Women And Pornography Essay, Research Paper
A Women?s View on
The Positive Benefits
Of Pornography.
While there are many women who oppose pornography because they think it
degrades and demeans women, I believe that there are many women who approve of
pornography due to the many positive benefits it has for them such as providing
sexual curiosity opportunities and improving couples sexual relationships.
In this paper I am going to discuss how women benefit from pornography
through satisfying their sexual curiosity and how pornography can help stimulate
a sexual relationship. I want you to be prepared because some of this material
may be a little sensitive in some areas due to the descriptions that I use.
You would think that defining a word such as pornography would be a simple
task, but it is not. There were a number of sources that I found in which they
defined the word pornography as some sort of violent and unjustified sexually
explicit material. This was generally the case whenever I found an article that
was against pornography. I also came across meanings that were not quite as
harsh as that definition, it basically indicated that pornography was the use of
sexually explicit material. Unfortunately, there is no universal definition for
the word pornography because everyone has there own ideas in their head of what
they think it means. For the purpose of this paper we will use the definition
that is stated in the New Lexicon Webster?s Encyclopedic Dictionary of the New
English Language, it defines pornography as
?Obscene literature, photographs, paintings, etc., intended to cause sexual
excitement?(1992).
I want you to keep in mind that the word ?obscene? is a descriptive word
that is also defined by each individual differently.
This paper as you might have guess is on a very sensitive and controversial
topic that some might find hard to deal with, but I found it very useful. It
allowed me a vast array of topics to choose from, not to mention some very
interesting reading. As I sat back and tried to decide what to research, I went
through several options. I am a big fan of freedom of speech, which is one of
the biggest issues in pornography today, but this issue is overly discussed. The
same thing with child pornography, I agree that this is a big problem also, but
I wanted something deeper. Finally it came to me, I am a viewer of porn
(pornography for short) materials and I completely support the use of it, but do
other women enjoy and benefit from pornography like I do? At first thought you
might want to say to yourself could a women possibly enjoy watching a women give
oral sex to a married man or is there really benefits of seeing a man ejaculate
on the breast of other women. In my research I found that there are plenty of
women who do enjoy and even benefit from pornography.
A big question that I ran across was not necessarily if women like
pornography, but how many like it. Dr. Wendy Stock of the Pacific Graduate
School in Palo Alto conducted a study on undergraduate women. Stock wanted to
find out how women felt when they watched pornographic material, the responses
varied ? 66% of the women?came away ?curious? about pornography, 46%
said that they were amused by it, and 33%?were intrigued?(1994). Seeing that
curiosity was at 66% it made me want to dig deeper and find out what could be so
curios about this. I know from a personal point of view that when I first viewed
pornographic material I was curious as to what it might be about, but I have
found in my research that the curiosity goes beyond this, leading to both
emotional and personal pleasure. Wendy McElroy former president of the Feminist
for Free Expression contends ?pornography is a great leveler of shame?(1995)
and I agree. I think that there are so many things that women get so sexually
upset about. Nadine Strossen, a law professor at New York Law School, agrees
that using masturbation is deemed wrong in today?s society. Strossen says ?there
are so many women who need [pornography]?lets think about women who?s
husbands are on a business trip, lonely women, even widowed women. For them to
see other women, even an actresses, bringing sexual pleasure to herself helps to
ease the shame of wanting to fill the desired need she was to touch her own body
sexually, in the safety of her own home?(1995). What about the emotional
aspect of pornography, emotions go extremely deep in people. To be able to
fantasies about something is completely natural after all don?t your fantasies
bring up emotions in you? I can not count how many times I have sat back and
imagined that I would win the lottery and each time I do it gives me a very
elated feeling. I have also sat back and had sexual fantasies of my own. When I
think about my sexual fantasies, they gives me a soft tickling sensation between
my thighs that I enjoy, do I feel ashamed absolutely not. Fantasies allow us to
use our imagination, inhance our personality, and make use a little happier. In
pornographic videos, women can view anything ranging from a women dressed in
skimpy maid outfits waiting for her boss to come home to bend her over the
counter before the wife gets home to a very dominate female taking control of
her sexual desire. It allows a woman to invision herself in that situation which
might never be possible otherwise. The safety of this is stronger than any other
that I can think of because as McElroy states ? [pornography] is served up in
the privacy of a woman?s own bedroom, on a television set that can be turned
off whenever she has had enough?(1995). Many have said that this is wrong and
degrading. My response to that is, if a person chooses to engage in the viewing
of pornographic material for reasons that please them, why should that be
considered degrading? Could it be that the reason that it is degrading is
because the thought of pleasing yourself sexually is forbidden because you are
afraid to know who you are?
