Pornography: The Degradation of Women as a Class Regardless of the many successes women have had in society, they are still seen as the inferior class. One way in which this is demonstrated is through the depiction of women in the pornography industry. Women in this industry are often dehumanized, humiliated and degraded by men for the sake of entertainment. However, does this degrading portrayal of women in the pornography industry reflect upon the portrayal of women as a class? I argue that the representation of women in pornography lowers the moral status of all women and is shown through the treatment and perceptions, which are created by men, making all women as simply means and less than persons in society.
This portrays a sense of dehumanisation in terms of female characters as freedom is regarded as a basic human right. It can also be argued that Atwood’s presentation of female characters has connotations to the idea of them being brainwashed by society. In chapter thirteen Janine testifies about how she was raped at the age of 14 and also
In Ken Kesey’s One flew over the Cuckoo’s nest, all women, with the exception of the prostitutes, are characterised as evil, sexless, threatening and terrifying figures, which is supportive of the argument that women find it harder to be an individual by highlighting the way woman are viewed and portrayed in society. The novel’s portrayal shows them as either control freaks that emasculate the men around them, such as Nurse Ratched, and Billy Bibbit’s mother, or as objects for sexual gratification, such as the two prostitutes Candy and Sandy. The patients refer to Nurse Ratched and the other female characters within the ward as “Ball cutters” highlighting that they believe women are intent on dominating men to the point where they feel castrated, like their manhood has been taken away and they have no freedom or individuality, whereas the prostitutes are dedicated to pleasuring men and doing what they are told and so are praised and encouraged by the male patients of the ward, further dirtying the image of women in society and telling women that they will only be accepted by men when they allow themselves to become a
It is inevitable as death. Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” is no exception to this rancid portrayal of women. Though they may seem ignorant of all the corruption around them, women are still responsible for the corruption throughout the play. Gertrude and Ophelia are both manipulative characters that entice men around them and ultimately become the motivation for all of the tragic events throughout the play. Despite the general opinion that “Hamlet” contains the weakest women in Shakespeare’s works, the unraveling of the main plot can only be attributed to them.
The treatment of women is so poor that they are regarded as property and have minimal rights in comparison to the male characters. The feminist critic would find that in Frankenstein the women characters are treated like second class citizens. The three brutal murders of the innocent women are gothic elements which illustrates that women are inferior in the novel. The destruction and creation of women in the gothic novel Frankenstein depicts the unimportance of women in the novel’s society. The women in Frankenstein are forced to be submissive, a trait that illustrates their compliance towards men.
Whether it be good times or bad times in a man’s life. In Eve Golden’s short story “Dangerous Curves” he explains the different types of women and their problematic relationships. The most lethal female in Golden’s “Dangerous Curves” is the uptown girl because they can harm men in ways like no other mentally and the most innocuous girl is the smotherer because she can do no wrong for you. The uptown girl is a dream girl such as the ones seen “on the cover of Sports Illustrated this year.” They will leave males questioning themselves, “why can’t I get her attention?” or “Does she even like me?” This type of problem will leave a man confused and insecure of himself. Trying to figure out ways to better him; to gain that attention he craves and wants from the girl it is us men strive for everyday.
The characteristics of both fatales, are mainly the same but slight differences have occurred. With the femme fatale in film noir, her seductive sexuality was her main weapon in weaving her web of deceit and capturing the fall guy. This then obviously gave her power and strength over men because of her sexuality and seductiveness. In noir films, the femme fatale wore a lot of makeup. This gave an impression of deception, with disguise and confusion surrounding her, which in turn making her an ambiguous figure.
Where females were the offenders, the emotional and irrational nature of the crime were outlined whereas for males the violence was made to seem ‘normal.’ Words such as ‘unnatural’ ‘unfeminine’ and ‘sadistic’ are boldly written in newspaper headlines when describing crimes committed by females, their appearances and lifestyles, unlike their male counterparts, are also of major interest. Eric Hickey (Magma, 2002) speaks of female killers and describes them, "These are the quiet killers, every bit as lethal as their male counterparts, but we are seldom aware of them in our midst because of the low visibility of their killing." Tracie Andrews is a former glamour model that was jailed for life for stabbing her fiancé Lee Harvey with a penknife. Andrews appealed for witnesses to come forward as she insisted her partner had been the victim of a road rage incident. At the time of the murder the main focus of the newspapers were on Tracie’s physical appearance (Marsh and Melville, 2009) with headlines such as ‘former model Tracy Andrews’ and ‘blonde Tracy Andrews’ the Sun newspaper also had the headline ‘Death Quiz Tracy in Glamour Poses’ subsequent to her arrest for the murder.
Her unhealthy self-love can be seen in her relationships in which she uses sex to control men and always appears to have a hand on them, especially turning to sex when the man gains any sort of will or power to insult or leave her. Because of this narcissism she is extremely self-centered, trusting no one and even attacking her family when they disrupt her perfection. Her damaging and corrosive psyche was likely caused by the pressures of the movie industry in which she claims to have worked her up form nothing. The pressures of competition and treachery have caused her to from extremely egotistical defense mechanisms that prevent her from normal interaction with other people, even her own children. As for her insecurities and ensnaring of men for her own benefit it is possible that she may have had an abusive father or a domineering mother who was likely divorced, abandoned, or abused, obsessing her with the need to have power over men either as compensation for her powerless childhood or as a result of her mother’s teachings and distrust of men.
As stated by director Patty Jenkins in the Monster Featurette, "When you see women like Aileen Wuornos on TV and 95% of the world sees them a certain way, I was sure that the fact that she broke my heart was personal and that no one else would ever see it" (Monster). The 2003 Academy Award winner Monster, based on the true-life story of serial killer Aileen Wuornos, explores the brutal reality of highway prostitutes and the chilling consequences that can result from such a destitute situation. The director, Patty Jenkins, stated that her goal with this movie was to portray the "crossing from one side, from good to evil … [and a] last attempt to get love" (Monster). This movie explores many facets of sociology, both in the analysis of Aileen's world, as well as in reflection on how society views and addresses its discarded members such as Aileen. In watching this film, the viewer is forced to practice cultural relativism and assess what part socialization has played in the development of his or her own values and beliefs.