The Contribution from the
Pornography Industry
Pornography is a very successful industry which doesn't seem to be ceasing any time soon. Pornography, itself, is not necessarily a problem as much as what society seems to take from it and how it portrays women. I don't mean this by women being viewed as sex objects, although most of the time they are, but the bodily beauty expectations which arise from porn. All of the top-notch female porn stars have large, perfectly symmetrical breasts, a thin waist, a plump and round bottom, and perfect skin which is then coated by a crazy amount of makeup. Because of these women, since they seem natural given that they are completely naked while being viewed, there are many people who believe that women are actually supposed to look like that. If they don't, well then they are just considered to be unattractive, just like the rest of us flat chested and untoned busy women who actually have lives to lead. From being exposed to this type of unattainable body type, many women feel as though they need to improve upon themselves in order to appear more similar to these "fake" women and how they carry themselves. Jean Kilbourne builds upon this by stating, "women are constantly exhorted to emulate this ideal, to
feel ashamed and guilty if they fail, and to feel that
their desirability and lovability are contingent upon
physical perfection," (Kilbourne). In the picture to the left of this text, the woman is certainly well-endowed with a tiny waist, this certainly seems un-proportional to her body... as well as her poreless face. This is a prime example of why women feel as though they cannot meet the particular standard that society has laid out for them. However, we should not be trying to meet this standard, we should be trying to beat it since we have one thing that they do not; the fact that we are real people, never photoshopped or "perfected" by anyone else, just ourselves.
There have always been events or rules in society that have limited a woman's sexuality and enjoyment in sexual pleasure, however we've been able to surpass them and receive access to birth control methods and break through other societal sexual boundaries, so a woman was finally "allowed" to enjoy sex again without worry. However, "that sexuality was quickly restrained once again by the new social forces of beauty pornography and beauty sadomasochism, which arose to put the guilt, shame, and pain back into women's experience of sex," (Wolf 132). It wouldn't be as bad if people weren't always giving such positive responses to absolute fakeness being displayed through media. It's very easy to pick out a stereotypically attractive woman, however it's the somewhat degrading notion of hearing men announce "oh, she's so hot." What about her is actually "hot?" Is it her fake breasts? Her fake puffy lips created by lip augmentation? Her poreless face, created by a shield of makeup? Or maybe it's her unproportional body and unrealistic body shape? Why is it that this particular "look" is so appealing to our society? In all honesty, there is nothing sexy or attractive about anything artificial being added to a woman's body. Of course I say this and then look at more pictures of these women and still cannot help myself but think that I am still not attractive enough; damn society staining my subconscious with insecurities about myself.
Vogue was the first magazine which displayed naked women that other women would be comparing themselves to. Naomi Wolf has written that "Helmut Newton's leather-adorned nudes appeared in Vogue, and David Hamilton's photographs of naked preadolescents were sold in bookstores. The "ideal" female body was stripped down and on display all over. That gave for a woman, for the first time in history, the graphic details of perfection against which to measure herself, and introduced a new female experience, the anxious minute scrutiny of the body as intricately connected to female sexual pleasure," (Wolf 134). This breakthrough in beauty culture media is what has fueled the fire of all women's insecurities.
The problem is not the sex or porn itself, there is no problem with that since we are in the United States and it is perfectly legal. The problem is how women are portrayed and the idea that if they do not look like these stereotypical pornstars or models that they are not considered beautiful or attractive by society. Wolf continues with "if there were a full spectrum of erotic images of uncoerced real women and real men in contexts of sexual trust, beauty pornography could theoretically hurt no one," (Wolf 135). It is the way in which these women are portrayed that is so disturbing.The video to the right and above this text is titled Miss Representation and it is an excellent video which demonstrates the ways in which mass media takes advantage of the woman's body and basically uses it against us. Jean Kilbourne speaks in this video as well, and as I've been looking more into her research I have become very fond of her as well and her works. One part of her article, "Beauty and the Beast of Advertising," mentioned that,"Advertising images do not cause these problems, but they contribute to them by creating a climate in which the marketing of women's bodies--the sexual sell and dismemberment, distorted body image ideals and the use of children as sex objects--is seen as acceptable," (Kilbourne). This relates greatly to Naomi Wolf as well when she discusses the representations of the female body in advertisement as well or even in pornography. Wolf mentions that "rather than seeing images of female desire or that cater to female desire, we see mock-ups of living mannequins, made to contort and grimace, immobilized and uncomfortable under hot lights, professional set-pieces that reveal little about female sexuality," (Wolf 136). Although the media tries to make it seem like they create their films and advertisements with women in mind, it is completely false because anything that they create has no truth to it. Wolf continues with "female nakedness became inhuman, "perfected" beyond
familiarity, freakishly like a sculpture in plastic, and often degraded or violated," (Wolf 137). This ties into another aspect of the porn industry, which is the fact that they, a majority of the time, make it look as though women are powerless and enjoy being completely submissive and controlled by men, sometimes even through violence.
Media makes it seem as though women want to be thrown around or violated by men which is completely not the case, and they make it seem as though the men have all of the power and that it is okay for them to do so. This is an awful idea to portray to society since this is not at all the case. Violence and control have no part in a female's sexuality and it should not be made for people to interpret it that way because it sends across a horrible message which makes it seem as though rape or persuasion/pushing a woman to commit a sexual act. Naomi Wolf touches upon this as well in her book The Beauty Myth by including that "where beautiful women in 1950s culture got married or seduced, in modern culture the beauty gets raped. Even if we never seek out pornography, we often see rape where sex should be... even if she avoids pornography, a woman will, by watching mainstream, middle-brow plays, films, and TV, learn the conventions of her threatened rape in detail, close up," (Wolf 137). The influences that these types of media have on women are profound, whether they realize it or not.
