Harmful Impacts of Pornography

“He admitted tomasturbating to hard-core pornography before raping over 100 women” A criticalreview of how feminist criminology seeks to explain the harmful impacts ofpornography and women.This essay aims to critically discuss the harmful impacts of pornography with a specific focus on females and the shift in mainstream culture from the beginning of the feminist movement to now. This essay will cover the personal impacts of pornography, like the harm and stigmatisation for the performers, the children and adult viewers and the influence it has on the growing pornification in a malestream society. Having read the literature on my chosen topic, this essay will support the theory that women are being distorted and objectified by pornography for male’s sexual pleasure and identify with the inequality and harm towards women through explicit imagery. This is affecting perceptions of sexual violence, particularly rape cases and despite decades of feminist condemnation, the normalisation of semi-naked images of women remains as a worldwide phenomenon.Introduction to pornographyThe issue of pornography has engendered an intense debate in the feminist community where sexuality was understood as the overriding source of men’s oppression of women (Rodgerson & Wilson, 1991). Criminology is perceived as the ‘study of men’ by neglecting the identification of criminality as a masculine trait, it was feminist criminologists who established new angles with gender central to research (Heidensohn, 2006). Feminist scholars have critiqued mainstream criminology for the invisibility of women (Daly & Chesney-Lind, 1988) alleging that when considered, it is through the eyes, explanations and reflections of men (Gelsthorpe, 2008). Pornography, from a gendered outlook, is the graphic, sexually explicit mass-media that dehumanises women as ‘fuck objects’ to sexually arouse men (Vega & Malamuth, 2007; Everywoman, 1988). In the mid-eighties, feminism protested for legislative change regarding the distribution and production of pornography (Bracewell, 2016) although failing to stop the mass industry completely. There are two conflicting types of work, the antipornography activists who promote gender oppression and sex radical feminists who comprehend porn as exploring sexual desires while empowering performers (Synder-Hall, 2010). This essay will take an anti-porn feminist viewpoint outlining that pornography is the cause of men’s sexual practices within a continuum of sexual violence (Gibson, 2004).  In a society that is conquered by male power andpatriarchy, degrading females is evident through the prevalence of explicitimagery and modern advertisement driving thealready-existing eroticisation andmarginalisation of women (Sultana, 2012).Feminist Pornography is a sex-positive film genre that contradicts mainstream production by enacting consent, communication and the safety of the production(Liberman, 2013). Regarding the Feminist PornAward, the genre includes a woman’s involvementin production, genuine pleasure captured and challenge to conventional mainstream porn (Nasaw, 2014). Mainstream pornography isunderstood to entail sexual violence towardswomen, sexually-exploited powerdifferentials, disembodied penises and unrealisticscenarios aimed to eroticise male consumers anda violation of women’s civil rights (Dworkin, 1981).Liberalism refers to individual’s freedom, equalrights and human agency implying thatsexually explicit expressions are private and harmless (Bracewell, 2016)and dismisses socialrealities of gender positioning and constitutionof unrealistic power regarding pornographic images (Gibson, 2004). The anti-porn movementcondemns most mainstream content as a violation of women, a reflection of aggressive male desires andpatriarchal sexual relations (Aronowitz, 2014) however, this is vastlycontradictable. A moralist perspective views sex as an act of love so performerswho participate in porn are violating moral values and get decontextualised.After an introduction to the feminist pornography and differing perspectives,this essay will follow with the discussionof male’s sexual perceptions.  