The Pornified Culture
We live in a pornified culture. A culture that destroy the sophistication of language, a culture that exploits the definition of masculinity, and a culture that sees women as sacks of meat with three holes and one purpose—sex. Right now, women and are commodities. Sex doesn’t sell, sexism sells, and this is a horrify concept. Gender inequality affects us all, and misogyny is engrained in the minds of everyone.
The history of porn spans literally to the beginnings of man. In central India during c. 950, Hemvati began constructing temples. Many of which were covered with sexual art on the outer walls, leading Western scholars to mistakenly believe that Hinduism was an uninhibited religion. As well, when Pompeii was excavated, the city of ash was scandalized with sexually explicit sculptures and art when it was discovered. Pictures of people committing sexual acts were used to advertise for Pompeii’s brothels. However, it was within the 20th century that porn culture itself was created and popularized.
During the 1950’s, Hugh Hefner created Playboy magazine. Hefner believed in only two essential activities that could make a man— he must read literature, and have control over his women. Playboy was born. The magazines had top writers and editors. Men felt sophisticated while reading Playboy, and that justified their intent to look at naked women.
At the same time, the Western world was shifting towards a more liberal view. Filmmakers began to experiment with sex tapes as a result of lax government regulations. Deep Throat, the first hardcore pornographic film, was first released in mainstream theaters in 1972. When adjusted for inflation rates, Deep Throat is among one of the top grossing films of all time, making 600 million dollars. This film was huge. People coming out of the conservative era wanted to see the hype behind the film. The sexual acts presented in Deep Throat were violent, forceful and never seen before.
In 1986, Linda Lovelace, the main actress in the film, testified before the Meese Commission (a government led investigation into the harmful effects of porn) and said that “ [viewers] are watching me get raped.” During the production of Deep Throat, the producer Chuck Traynor held a gun to her head, beat her, and threatened her family. Lovelace was paid $1,250 for being in the film, but she was never compensated for her wounds and psychological damage. Deep Throat started the “Golden Age of Porn”—an era that questioned sexuality and libertarianism.
Pornography became very popular in the mainstream, and a massive audience accepted it in the 1970’s. Moreover, this Golden Age created a sick illusion. Men wanted to experience what was happening on screen at home, and they expected their partner’s to perform sexual acts that were both degrading and harmful. Back then, rough sex was a very new concept, and most women felt uncomfortable. Suddenly, society began to promote misogynistic beauty ideals. Pornography started to set standards for the human body—pubic hair, small breasts, and fat became seen as unattractive and unnatural.
What’s wrong with porn and how does it affect us today? Porn is a gold mine in our recessive economy—a multi-billion dollar global industry with 68% of all men and 18% of all women who use it, but put it simply, as Simon Lajeunesse a professor at the University of Montreal would say, “Guys who do not watch pornography do not exist.” The producers, the actors and the politicians involved will stop at nothing to make their profits. It is an industry of greed that crushes women and tosses them out. Lovelace’s abuse is common among the victims in the industry. Although it may not be on film, violence, harassment and injuries are the norm. Porn is not a fantasy. It is real and it happens to someone. The industry is always pushing their genres further. Have it filthier, and in terms of a director, make it brutal and real.
Because of its narrowing views, pornography stunts sexuality. In heterosexual porn, males are central, cruel and degrading while females are portrayed as enjoying the cruelty. Every man in porn gets what he wants, and the woman has absolutely no will but to satisfy his needs.
As a society, we lack proper sex education. Combined with a skewed view on sexuality, people will use porn as their primary source. Because of the accessibility of the Internet, the average age kids are exposed to porn is 8-10. Young boys grow up thinking that they’re entitled to women. 69% of girls have been called a bitch, slut or whore. Many of who experienced sexual harassment to some degree.
Currently, the crusaders in the fight for gender equality are the feminists. The misconception with the movement is that it is anti-sex. Nannerl O. Koehane, former president of Wellesley College says that feminism “embraces the belief that no one of either sex should be channeled into (or out of) a particular life because of gender.” Each person has the opportunity to pursue their dreams, and gender should never be a factor holding them back.
