Gender and Social Change

Women as Sexual Beings: The Pornographic Impact

Pornography: Setting the Scene

There is no clear origin of pornography because the concept is so broad. To some, certain material could be classified as erotica, to others the suggestive statues of prehistoric times fit the bill. Nowadays, when people think of pornography, they think of XXX-rated videos that depict sexual scenes of various intensities.

This most recent genre, however, began with Hugh Hefner and his Playboy magazine. [1] Playboy changed society’s view of pornographic material. [2] Naked women in sultry poses, dressed as a pirate or a cowboy were inserted next to reputable articles— this way, pornography became acceptable. Other print publications would follow. Soon VCRs extended the reach of pornography and now, thanks to the internet, that reach is just a click away. 

Pornography has changed significantly since the Playboy bunnies. In the past twenty years pornography has become an industry that thrives off of intensity. [3] As these documented sex acts become more dangerous and forceful, the depiction of a woman as a sexual partner warp. Some feminists and researchers argue that pornography leads to domestic violence, sexual assault and the humiliation of women. They believe the themes of modern-day porn objectify women. Other feminists believe that a consenting woman performing a sex act, no matter the intensity, is powerful. A woman taking control of her body goes against the societal stigma of female sexuality.

So far, the reaction to pornography has been extreme- either it’s banned entirely, or the genre continues, and any regulations become censorship, and a violation of the First Amendment. A woman’s sexual desires and behaviors center around the use of her body. Along with fashion and beauty, a woman’s body is dictated by society, partners and herself. In this section I will discuss whether there is a discernable line between sexual content that is: stimulating and genuine, versus content that promotes domestic violence and the humiliation of women?

The Audience: Who's Watching

Taste and preference are individual, what one person likes, another person may not. Studies have shown that a man and a woman’s idea of “good” porn is quite different, however, the mainstream industry leans towards one particular side. Most pornographic content has been written, cast and directed by men. Since there is less than adequate diversity in the room, specific themes and sex acts have become popular.

Research conducted by Covenant Eyes in 2015 [4] shows that 63 percent of men between 18- and 30-years old view pornography more than several times a week. Only 21 percent of women, at the same age, view porn so consistently. It’s fair to say that men are more likely to look at porn than women. If men direct and produce this content, while consuming it at higher rates than women, the mainstream porn industry targets a male audience- showing sex acts that exclusively interest men.  

In 2009, an English advertisement consultant named Cindy Gallop gave a TED Talk titled “Make love, not porn”. [5] In her speech she claimed that young men had begun to mirror their sexual encounters to the ones in hardcore porn videos. To Gallop, the idea that a woman would enjoy a man to ejaculate on her face is a falsity consistently found in hardcore pornography.

The problem here is twofold: a young male will watch these videos and believe that to be a desired sex act AND his girlfriend will watch that same video, and although she does not enjoy it, she will allow her boyfriend to ejaculate on her face because she sees it in porn. Gallop introduced her website MakeLoveNotPorn.com [6] that would debunk the sexual myths of hardcore pornography. She discusses female body hair, what positions feel good for a woman during sex and which ones offer no pleasure at all.

It’s this identified problem that has created a “women’s” category of porn. Mirroring Gallop’s message this genre contains lust and passion with a feminine aesthetic, to achieve a woman’s orgasm, which has been illusive in mainstream porn. As women, these directors can pay attention to what a woman wants during sex. [7] The script, diversity, music and setting are all taken into account. Female producers ensure that each actor/actress is consenting to the performed act and claim that most women in mainstream porn are manipulated and coerced into situations they’re uncomfortable with. [8] [9]

The themes of men and women’s porn are different. In mainstream porn, typically consumed by men, 88 percent of scenes contain physical aggression such as slapping or gagging. 49 percent of scenes contain verbal aggression. In the industry “youth” is one of the most popular search terms. [10] Most videos follow the same script but have a different motif: schoolgirls, nannies, housewives, stepmothers and nurses. For women it’s a little more realistic. They want to see women that look like them, enjoying sex. There are still fantasies, of course, but plotlines and passion are at the forefront of the video.