The objectification and oppression of womenRegarding the development of criminologicaltheories, women and girl’s victimisation has been absent or misrepresented and criminal women were viewed as incompetent for a woman(Griffin, 2010). Women’s offending behaviouris generally “demonised, masculinised, and sexualised” and viewed as doubledeviancy for breaking the law and gender norms of femininity (Chesney-Lind,2013). We live in a world that criminalises women who sell sex but not the purchasingmen, women prostitutes were once viewed as participatingin sexual acts because of their hyper-sexed ‘bad’ personality (Davis, 1937). The way society stereotype gender isconcerning, men’s sexual aggression is a structural constraint, but aggressive women are labelled as beingdisturbed emotionally and sexually (Stevens, 2006).This supports the phenomena of a man’s world and hinders trust in men’s stereotypes of women, providing an idea as to victim blaming. Oppression is the maltreatment of women which effects theirsubordination to males, occurring in the following forms: violence,exploitation, marginalisation, powerlessness and cultural imperialism,pornography is argued to be an example of oppression (Young, 2014).Objectification focuses on treating women as sexual objects and property of men(Papadaki, 2012). Feminist critique on pornography focuses on itsrole in a system of sexual subordination and oppression of women (Attwood,2004) but these representations have strengthened a view of body display anderotic performance as a sign of promotingwomen. Male Privilege is a default in our culture where whensomething privileges female interests we notice. Women performers areuniversally known to earn more than men, arguably only because they areperforming for male pleasure. Female nudity is so normalised that we don’tquestion its content or reasoning, however not all sexual images are treatedthe same, especially if it is a man’s nudity which is explicitly showing. Leopold Museum of art received a flood of complaints aboutadvertising male nudity on the museums rear for a related exhibition (Doll,2012). The shocked reaction to naked men explores why female equivalentsdispute a different response. Semi-naked women are being used to advertisemundane objects, like a bottle of water by a naked Jennifer Aniston. Porndoesn’t shock us as a society anymore because of our gendered-lense and privateconsumption of explicit imagery worldwide which has filtered porn intomainstream culture and has become the ‘wallpaper of our lives’ because ofdiffusing digital media and modern advertisement (Stephanie, 2014). Linda Lovelace, a 1970s adult performer was exploited by herhusband forcefully to participate in sexual acts, men’s authority in the pornindustry is pervasive, this being a serious example of producers takenadvantage of women (Mock, 2017). The ‘Madonna vsWhore’ dichotomy depicts pornstars as whores who are “damaged goods” as they have higher rates of psychological problems, childhoodsexual abuse and drug use compared to the representative woman (Griffith et al,2013). This phenomenon of ‘good vs bad girl’ has been controversial for decades,female performers are immediately stigmatised and discriminated against usingderogatory language like ‘whore’ to label them. The essay will next explore how explicitimagery has been normalisation in the Western culture. The ’pornification’ cultureThemass media pornographic distribution perpetuates the reality of sexual abuseand discrimination through legitimising sexual and racialised harassment as aform of sexual pleasure (Dines et al, 1998) thus holds a strong belief thatvictims of sexual assault derive from women’s pleasure in submission and painin porn. It is argued that we should all fear the wayin which our patriarchal society defines and practices sex (Jenson, 1997), welive in a culture where sexualised violence is considered ‘normal’. Pornhas lost a vast amount of stigma over the decades or at least gained culturalacceptance of themes through the mainstreaming (Kylstra, 2011). In almost everycity in the UK and worldwide, semi-nude females are on display, not to empowerbody image but for a sexualised and stimulating nature, it is only when youstart to look around that you notice how distorted the public’s portrayal ofwomen is (Stephanie, 2014). The terms ‘mainstream’ and ‘sexualisation’ are used to describe how sex is becoming more visible in modern Western cultures. Feminist criminologists considered what was criminogenic regarding the social construction of masculinity (Gelsthorpe, 2008). A pornified society with uncertainty over the impacts on ourselves, our relationships and for the wider community (Paul, 2005 in Attwood, 2004). The prevalence of material explicit in daily life is used to sexually expose the subordination of women, causing harm through the pictures and words attached (Mackinnon, 1987). The media are condemned for presenting a distorted and unrealistic picture of the world (Buckingham & Bragg, 2004), however, people fail to distinguish what’s porn and what’s reality, where most teenagers will rely on pornography for sex education. Sexual exposure is getting progressively more important, public and normalised to contemporary cultures (Attwood, 2004). Despite decades of feminist criticism on semi-naked imagery as a source of normalised media, women remain to be features of multiple newspapers (Buckingham & Bragg, 2004). Page 3 in the family newspaper, playboy magazines and ‘just a click away’ explicit content, the advancement of porn will only provide injury for the next generation’s body image, relationships and sex education.  