Nadiuska Jourdain

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Selling sex is the oldest business in the world and right now, business is booming. One of the biggest cultural changes in the United States over the past 50 years has been the widespread acceptance of sexually explicit material pornography. In the space of two generations, a product that once was available in the back alleys of big cities has now gone corporate, delivered now directly into homes and hotel rooms by some of the biggest companies in the United States. It is estimated that Americans now spend somewhere around $10 billion a year on adult entertainment, which is as much as they spend attending professional sporting events, buying music or going out to the movies. Much of the controversy of pornography, is not the expression of human sexually, it is the portrayal of women and the increased amount of violence toward them in it. When someone brings up the topic of porn today, it is usually meet with giggles and eye rolling. If someone brought up the topic of porn 50 years ago, it be meet with anger, puritan like outrage and maybe some intrigue. My, how the times have changed. One of the basic problems with porn is portrayal of women. Women in porn are usually depicted as insatiable whores. Their sexual appetite is never-

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ending. They demand so much sex, that sometimes it takes more than one man just to satisfy them. Watching porn as a woman is a bit strange because you understand that some of the things done to the female actresses hurt. Theyre not sexy or glamorous; they are very uncomfortable and cause pain. You then realize that these actresses are mostly likely in a great deal of pain but are forced to ignore it, pretend as though it feels good and then tell the male actor(s) to keep going. This then perpetuates the idea that female sexual hunger is so great, that we are willing to go through pain to satisfy it, because deep down inside we really want it. If the word rape just popped into your head, youre on the right track. Some of the porn scenes are so violent and frankly disturbing that I feel as though Im watching sexual assault. The porn industry is usually not called out on this because, once violence becomes sexualized, it becomes invisible. The question you then ask is: if pornography is increasingly cruel and degrading, why is it increasingly commonplace instead of more marginalized? In a society that purports to be civilized, wouldnt we expect most people to reject sexual material that becomes evermore dismissive of the humanity of women? How do we explain the simultaneous appearance of increasingly more ways to humiliate women sexually and the rising popularity of the films that present those activities? The movement to stop violence against women then becomes somewhat counterproductive because the same people, who are so outraged by it, are

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frantically consuming by the millions, violence against women. Only this time its more acceptable because it is masqueraded as adult entertainment. The porn industry has a habit of being downright disrespectful of women in their descriptions and portrayals, with violent and derogatory terms often being used. The words, bitch, slut, whore, dirty are very common. Often times, the words are said without purpose. I dont understand the reasoning of calling a woman a bitch, while she is performing fellatio on you. They are said just for the fun of it and to highlight that women are seen as nothing more than a sexual objects to be used for the physical pleasures and perversions of men. In some pornographic scenes, a womans face is not even seen. Instead her breasts, vagina, and buttocks are filmed. The main problem with this portrayal is that many porn users are exposed to pornography at a very young age; this may lead to an early lack of respect for females and for sex itself. This in turn can bring about a society in which not only is it the norm for men to see women as sexual objects, but young girls may be conditioned into believing that this is normal. In a world where women are being raped, stalked, beaten, and killed in epidemic proportions, pornography conditions too many men to "get off by putting women down." Eventually, viewing enough pornography can desensitize all of us so that we do not even question the devaluation of women in our society.

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Many porn sites have different categories for the viewers pleasure. Some the categories are divided by race. If you enter the Asian category, most the Asian actresses are appearing as docile and submissive. In the Latina category, the Latina actresses are spicy and aggressive. In the Ebony category, the AfricanAmerican actresses are animalistic and uncontrollable. This type of porn takes a racial stereotype, and sexualizes it. It puts women of color in cage, telling them this is how you act in bed. Another type of porn which is just as disturbing, if not more, is Hentai. It is sexually explicit or pornographic comics and animation especially those of Japanese origin, such as anime, manga, etc. One of the most common characteristics of Hentai is the usage of school girls. A great percentage of Hentai involves school girls ranging from the ages of 10-18. It is not something that happens every once and a while, its a continuous loop of little girls having sex; often with men twice to three times their age. The younger a female character is, the more curvaceous she is. You would see a character that is depicted as 10 years old with breasts bigger than her head. Simultaneously, the older the character, the less curvaceous she is. The more she looks like a prepubescent little girl. What exactly does this say about our supposed conservative viewpoints? Is this what we find sexy? The argument has been made that pornography does have some benefits. That with pornography, our society has been more accepting of sex. Sex is no

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longer treated like a shameful secret, but is acknowledged as a normal and healthy part of life. Yes, our culture is more accepting of sex and pornography may have helped that along. However, the benefit of porn does not outweigh the disadvantages. The only people who truly benefit from pornography are the companies who make it. The rest of us are thinking that it helps us, but its really hurting us in the end. How could it not hurt us, when most of pornography is telling us that we such undervalue more than half the population of the earth? One may ask themselves, What are some of the solutions to this problem? Unfortunately, pornography that degrades women is an integral of our culture. It doesnt seem like its going away any time soon. At the rate its going, it seem like it will get worse before it gets better. As an alternative to pornography, one can view erotica. Unlike pornography, erotica allows the people engaging in sexual intercourse stand on equal ground. It is not about seeking sexual gratification though the humiliation and the putting down of others.

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Works Cited Jensen, Robert. "Pornography and Sexual Violence." Minnesota Center Against Violence and Abuse. University of Texas at Austin, School of Journalism, July 2004. Web. 13 Dec. 2012. McKenzie, Sarah. "Why the New 'porn Norm' Is Hurting Women." The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media, 3 Mar. 2011. Web. 12 Dec. 2012. "Sociology: Violence and Pornography in the Media." Sociology: Violence and Pornography in the Media. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2012.