Going Out of Style: Softcore Pornography

There are hundreds of genres in pornography to suit each viewer’s pleasures. All genres, however, fall under two general categories: softcore and hardcore pornography. From their titles it is obvious which of the two is more extreme. [11] Softcore pornography began with the women of Playboy, Penthouse and Hustler. [12]. When video technology emerged softcore was classified as pornography that does not depict actual penetration. It’s strategic positions that offer all the suggestion without the proof. [13] Plot revolves around corny dialogue and romantic fantasy opposed to shock value.

At the time books, magazines and VHS tapes featured what is now commonplace in plenty of TV shows and movies. The bodies pressed together, suggestive movements and imitations of oral sex without any genitalia actually being touched can be found in every episode of HBO’s Game of Thrones. Softcore pornography receives far less academic attention than hardcore pornography. Critics believe this to be the case because the genre, for the most part, refrains from harmful depictions of sex involving violence or humiliation; however, softcore porn can still be harmful. [14] Although these women are not actually having sex with their scene partner they can still be forced into a stereotype. Sexy nurses, innocent farm girls and “slutty” schoolgirls can be found within the magazine pages of softcore porn. Notice in Hustler magazine the women featured are called “pets”. [15]

"Straight Gonzo": Hardcore Pornography 

When video technology emerged, there was nowhere for the porn industry to go but up. To remain edgy, new and exciting videos became more extreme and all about shock value. Hardcore pornography draws political attention because of its violent themes regarding sex while remaining protected under the first amendment.

Low budget with nothing left to the imagination “gonzo” pornography has been defined as content that features extreme sex to be viewed by audiences from above. Often filmed with poor lighting and a shaky camera the term “gonzo” has become a catch-all for hardcore porn and its content.

Urban dictionary defines “gonzo”:

“When it comes to pornography the term ‘Gonzo’ refers to a style of film making pioneered in the 1990s by directors such as Seymore Butts and Ben Dover. Gonzo porn took the storyline out of adult movies and headed straight for the sex. No longer would the pornoholic have to fast forward through 10 minutes of inept dialog to get 5 minutes of sex. They got sex throughout the whole video. Gonzo porn was not always shot in the first person.” [16]

Although it’s not the case for every video, “gonzo” porn often features violence and humiliation. [17] There is not much variety in this genre as each video follows the same checklist of who does what when, how hard, and for how long.

Hardcore pornography and its potentially harmful content has created a rift in the American feminist community. Anti-porn advocates and anti-porn feminists protest against the content typically found in hardcore porn. [18] In 1997 Catharine MacKinnon and Andrea Dworkin drafted a bill that would allow women to bring forward civil lawsuits against people involved in the production, circulation or display of pornography that featured trafficking, coercion, forced performance and assault or physical attack

 

This legislation defined pornography as:

1. Women are presented as sexual objects who enjoy pain or humiliation; or
2. Women are presented as sexual objects who experience sexual pleasure in being raped; or
3. Women are presented as sexual objects tied up or cut up or mutilated or bruised or physically hurt, or as dismembered or truncated or fragmented or severed into body parts; or
4. Women are presented as being penetrated by objects or animals; or
5. Women are presented in scenarios of degradation, injury, abusement, torture, shown as filthy or inferior, (p.115) bleeding or bruised, or hurt in a context that makes these conditions sexual; [or]
6. Women are presented as sexual objects for domination, conquest, violation, exploitation, possession, or use, or through postures of servility and submission or display. (1997: 444) [19] [20]  

Notice that racial and gender stereotypes or negative depictions are not even on MacKinnon and Dworkin's radar. The bill died after it was deemed “censorship” and violation of the First Amendment.

In 2008, the UK created legislation that would regulate pornographic content. Section 63 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act states that possession of “extreme pornography (acts threatening life, acts which may lead to serious injury to a person’s anus, breasts or genitals, sexual acts with either a real or simulated corpse or animal” would earn up to a maximum penalty of three years. In 2015 rape pornography was added to this list. The reason for these laws came after the murder of a young woman named Jane Longhurst by a man who owned “pornography of an extreme nature”. [21]

There is one form of pornographic content that faces federal regulation: revenge porn. This type of content usually comes from an ex-partner. Videos and photos may have been taken consensually while in the relationship but were meant to remain private. Revenge porn can come from other people for other reasons, too. Some people share videos to make money, as a “joke” or as blackmail. [22]

