Is Mainstream Pornography Harmful to Women? An Analysis

This article delves into the debate surrounding the harmful effects of mainstream pornography on women. It discusses the objectification and degradation of women in pornographic films, the prevalence of aggression towards female actresses, and the negative impact of pornography on feminine roles in society. The article also explores the appropriateness of censorship and the need for effective sex education to promote gender equality.

Running head: PHILOSOPHY
Philosophy
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Question: Is the mainstream pornography harmful to women? In what ways is it or is it
not? What kind or level of censorship of pornography is appropriate, and why?
Answer:
The concept of pornography is more than just a cultural violence, it is the
inappropriate objectification of women in the male-dominated world. Women and
mainstream pornography have been a long debated topic in the current era. The depiction of
women in the pornographic films is not empowering but degrading (DeKeseredy &
Corsianos, 2015). Though in the context of the right to freedom of action, it is the choice of
the women whether to be a part of an adult film, according to researchers and the current era,
the women in the mainstream pornography are targeted for much aggression and degradation
(Lykke & Cohen, 2015).
The analysis by various researchers in the field of mainstream pornography and
women illustrates the presence of massive acts of aggression towards the female actress of
the pornographic female (Lim, Carrotte & Hellard, 2016). Both physical and verbal acts of
aggression were portrayed in the pornography which includes spanks, gagging, insulting,
torture, slapping and forcing inappropriate objects in the female genitals and private parts.
The objectification in the pornography is no less than a horrendous rape act towards the
women in the act. Most of the mainstream targets the female for the physical and the verbal
aggressive acts. In case of women being the perpetrator, it is often shown that they are
frequently aggressive towards the other women in the film. The rate or the percentage of
men facing aggression in pornography is as less as 1.4% (Burke, 2016). Furthermore one of
the major factor that contributes to the harm of women in the mainstream pornography is the
act of aggression among women and women.In the context of true empowerment, it is
important for every other women to support and encourage other fellow female worker and

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not abuse her both verbally and physically. This is because the objectification of aggression
and horrendous acts among women in the mainstream pornography nurtures the stereotype
that women do not care to support and help the female in an abusive situation. The current
depiction in the pornography in the current era is not at all empowerment of women but
simply the act of degradation (Mikorski & Szymanski, 2017). The ideal representation of the
masculine dominance and feminine submission in the mainstream pornography is a threat to
the culture and the society at a large. This is harmful since it states a political campaign by
the stronger ones against the weaker section of the society which tends to legitimize,
sexualize and allows different nature of abuse against women (Shor & Seida, 2018).
According to certain philosophers and researchers, pornography not only creates violence but
it is itself a violence. The abuse towards the feminine gender either in the form of
psychological or physical form tends to be the basic norms in the modern society nowadays.
The bigotry and the mainstream pornography promotes acts of severe aggression that
marginalize and diminishes the equality of rights for the women. Mainstream pornography is
more than just some sexual fantasies but acts of discrimination against the feminine gender
with damaging effects. The four major elements of feminine subordinate include hierarchy,
submission and the dynamic of dominance, objectification, and violence. It is the tendency of
the masculine gender to define the sexuality of the feminine gender by the usage of women’s
bodies as objects for the pleasure of the male. Through the mainstream pornography, men
tend to portray the gender role of the female as submissive and inferior. This is harmful to
women since this characterization and objectification tends to have an adverse effect on the
feminine roles in the society (Gelber & Stone, 2017). Furthermore, mainstream pornography
is the material means to sexualize inequality and hence it is the central practise for the
subordination of the feminine gender. Mainstream pornography is extremely harmful to
women since initially it is presented as the imagery of sexual satisfaction but actually it is a

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political statement that portrays feminine inequality. It is a powerful depiction of the
subordination, degradation and social inequality of the feminine gender that portrays the
phallocentric hierarchical power of the masculine gender over the feminine power. The men
in the society tend to believe that they can commit these horrendous acts as the means of
assertion or enjoyment of the dominance of masculine gender. According to the viewpoint of
the feminists, the portrayal or the objectification of women being tortured, bound, raped,
beaten, abused and degraded for the purpose of sexual pleasure and stimulation tends to
develop a psychological link among the norms of sexuality and hat of violence (Palmer,
2018). These actions make the masculine gender of the society to believe that women are the
masochistic, easy targets and a sexual plaything and that violence and abuse towards the
women is itself a sexual turn on. These objectification of women in the mainstream porn
industry teacher women to become passive and helpless to assent towards the act of
victimization. According to the feminist, the portrayal of feminity in the mainstream
pornography has been so degrading from the past few decades that people tend not be
bothered and interested in the fact that the women are actually hurt in the violent scenes of
the pornography (Maes, 2017). The proliferation of the showcase of abuse towards women in
the mainstream pornography is dangerous and has negative effects towards the feminine
gender. Some of the notable theories related the effects of mainstream pornography includes
sexual scripting theory which was developed by Gagnon and Simon in response to the
biological model of dominance of the sexuality (Baker, 2016). According to the basic
concepts of this theory, social factors are more essential and crucial than the biological
drivers to the sexual foundations. The distinction between reality and fantasy are confused
with the depiction of the idealistic representation of the physique of men and women are
misjudges with typical body size and shapes (DeKeseredy & Corsianos, 2015). Social
comparison theory illustrates how comparison towards others influences the self perceptions

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of an individual. The theory of objectification states the context of socialization of women in
case of treatment of a women as a sexual object for the pleasure to the male.The theory
further explains how this objectification leads to anxiety and body shame among the feminine
gender.
In this profound sexist world, women are constantly been the victims of oppression.
Offensive and sexist mainstream pornography are the results of the nature of the sexist world.
Main stream pornographies are their reflection of the violence against women which make it
appear exciting for the masculine gender to abuse the women and target the women as an
object to gain pleasure (Lykke & Cohen, 2015). Mainstream pornography legitimizes the
similar sexual behavior in the private lives of an individual. The context of censorship only
tends to create a strong interest towards what is being censored. Though censorship
legislation is essential in case of mainstream pornography, but education towards sex is a far
more important move to diminish and abolish the harm towards women (Whisnant, 2016).
Censorship in pornography is essential to the extent where the violation towards women is
being shown. Though there lies certain concept of the freedom of speech and losing the
freedom of speech tends to outweigh the benefits of pornography banning. From the point of
view of a feminist, censorship in the mainstream pornography needs to be done with
discussion and with delicacy (Henry & Powell, 2015). This is because the concept of
mainstream pornography is still illegal in many parts of the world which hinders on the
pathway for open and intelligent discussion regarding the contents of pornography. Hence
censorship in pornography is a risky argument since the concept of global censorship laws in
the era of mass media and global censorship to stop the representation and marketing of
sexist images of women is next to impossible. Furthermore, having five people on the boards
of censorship for deciding the context of pornography tends to restrict the input of the society
and its rate of acceptance.

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Feminity is indeed portrayed as the weaker gender of the society. The concept of
censorship has not been fruitful in the past decades and it is thus a big question whether it
will work in future too. The one and only viable solution towards the issues of harm towards
the women due to the mainstream pornography is the support for politics of representation
and effective sex education in the society. It is essential for the society to take heed and
challenge the stereotypes of gender myths for the promotion of the gender equality in the
pornography that showcases the violence and abuse of women as a normal act of
entertainment for pleasure.

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References
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