Many women believe that they just have simple insecurities, with nothing sparking them except for the fact that they are too fat, or their breasts aren't big enough, or they're not sexy enough. The real reason is the subliminal messaging that gets shoved through the poor woman's brain every single day, reminding her of all of the reasons why she should feel that way. Women try to actualize the images that they are seeing and believe that they want to become these women instead of themselves which is a cyclical, infinite battle that the poor woman will fight until she realizes that the women she has been comparing herself to are nothing but silicone enhancements, extensions, and makeup; nothing like the real woman that she actually has built herself to be...which is much more beautiful. Kilbourne adds that "By remaining unaware of the profound seriousness of the ubiquitous influence, the redundant message and the subliminal impact of advertisements, we ignore one of the most powerful "educational" forces in the culture -- one that greatly affects our self-images, our ability to relate to each other, and effectively destroys any awareness and action that might help to change that climate," (Kilbourne). The women believe the stereotypes, believe that they can achieve them, and see themselves as being worth so much less than they truly are. However it is not only the pornography industry that shows women that her beauty is the only important aspect of her life, the same lesson is taught in beauty pageants as well. However, more on that to come in my next post!
Sincerely,
Samantha
Vogue was the first magazine which displayed naked women that other women would be comparing themselves to. Naomi Wolf has written that "Helmut Newton's leather-adorned nudes appeared in Vogue, and David Hamilton's photographs of naked preadolescents were sold in bookstores. The "ideal" female body was stripped down and on display all over. That gave for a woman, for the first time in history, the graphic details of perfection against which to measure herself, and introduced a new female experience, the anxious minute scrutiny of the body as intricately connected to female sexual pleasure," (Wolf 134). This breakthrough in beauty culture media is what has fueled the fire of all women's insecurities.
The problem is not the sex or porn itself, there is no problem with that since we are in the United States and it is perfectly legal. The problem is how women are portrayed and the idea that if they do not look like these stereotypical pornstars or models that they are not considered beautiful or attractive by society. Wolf continues with "if there were a full spectrum of erotic images of uncoerced real women and real men in contexts of sexual trust, beauty pornography could theoretically hurt no one," (Wolf 135). It is the way in which these women are portrayed that is so disturbing.The video to the right and above this text is titled Miss Representation and it is an excellent video which demonstrates the ways in which mass media takes advantage of the woman's body and basically uses it against us. Jean Kilbourne speaks in this video as well, and as I've been looking more into her research I have become very fond of her as well and her works. One part of her article, "Beauty and the Beast of Advertising," mentioned that,"Advertising images do not cause these problems, but they contribute to them by creating a climate in which the marketing of women's bodies--the sexual sell and dismemberment, distorted body image ideals and the use of children as sex objects--is seen as acceptable," (Kilbourne). This relates greatly to Naomi Wolf as well when she discusses the representations of the female body in advertisement as well or even in pornography. Wolf mentions that "rather than seeing images of female desire or that cater to female desire, we see mock-ups of living mannequins, made to contort and grimace, immobilized and uncomfortable under hot lights, professional set-pieces that reveal little about female sexuality," (Wolf 136). Although the media tries to make it seem like they create their films and advertisements with women in mind, it is completely false because anything that they create has no truth to it. Wolf continues with "female nakedness became inhuman, "perfected" beyond
 |
| Jean Kilbourne |
Media makes it seem as though women want to be thrown around or violated by men which is completely not the case, and they make it seem as though the men have all of the power and that it is okay for them to do so. This is an awful idea to portray to society since this is not at all the case. Violence and control have no part in a female's sexuality and it should not be made for people to interpret it that way because it sends across a horrible message which makes it seem as though rape or persuasion/pushing a woman to commit a sexual act. Naomi Wolf touches upon this as well in her book The Beauty Myth by including that "where beautiful women in 1950s culture got married or seduced, in modern culture the beauty gets raped. Even if we never seek out pornography, we often see rape where sex should be... even if she avoids pornography, a woman will, by watching mainstream, middle-brow plays, films, and TV, learn the conventions of her threatened rape in detail, close up," (Wolf 137). The influences that these types of media have on women are profound, whether they realize it or not.
Many women believe that they just have simple insecurities, with nothing sparking them except for the fact that they are too fat, or their breasts aren't big enough, or they're not sexy enough. The real reason is the subliminal messaging that gets shoved through the poor woman's brain every single day, reminding her of all of the reasons why she should feel that way. Women try to actualize the images that they are seeing and believe that they want to become these women instead of themselves which is a cyclical, infinite battle that the poor woman will fight until she realizes that the women she has been comparing herself to are nothing but silicone enhancements, extensions, and makeup; nothing like the real woman that she actually has built herself to be...which is much more beautiful. Kilbourne adds that "By remaining unaware of the profound seriousness of the ubiquitous influence, the redundant message and the subliminal impact of advertisements, we ignore one of the most powerful "educational" forces in the culture -- one that greatly affects our self-images, our ability to relate to each other, and effectively destroys any awareness and action that might help to change that climate," (Kilbourne). The women believe the stereotypes, believe that they can achieve them, and see themselves as being worth so much less than they truly are. However it is not only the pornography industry that shows women that her beauty is the only important aspect of her life, the same lesson is taught in beauty pageants as well. However, more on that to come in my next post!
Sincerely,
Samantha
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