PROSTITUTION AND PORNOGRAPHY

Transcription

1 PROSTITUTION AND PORNOGRAPHY

2 Sexual Behaviors as Social Problems Prostitution and commercialized vice Defined as the unlawful promotion of or participation in sexual activities for profit, including attempts. To solicit customers or transport persons for prostitution purposes; to own, manage, or operate a dwelling or other establishment for the purpose of providing a place where prostitution is performed; or to otherwise assist or promote prostitution

3 Prostitution in the United States In the U.S., prostitution is only legal in certain areas of the state of Nevada Even then, not all forms of prostitution are legal Kingsley Davis Four distinct motives for men to use prostitutes Difficulty with sexual relationships Difficulty finding long-term partners Broken relationships Sexual gratification seen as immoral or that their normal sex partner is unwilling to provide

4 Prostitution in the United States Sociologist Martin Monto Found that the most common activity requested was fellatio Feminist scholar Meda Chesney-Lind Prostitution provides access to nonemotional sex that can benefit both parties involved in the transaction The benefit manifests in distinctly different forms for each party Many argue this analysis is largely one-sided Prostitutes are often runaway girls who resort to prostitution as a means of survival

5 Prostitution in the United States Wendy Chapkis, ethnographic study Found that sex work for women involves far more than the act of selling themselves to customers Prostitution involves emotional labor Regulating one s emotions in accordance with the guidelines of a job

6 Why Prostitution? Three distinct stages of becoming a prostitute 1. Drift Occurs when there is a switch from casual sex to the first incident of exchanging sex for money 2. Transition Women experience ambivalence toward the new role as prostitutes and consider whether they want to continue along this path 3. Professionalization Women identify themselves as prostitutes and no longer feel the need to rationalize their behavior

7 Sex Tourism Prostitution is not always a personal choice Social structures can have an impact Sex tourism The practice of people from wealthy nations traveling to less developed countries to experience sexual acts Objectification Treating of person as an object or thing without concern for personal characteristics Commodification Transformation of relationships formerly unrelated to commerce into economic relationships

8 Pornography What is and is not pornography is at the center of the debate on this form of sexual deviance This relativity has caused problems in the past from a legal perspective 1957 Roth v. United States Defined pornography as something that appeals to a lust-oriented interest in sex, is in opposition to accepted community standards, and has no redeeming social value

9 Pornography Feminist definition Pornography is any graphic, sexually explicit medium that diminishes women Both definitions contain value-laden terms The roots of pornography can be traced back thousands of years Today, pornography thrives on the Internet Additional levels of anonymity are provided by the medium

10 What Is Classified as Pornography? 1973 Miller v. California The United States Supreme Court determined that pornography was not protected by claims of free speech and reaffirmed the rights of the community to determine what was acceptable Pornography is not an expression of free speech and could be eliminated Every state in the U.S. has pornography statutes Most follow the Roth case in defining it as something that is in opposition to community standards

11 Controversy and Research on Pornography Meese Commission President Ronald Reagan called for a study on the effects of pornography Many controversial conclusions Exposure to sexually violent materials causes men to act more aggressively toward women Rape rates were higher where pornography laws were more liberal States with higher porn sales had more instances of rape

12 Controversy and Research on Pornography Rapists were more likely to have been exposed to hard-core pornography as children Pornography serves to legitimize this violent act Males were exposed to porn that featured images of sexual violence Became desensitized Viewed rape victims as being less worthy of sexual rights Less injured than they actually were Commissioners stated understanding the fact that porn caused acts of sexual violence was simply a matter of common sense

13 Controversy and Research on Pornography The Meese report was not widely accepted Problems with the report Difficult to prove watching porn causes sexual violence in every case To disprove assertion, only need to find one instance where this does not happen The porn industry makes $10 billion to $14 billion or more per year It is clear that a rather large clientele exists It is increasingly apparent that not everyone who watches porn resorts to acts of sexual violence

14 Controversy and Research on Pornography A recent study found that during the period between 1995 and 1999 Porn was becoming increasingly available on the Internet Reports of forcible rape actually declined This contradictory evidence calls into question any claims of a clearcut connection between pornography and violent sexual behavior Many studies that attempt to show a causal relationship between pornography and behavior offer inconclusive results that only lead to more questions

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