Revenge porn is illegal in nearly every U.S. state, not including Massachusetts, Wyoming, South Carolina and Mississippi and in 2016 Utah passed a resolution declaring pornography a “public health crisis”. [23]

 

Conclusions: 

Researchers have found across 24 different studies that pornography can have a negative impact on a person’s brain— so much so that the brain is physically changed. More than 20 studies conducted around the world have found that pornography is significantly associated with sexual aggression among both men and women. Cindy Gallop’s claim that when men view mainstream hardcore pornography their understanding of sex acts and what to expect become warped and can have a negative effect on them and their partner. [24]

Pro-sex feminists support pornography because it shows a woman taking ownership of her sexuality and using her body as she pleases. This ideology isn’t exactly pro-pornography, because it can be concluded that not all women performing in the porn industry are there by choice and some themes and tropes are arguably inciting violence against women. So, there’s an understanding that some aspects of the current pornography industry need to be changed while others can continue to act as artistic expression and female empowerment. [25] [26] 

These findings are both accurate, so what’s standing in the way of drawing a clear regulatory line between harmful and harmless porn? Censorship. A feminist defending pornography writes, “concern over who will act as censor because subjective words, such as "degrading," will be interpreted to mean whatever the censor wishes.” [27]

Even though the person/ group that should be making these regulations, there are aspects that can objectively be deemed harmful. Not everybody enjoys the same kind of sex and it would be ignorant to shame a person for their specific “kinks”, or the use of non-conventional sexual practices, concepts or fantasies”. This stands true unless their sexual interests are based upon molestation, violence, racism, homophobia, or humiliation. Whatever gets your motor running is nobody else’s business until your sexual desire hurts someone else.

And this applies to all pornographic content, not just the mainstream created by men. A female porn producer named Petra Joy creates “art-core” films. She defines her idea: “Women have a lot of catching up to do. We had the sex toy revolution first - no more giant cucumbers but a gold-plated mini vibrator perfect for clit stimulation - and now the second wave is the porn revolution: porn that is made by and for women, that focuses on female pleasure and features male sex objects." [28] The objectification of men, women or any other defining gender is harmful.

Application: 

Due to the lack of regulation it is up to the consumer to vet which pornography does not promote violence, sex with a minor, the humiliation of women or harmful stereotypes. This means we must become what college professor Shira Tarrant calls “porn literate”. In her article she writes that, “we would be smart to figure out strategies for dealing constructively with the impact of this media genre instead of trying to silence it, shut it down or uncritically supporting it.” [29]

A viewer can search for whatever fantasy or sexual taste they please, however, in every video there must be one underlying factor: consent. Since the lines between pornography and reality seem to be blurring as consumption continues to climb, the audience needs to learn independently how to decode porn. Tarrant references the ineffective regarding abstinence or drug use. Encouraging impressionable people to completely refrain from viewing pornography isn’t realistic. Like all sexual education students need to learn how to talk about it without fear or shame. Opening up discussion validates the impact of pornographic content therefore decisions and opinions can be made.

Tarrant states, “Americans understand that censorship violates our most fundamental principles of free speech. Instead, what is necessary is greater conversation to confront crucial issues of equality, safety and consent while promoting agency, autonomy and free will.”

 

Footnotes: 