Promoting sexualviolenceThe prevalence of pornography is promoting violence and rape acceptance of women in a malestreamculture. An ideology, from the 80s drawnthat women enjoyed forced sex, this is highlighted through porn suggesting that men ignore theemotional state of the performer and rather concentrate on instant gratification, adding further injury to rapevictims supporting the ‘she wanted it’ myth(Everywoman, 1988). Recently established is the increasing acceptance of pornography in the media which is a driving force for the normalisation of rape and violence(Foubert et al, 2011). Greater exposure to porn is found to beassociated with peoples increased acceptance of violence and aggression towardswomen (Ramasubramanian & Oliver, 2003). The explicit imagery presented in advertisementand media is making sexual violence socially acceptable, sexualising asemi-naked ‘gang bang’ of women to advertise jeans is absurd. The pornificationof society is supporting the promotion of sexual violence and rape mythacceptance by attributing blame sexually and making it socially acceptable torape or abuse a woman when certain characteristics are present (Grubb &Turner, 2012). Males are generally socialised as the instigators of sexual behaviourand the dominating and sexually aggressive gender, providing an explanation tothe oppression of women being influenced by stereotypes and supports forhegemonic masculinity in Western culture (Bridges, 1991). The CulturalScaffolding of Rape explores the structuralism difference of ‘men wanting itand women providing it’ examining the gendered patterns of heterosexuality,patriarchy and malestream within society (Gavey, 2013). The link between pornography and sexual violence is acontradictory debate: supported by feminisms and disproved by others. The JaneLonghurst case involves a woman who was murdered by her friend’s boyfriend, whowas a necrophiliac and acted out his perverted sexual indulgence (Sapsted,2004). High pornography consumption added significance to the prediction ofsexual aggression (Vega & Malamuth, 2007). Rape myths are widely accepted where identification of rape victims isstill being propagated within society today (Payne et al, 1999). Rape mythacceptance and traditional gender role attitudes have shaped the way we perceivevictims of sexual offences and mainly view women and girls (Grubb & Turner,2012). Legislation and the accessibilityThecurrent legislation in the UK prohibits the possession of extreme images wherethe maximum penalty for the offence is 3 years and/or a fine (CJIA, 2008). Lawson the production of pornography depend on country, within the UK, it isprohibited to distribute explicit media which involves dehumanised acts likerape or strangulation etc. however, these fantasies can still be accessed andare central in US porn scenes. Oneagreed international law is the prohibition of child exploitation, making it anoffence to produce, own, distribute, or sell explicit materials of a minorunder 18 (Justice.gov, 2018) where increasingly, these laws are being implementedconcerning the internet being an accelerator for paedophilia. UNCRC similarly supports that all children shall beprotected from all forms of exploitation, victimisation and abuse of a sexualnature (Codd et al, 2016). There is currently no legislation in place toprevent children accessing adult content online. However, a governmentbill has been proposed to apply age-verification controls when accessingpornographic websites to verify consumer is over 18, in hope to stop the exposureof harmful content for children (Gayle, 2016; BBFC, 2017). Feminism aims toreduce explicit content and a tougher take on sex and has providing steps inthe right direction. The internet has made it accessible for sexual predatorsto attain illegal or extreme videos by providing a foundation for theexploitation of child and rape pornography (Waskul, 2004).  Advancementin technology has made the internet an enabler for porn, with wider culturalshifts developing the accessibility and a medium of communication between theindustry and consumers (Brickell, 2012). The increased levels of streamingonline have damaged the porn industry and resulted in less control over what isavailable on the internet and dark web. Hollywood made approximately 400 filmsa year while the porn industry making around 10,000 (Williams, 2004). The freestreaming sites typically feature gonzo-style porn that predominantly involvesminutes of graphic action that is heavy on violence and degrading women, it is“always geared towards male fantasy” (Kylstra, 2011). Masturbating to thisunlikely content impacts the women and children around the consumer in avariety of ways (Mackinnon, 1993). Porn is more accessible than ever now, it isfree and diverse with 9/10 US men accessing content regularly via websitesonline (Lim, Carrotte & Hellard, 2016) and with the expansion, comes thefurther exploitation of females and children. The rise of internet dating provides a sexual openness forthe younger generation to participate in sex, sexting and the prevalence ofrevenge porn, apps like snapchat and tinder are making it easier to have one-night-stands(Grigoriadis, 2003). This essay will now explore the harmful consequences onthe sexual performers and adult and children consumers which feminism are quickto explore the harmful impacts.   