In my research I have seen many references to the fact that pornography is
for a single based audience. When people think about who watches pornography,
stereotypically, many people tend to visualize a lonely man sitting naked in
front of his television set, one hand on his penis and the other on his beer
watching two women perform oral sex on each other. Interestingly enough,
pornography is not just base solely for one person, it is also beneficial to
couples. As strange and embarrassing as that might seem it is true that
pornography is often used as a source for therapy. Most women however tend to
shy away from pornography with a partner as. Stock has shown us why, ?42% were
afraid their partners were comparing their bodies unfavorably to other women,
33%? feel bad about their bodies, 23%?worried about their performance as
sexual partners?(1994). This is a very understandable fear, I know because I
have felt this fear myself it took me a little bit to get comfortable with it,
but I did. I think I was more afraid that my partner would see that it turned me
on and I would feel embarrassed by that. When I was going to marriage counseling
this was actually something that was recommended to us by our therapist. He is
not alone in this field, Patti Britton, Ph.D., sent a letter in 1992 to the
Senate Judiciary Committee it read
?As a board-certified clinical sexoligist, I can tell you that it is common
knowledge in my field that sexually explicit films and videos are often
recommended as a mode of treatment for couples?such materials are viewed by
professionals as helpful, not harmful, assets in the treatment process?(1995).
It doesn?t have to be used just to solve problems in a sex life. It is also
very useful to spice up your sex life. On a little more of a personal note, I
know that if it weren?t for pornographic movies I would have never been able
to perform oral sex on my partner. Not to go into to much detail, but I had
always had a problem with my gag reflex getting in the way and I just couldn?t
figure it out. I actually consoled in my friends for advice, but it wasn?t
until I had watched a porn movie, with my partner, that I actually understood
how to do oral sex without the gag. It was great I could learn and practice all
at the same time. I don?t think you could find that kind of therapy for a
better price, just $4.99, with hands on interaction. I guess my point is that
pornography can be beneficial for more than just the single lonely man is. I
know from experience as I have told you and you know by what the professionals
have said.
I have researched a lot of interesting material doing this paper and I have
shared only a small amount of it with you. I just want to summarize some of what
I shared. A woman has several needs in her life; the need for self-satisfaction
is one of them. This could range from career opportunities to providing herself
with sexual pleasure. Exploring her body while watching pornographic material
and to help her become self-confidant at satisfying her sexual needs. Experts
even know that fantasizing about being that maid should be considered healthy
and safe, not demeaning or harmful. Let?s not forget that we should not
stereotype about who views pornography because it is common to see it as a
treatment in sexual therapy for couples. Even though it might not sound like
something you would ever have to do, remember this, I never thought it would be
my therapy either. Just feel assured in knowing that many therapists note it as
a good treatment.
In reading this, I hope that you have opened you mind up to being a bit more
acceptable about pornography. There are many benefits to what it can do for
women just as was shown in this paper. I hope that now that you have seen what
some of the experts say, and after I have shared some of my own very personal
experiences, I have convinced you that pornography is not so bad. I believe that
if you close the door on this by always referring to it using that vulgar
definition of pornography, you could be closing the door to a lot of
opportunities. I am not saying go out and spend that $4.99 today to rent
yourself a porn movie, I am just saying lets not forget the benefits too.
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