PornSexual Orientation: Porn Dependent Sexuality in the Digital Age: Porn is the new sexuality: 1

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By doing Feminist research, the most favourable option for collecting data was Qualitative, more specifically, semi-structured interviews. Semi-structured interviewing creates an environment which avoids control over those interviewed (Reinharz, 1992:20) and “openness, engagement (… and) egalitarianism” (Reinharz, 1992:27). Feminist researchers argue that traditional social theories have often marginalised or rendered insignificant women’s life-worlds. I wanted to explore “issues of social change and social justice for women and other oppressed groups” (Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2007:114) and Feminist Pornography which has proved a sensitive topic which people feel uncomfortable talking about openly. Participants involved:

Mental health experts cannot agree on whether pornography addiction is real or how common it might be. What’s not very clear is whether pornosexuality is another preference, a trend, or an actual problem. Strictly speaking, pornosexuals are people who only and exclusively achieve sexual satisfaction when they look at porn. There’s no other way to experience sexual pleasure for them. They’re not occasional users of x-rated movies. Instead, porn is essential to the enjoyment of their sexuality. However, as it stands, porn can be a part of healthy relationships and have numerous benefits, although people should be aware of some potential risks.Daspe, M.-È. (2018). When pornography use feels out of control: The moderation effect of relationship and sexual satisfaction.

My research question is ‘What is the role of Feminist Pornography in Society?’ I decided to structure the research questions based on three areas of focus (shown below); that way, I could include the discussion of my findings within the three chapters, rather than separate them. Mccabe, J. (2005). Suicide girls’ exodus. F-Word [blog]. 23 November. http://www.thefword.org.uk/blog/2005/11/suicide_girls_e. Accessed 3 August 2011. An original research paper in Sexuality & Culture suggests that porn may increase sexual risk-taking, such as not using a condom or other barrier contraception. Interest in non-normative sexPorn has also been linked to sexual promiscuity, with some evidence suggesting that watching porn is associated with a sevenfold increase in the likelihood having casual sex. But this was only found to be the case for people who are unhappy. Cochrane, K. (2013) Feminism: The fourth wave of feminism: meet the rebel women. The Guardian, 10 December [Online]. Available online: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/10/fourth-wave-feminism-rebel-women [Accessed 11/03/2020]. Mansell, R. (1999). New media competition and access the scarcity-abundance dialectic. New Media & Society, 1(2), 155–182. Radical anti-porn feminists argue that the best strategy to end the objectification of women in pornography is through criminalising and attempting to eliminate it but is this an effective strategy or are their ideas privileged and “misguided” (Saul, 2003:102)? As the researcher I will explore the views of Anti-porn feminists and why Feminist Pornography may be a positive solution to the adverse effects of mass-produced mainstream Pornography. Mendes, K. D., Keller, J., & Ringrose, J. (Forthcoming 2016). Speaking ‘Unspeakable Things’: Documenting Digital Feminist Responses to Rape Culture. Journal of Gender Studies.

Rubin, G. (199 Potter, C. (2016) Not Safe for Work: Why Feminist Pornography Matters. Dissent Magazine, Spring 2016 [Online]. Available Online: https://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/not-safe-for-work-feminist-pornography-matters-sex-wars [Accessed 04/04/2020]. And here you thought gay, bisexual and straight were the only sexual orientations, ha! There are so, so many more.

Internet pornography has made the genre more accessible. For this reason, most experts think that porn consumption has slightly increased over the past few decades. The gaze is discussed theoretically in both art and cinema, in European art, the nude woman is often looking out of the painting. The gaze that she is seducing with her naked body is assumed, male. As John Berger explains “she is not naked as she is, she is naked as the spectator sees her” (Berger, 2008:44) therefore suggesting her body is not her own instead it is a “spectacle” (Stratton, 1996:109) of male desire and affection. Women are not only watched through the camera lens, but it is also through the media and to be gazed continuously at on the street. The male gaze sees women like they are an animal in a circus, to not just be visible, but also experienced and displayed (Stratton, 1996:109) like a trophy. But women are not just watched by others, they are also constructed to survey themselves. This is similar to Michel Foucault who described the increased social control of society developing from bio-power. He suggests individuals “voluntarily control themselves by self-imposing conformity to cultural norms through self-surveillance and self-disciplinary practices” (Pylypa, 1998:22) meaning people have a desire to conform to what society says is normal and therefore end up surveying themselves. Female director Jill Solloway argues women “don’t write culture, we are written by it” ( TIFF Talks, 2016), women are therefore constructed to survey themselves and as a result, become an object of their gaze and the gaze of others. Another reason why women are limited to the object and men are the ones holding the gaze is that “we don’t learn to see beauty in men’ that men are never even placed in that category” (Redfern & Aune, 2010:69). Porn has long been blamed for fuelling sexist attitudes and setting unrealistic sexual expectations. Research has provided contradictory results, but one study delved deeper. Researchers from the University of Copenhagen and University of California in Los Angeles asked 200 adults about their porn consumption and assessed their personality in terms of agreeableness, which is one of the “big five” personality traits that indicates how altruistic, helpful, trusting and sociable a person is.

Few things are truly universal. But while people across the world speak different languages, eat different foods and even feel different emotions, millions across the world watch porn. Despite being so widely consumed, porn is maligned as the source of society’s ills. It’s even been labelled a public health hazard by politicians in Utah. Many pornographic films promote an unrealistic image of “beauty” by portraying very ‘slim’ and very ‘young’ people. Some advocates worry that this may contribute to low self-esteem, especially among women, or cause people to have unrealistic expectations of their sexual partners. Addiction Emerson, C. (1975) Revolutionary feminism: A history of women’s liberation and revolution. Michigan: Sun Press Exploring your mindBlog about psychology and philosophy. Articles and opinions on happiness, fear and other aspects of human psychology.Little, M. B. (1991) THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN THE CHURCH AND SOCIETY. Caribbean Quarterly: The Social Teaching of the Church in the Caribbean, 37(1), 68-82. Available Online: https://www.jstor.org/stable/23050552 [Accessed 05-04-2020]. There are not enough words to describe how grateful I am for the next person, my Mum, Mumma Maxine and my best friend. Thank you for forever being at the end of the phone, supportive through all the tough times and keeping me focused throughout the last 4 years. I wanted to make you the proudest Mumma this year, and I really hope I have. Orlowski, J. (2012). Beyond gratification: The benefits of pornography and the demedicalization of female sexuality. TEDx Talks. (2019) The power of the gaze,What I learned from photographing a 1000 naked women | Lone Mørch | TEDxAarhus [Video]. Available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fK2GxMePoe0 [Accessed 11/04/2020].