is because the objectification of aggression and horrendous acts among women in the mainstream pornography nurtures the stereotype that women do not care to support and help the female in an abusive situation. The current depiction in the pornography in the current era is not at all empowerment of women but simply the act of degradation (Mikorski & Szymanski, 2017). The ideal representation of the masculine dominance and feminine submission in the mainstream pornography is a threat to the culture and the society at a large. This is harmful since it states a political campaign by the stronger ones against the weaker section of the society which tends to legitimize, sexualize and allows different nature of abuse against women (Shor & Seida, 2018). According to certain philosophers and researchers, pornography not only creates violence but it is itself a violence. The abuse towards the feminine gender either in the form of psychological or physical form tends to be the basic norms in the modern society nowadays. The bigotry and the mainstream pornography promotes acts of severe aggression that marginalize and diminishes the equality of rights for the women. Mainstream pornography is more than just some sexual fantasies but acts of discrimination against the feminine gender with damaging effects. The four major elements of feminine subordinate include hierarchy, submission and the dynamic of dominance, objectification, and violence. It is the tendency of the masculine gender to define the sexuality of the feminine gender by the usage of women’s bodies as objects for the pleasure of the male. Through the mainstream pornography, men tend to portray the gender role of the female as submissive and inferior. This is harmful to women since this characterization and objectification tends to have an adverse effect on the feminine roles in the society (Gelber & Stone, 2017).
Harmful Effects of Mainstream Pornography on Women’s Sexuality and Self-Perception
Furthermore, mainstream pornography is the material means to sexualize inequality and hence it is the central practise for the subordination of the feminine gender. Mainstream pornography is extremely harmful to women since initially it is presented as the imagery of sexual satisfaction but actually it is a political statement that portrays feminine inequality. It is a powerful depiction of the subordination, degradation and social inequality of the feminine gender that portrays the phallocentric hierarchical power of the masculine gender over the feminine power. The men in the society tend to believe that they can commit these horrendous acts as the means of assertion or enjoyment of the dominance of masculine gender. According to the viewpoint of the feminists, the portrayal or the objectification of women being tortured, bound, raped, beaten, abused and degraded for the purpose of sexual pleasure and stimulation tends to develop a psychological link among the norms of sexuality and hat of violence (Palmer, 2018). These actions make the masculine gender of the society to believe that women are the masochistic, easy targets and a sexual plaything and that violence and abuse towards the women is itself a sexual turn on. These objectification of women in the mainstream porn industry teacher women to become passive and helpless to assent towards the act of victimization. According to the feminist, the portrayal of feminity in the mainstream pornography has been so degrading from the past few decades that people tend not be bothered and interested in the fact that the women are actually hurt in the violent scenes of the pornography (Maes, 2017). The proliferation of the showcase of abuse towards women in the mainstream pornography is dangerous and has negative effects towards the feminine gender. Some of the notable theories related the effects of mainstream pornography includes sexual scripting theory which was developed by Gagnon and Simon in response to the biological model of dominance of the sexuality (Baker, 2016). According to the basic concepts of this theory, social factors are more essential and crucial than the biological drivers to the sexual foundations. The distinction between reality and fantasy are confused with the depiction of the idealistic representation of the physique of men and women are misjudges with typical body size and shapes (DeKeseredy & Corsianos, 2015). Social comparison theory illustrates how comparison towards others influences the self perceptions of an individual. The theory of objectification states the context of socialization of women in case of treatment of a women as a sexual object for the pleasure to the male.The theory further explains how this objectification leads to anxiety and body shame among the feminine gender.
Censorship and Sex Education for addressing the issue
In this profound sexist world, women are constantly been the victims of oppression. Offensive and sexist mainstream pornography are the results of the nature of the sexist world. Main stream pornographies are their reflection of the violence against women which make it appear exciting for the masculine gender to abuse the women and target the women as an object to gain pleasure (Lykke & Cohen, 2015). Mainstream pornography legitimizes the similar sexual behavior in the private lives of an individual. The context of censorship only tends to create a strong interest towards what is being censored. Though censorship legislation is essential in case of mainstream pornography, but education towards sex is a far more important move to diminish and abolish the harm towards women (Whisnant, 2016). Censorship in pornography is essential to the extent where the violation towards women is being shown. Though there lies certain concept of the freedom of speech and losing the freedom of speech tends to outweigh the benefits of pornography banning. From the point of view of a feminist, censorship in the mainstream pornography needs to be done with discussion and with delicacy (Henry & Powell, 2015). This is because the concept of mainstream pornography is still illegal in many parts of the world which hinders on the pathway for open and intelligent discussion regarding the contents of pornography. Hence censorship in pornography is a risky argument since the concept of global censorship laws in the era of mass media and global censorship to stop the representation and marketing of sexist images of women is next to impossible. Furthermore, having five people on the boards of censorship for deciding the context of pornography tends to restrict the input of the society and its rate of acceptance.
Feminity is indeed portrayed as the weaker gender of the society. The concept of censorship has not been fruitful in the past decades and it is thus a big question whether it will work in future too. The one and only viable solution towards the issues of harm towards the women due to the mainstream pornography is the support for politics of representation and effective sex education in the society. It is essential for the society to take heed and challenge the stereotypes of gender myths for the promotion of the gender equality in the pornography that showcases the violence and abuse of women as a normal act of entertainment for pleasure.
References
Baker, M. D. (2016). Pornography: Ensuring that Women are Never on Top.
Burke, S. (2016). Submission to the Senate Environment and Communications References Committee Inquiry into the harm being done to Australian children through access to pornography on the internet.
DeKeseredy, W., & Corsianos, M. (2015). Violence against women in pornography. Routledge.
Gelber, K., & Stone, A. (2017). 17. Constitutions, gender and freedom of expression: the legal regulation of pornography. Constitutions and Gender, 463.
Henry, N., & Powell, A. (2015). Embodied harms: Gender, shame, and technology-facilitated sexual violence. Violence against women, 21(6), 758-779.
Lim, M. S., Carrotte, E. R., & Hellard, M. E. (2016). The impact of pornography on gender-based violence, sexual health and well-being: what do we know?. J Epidemiol Community Health, 70(1), 3-5.
Lykke, L. C., & Cohen, P. N. (2015). The widening gender gap in opposition to pornography, 1975–2012. Social Currents, 2(4), 307-323.
Maes, H. R. (2017). Falling in Lust: Sexiness, Feminism, and Pornography.
Mikorski, R., & Szymanski, D. M. (2017). Masculine norms, peer group, pornography, Facebook, and men’s sexual objectification of women. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 18(4), 257.
Palmer, T. (2018). Rape pornography, cultural harm and criminalization. Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly, 69(1), 37-58.
Shor, E., & Seida, K. (2018). “Harder and Harder”? Is Mainstream Pornography Becoming Increasingly Violent and Do Viewers Prefer Violent Content?. The Journal of Sex Research, 1-13.
Whisnant, R. (2016). Pornography, humiliation, and consent. Sexualization, Media, & Society, 2(3), 2374623816662876
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