Dr. Ane Stø is the director of the Norwegian feminist group “Kvinnegruppa Ottar.” Her cause fights against pornography and violence against women. Stø coined the term “pornografication,” a concept where mainstream media borrows expressions from the porn and sex industry. Currently, the media is glamourizing pornographic actors such as Jenna Jameson and Ron Jeremy. They appear regularly in pop culture and as socialites. Additionally, they are very successful, and the media insists that young girls to look up to them. Often times it is subliminal, but it is passively accepted.
Take Pretty Woman starring Julia Roberts as an example—the most successful film in the romantic comedy genre. It tells a story of a Hollywood prostitute who is hired by a wealthy businessman and lives happily ever after. In reality, a happy ending in prostitution does not exist. Women get hooked on to drugs by their pimps, get beaten up and are left to die on the streets. How can Hollywood rationalize such a heartbreaking life?
A very direct example of pornografication is in magazines. The covers of Teen Magazine, Vogue and Cosmopolitan have headlines such as: “75 sex moves men crave,” “The love tricks that make him want you more,” “Jeans that make your butt look big.” Notice something odd about the headlines? “Sex moves men crave,” “Tricks that make him want you more.” These are magazines catered towards a female audience. Why is it all about him? It’s for women. Shouldn’t it be about her?
Here are a few excerpts from a girl’s magazine:
- “The hair style “down there” should always look delicious.”
- “Surprise your boyfriend with a strip show!”
- “Problem: My boyfriend makes me swallow his sperm and I think it’s disgusting. How can I make him understand I don’t want to do this?
Answer: It is important for boys that their sexual partners swallow their sperm. If not, he feels rejected.”
As well, the goal of the magazines is to tell women how to avoid something undesirable and inappropriate that may displease men. This is how dominant males have become. Our culture states that men, by all means, need to be pleased—and the desires of women are unimportant. Meanwhile, the idea is to be slim and have “The Perfect Body” with lush skin and silky hair. There are more articles focused on weight loss and body improvements then there are on bettering human qualities.
Sadly, all this places extreme pressure on all girls. In this culture, “no,” is not an answer. In this culture, a confident girl takes part in sexual activities while a boy decides who is hot based on what he wants. The girl who says “no” is uptight and boring, and consequently, girls take part in sexual activities for fear of losing their boyfriends or not gaining social status.
Finally, all this madness and misogyny leads up to a phenomenon known as rape culture—a concept linking sexual violence with society. Many people today deny the existence of the culture—fair enough. We do live in a democratic society, and those people are entitled to their beliefs.
Truth is, ignorance is bliss, and people are willfully ignoring the issue and rationalizing its existence. That’s fine. These ideals are legal and technically not hurting anyone. But rape culture—what is it?
Men in our society are “entitled” to women; therefore, it is clear that the perceptions towards them are that they are merely objects. After all, why should rights be given to an object? Rape culture is sentencing that isn’t simultaneous with the crime. Rape culture is when the perpetrators sue their targets for identifying him as pedophiles. Rape culture is a judge citing a 14 year-old victim as being in control with the situation. If you haven’t understood by now, rape culture is our culture.
The University of British Columbia is one of the most respected universities in Canada. Last year during frosh week, its students were reported to be singing chants advocating rape—the crowd consisted of both men and women. A university. These were students, educated people with high GPA scores.
The chant goes like this:
Y-O-U-N-G
We like ‘em young, Y is for your sister, O is for oh so tight, U is for underage, N is for no consent, G is for go to jail.”
These are leaders of the new generation—my peers. How can they be so barbaric?
There have also been rises of rapes on campus.
Is there a connection between porn and rape culture? You decide. After all, you are still entitled to ignore it. I can almost guarantee you that people involved in sexual violence are addicted to porn.
Pornography is constructing our sexuality—we are no longer in control. This is the first time in human history where women are openly taking part in their own exploitation. Clearly, it affects everyone regardless of gender. Personally, I want my children to live in a world where they can reach their potentials without being subjected to degrading ideals. We are not equal, and the future needs to become more progressive in order to protect the equality of everyone. Presently, men are human beings, and women are just females.
Macklemore’s hit song “Same Love” addresses the inequality in the LGBT community; as well, Macklemore is keen on gender equality. His music is revolutionizing the hip-hop scene. Perhaps he said it best in his final verse, “No freedom till were equal, damn right I support it.”
As for me in the fight for gender equality? Damn right I support it.