Impacts on performers, adults and childrenPerformers are subject to all kinds ofpsychological and physical consequences which stem from contractingHIV to committing suicide. The only scientific way togain insight into the impacts on adult performers is through in-depthinterviews. Grudzen et al (2008) concluded that women were more likely to expose healthrisks, physical trauma on set with many leaving the industry with mental health problems. Adult performersare subject to the social stigma and reputation which can becomedestructive, like August Ames receiving online abuse for rejecting a scene with a bisexualactor and resulted in her suicide. This case, along with 4 other young femalesrecently died with concerns being raised over the health of the vulnerablewomen in the industry (Saunders, 2018). Further harm performers experiencedbesides the degrading and exploitation mentionedthroughout is the HIV outbreaks whichin 2009 there were 16 reported cases in the U.S (TheTelegraph, 2009). There is a need to provide services for adult actors to receivehelp and advice and a legislative change for the mandating condom use to prevent infections spreading to monitortheir health. Other harmful impacts on performers are tearing and the pain inflicted in certain sex scenes. Awoman getting penetrated by multiple men at the same time; anally, vaginallyand orally will be anything but satisfying for the female performer whereas,for the male viewers, it’s a different story. Getting aroused by these forcefuland dominating scenarios is not surprising in a world that trains males to bethe sexual aggressors and women to be victims (Dines et al, 1998).  The violation of women’s bodies, the pain theperformers tolerate, the tearing anally andvaginally for females is the requirements some take to satisfy men.  Porn can affect females body image through heighteningsocial expectations. From the craze of Braziliangrooming the private parts to boob jobs which were once on porn sets and now anexample of how public perceptions of body image have shaped (Stephanie, 2014). Especially for young adults who fail to distinguish thatporn is a form of media, and the media presents an unrealistic, contrary andover-exaggerated representation of events. Intimacy issues and risky behaviouris more likely in younger adults who the ‘majority’ rely on porn for theirlearning of sex and desires (Young-Powell, 2015) with no awareness of theunrepresentativeness of porn stars body image is about as irrational as the‘gang bangs’ they are watching. The most concerning impact of pornography isthat on children as it can easily shape their attitudes, imagination anddeveloping sex lives because of their vulnerability (Feona, Smith & Barker, 2018). It is argued thatparents and children’s perspectives of the nature of ‘sexualised’ goods aremore multifaceted than assumed within the policy debate, highlighting the needfor an update for public policy and of education (Attwood & Smith, 2015).Our culture is argued to be saturated and mainstreamed by uncontainablesexuality mostly resulting from the media(Hitchens, 2002) where children areparticularly susceptible to distinguishingreality from fantasy and could be there onlyeducation on sex (Buckingham & Bragg, 2004).ConclusionPorn will eventually turn men off the real thing because ofthe requirement for unrealistic acts where women won’t be able to compete withthe perfection of a porn star who is submissive and tailored to the consumersleast specification (Wolf, 2003). Because of technology and the prevalence ofthe internet, there is seen to be a new position on casual sex where theinternet makes it easy to meet people for sexual needs (Grigoriadis, 2003).With the evolution of sex toys and dolls, it is likely for sexbots to becreated for pleasure in the future. Overall, feminismhas contributed towards a change in societal attitudes on porn and how womenare being exposed to violence. We live in a pornified, gender-blinded societywho is sensitized to the sexualisation of women because that’s how the worldhas been shaped, from a male’s perspective. The downplaying of the importanceof sex and the significance it has in our lives will depict how the nextgeneration views sex and porn, and what boundaries advertisements willincreasingly push in our everyday lives. 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