1.  Hooker, D. (1970, February). Bibi and Barbara [Photograph]. Playboy Magazine February 1970.
2. Alas, M., & M. P. (2013, December). Kate Moss [Photograph]. Playboy Magazine January/February 2014. 
3.  How Porn Affects Sexual Tastes. (2018, June 26). Retrieved November 16, 2020, from https://fightthenewdrug.org/how-porn-affects-sexual-tastes/
4.  The Most Up-to-Date Pornography Statistics. (2015, January). Retrieved November 24, 2020, from https://www.covenanteyes.com/pornstats/
5.  Gallop, C. (2009). Make love, not porn. Retrieved November 16, 2020, from https://www.ted.com/talks/cindy_gallop_make_love_not_porn
6.  Gallop, C. (2020, October 20). MakeLoveNotPorn - social sex video sharing platform. Retrieved November 16, 2020, from https://makelovenotporn.tv/
7.  May, C. (2011, March 22). Porn made for women, by women. Retrieved November 24, 2020, from https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/mar/22/porn-women
8.  Bałaga, M. (2019, February 14). Erika Lust • Director. Retrieved November 25, 2020, from https://cineuropa.org/en/interview/368113/
9. Brown, S. (2017, October 13). Porn: Made for men, by men. Retrieved November 24, 2020, from https://dailyevergreen.com/18487/special-editions/sex-edition/sex-edition 2017/how-women-are-treated-in-the-porn-industry
10. The Most Up-to-Date Pornography Statistics. (2015, January). Retrieved November 24, 2020, from https://www.covenanteyes.com/pornstats/
11. Candace Collins [Photograph]. (1979). Playboy Magazine.
12. Sinparty. (2020, March 27). Softcore vs. Hardcore Pornography: Origins, Rules, and History. Retrieved November 16, 2020, from https://medium.com/@sinparty/softcore-vs   hardcore-pornography-origins-rules-and-history-442f10bb677 
13. Glass, J. (2016, February 11). A Former 'Playboy' PA on the Glory Days of Softcore. Retrieved November 24, 2020, from https://www.thrillist.com/sex-dating/nation/so-how-does-softcore-porn-work-are-actors-in-softcore-having-sex
14. Andrews, D. (2004). Convention and Ideology in the Contemporary Softcore Feature: The Sexual Architecture of House of Love. The Journal of Popular Culture, 38(1), 5-33. doi:10.1111/j.0022-3840.2004. 00098.x
15. Pet of Year Special Isabella Concetta Ardigo [Photograph]. (1980, November). Penthouse Magazine Vol. 15 No. 11 1981.
16.   P. (2005, August 16). Gonzo. Retrieved November 24, 2020, from https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Gonzo
17.  Alberto Brodesco (2016) POV to the people: online discourses about gonzo pornography, Porn    Studies, 3:4, 362-372, DOI: 10.1080/23268743.2016.1241158
18. Alper, B. (2019, February 16). Don't Let Sex Distract You from the Revolution. Retrieved November 24, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/16/opinion/sunday/sex-power-feminism.html
19. Altman, Andrew, and Lori Watson. Debating Pornography. New York, NY: Oxford University   Press, 2019.
20. Goetz, J. (1980s). Dworkin at an anti-porn demonstration in New Orleans [Photograph]. New York Magazine.
21. Ruobing Su, T. (2019, October 30). Here's a map showing which US states have passed laws against revenge porn - and those where it's still legal. Retrieved November 24, 2020, from https://www.businessinsider.com/map-states-where-revenge-porn-banned-2019-10
22. Dekeseredy, W. S., & Schwartz, M. D. (2016). Thinking Sociologically About Image-Based        Sexual Abuse. Sexualization, Media, & Society, 2(4), 237462381668469.        doi:10.1177/2374623816684692
23. Ruobing Su, T. (2019, October 30). Here's a map showing which US states have passed laws against revenge porn - and those where it's still legal. Retrieved November 24, 2020, from https://www.businessinsider.com/map-states-where-revenge-porn-banned-2019-10
24. Ciclitira, K. (2004). Pornography, Women and Feminism: Between Pleasure and Politics. Sexualities, 7(3), 281-301. doi:10.1177/136346070404014
25. Halverson, H. (2019, March 31). Opinion | The anti-porn movement is growing. The public is just catching up. Retrieved November 24, 2020, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/in-theory/wp/2016/05/27/the-anti-porn-movement-is-growing-the-public-is-just-catching-up/
26. James Binnie & Paula Reavey (2020) Development and implications of pornography use: a narrative review, Sexual and Relationship Therapy, 35:2, 178-194, DOI:            10.1080/14681994.2019.1635250
27. McElroy, W. (n.d.). A Feminist Defense of Pornography. Free Inquiry Magazine, 14(4).
28. The Most Up-to-Date Pornography Statistics. (2015, January). Retrieved November 24, 2020, from https://www.covenanteyes.com/pornstats/ 

29. Tarrant, Shira. “Porn 101: Why College Kids Need Porn Literacy Training.” AlterNet, September 15, 2010. http://www.rolereboot.org/wp-content/themes/rolereboot/assets/ttp/pornography_101-_why_college_kids_need_porn_literacy_training.pdf.