Reading Analyses #6

Danae Martin

October 28, 2017

Week 9

Your “takeaway” – this is the author’s central argument from the assigned reading, or the prominent theme that linked 2 or more readings

 

My “takeaway” from the authors’ readings is the impacts of gender, sexuality, and pornography in history. The article: The White Man’s Burden: Gonzo Pornography and the Construction of Black Masculinity by Gail Dines, and the article: Pornography, Women and Feminism: Between Pleasure and Politics by Karen Ciclitira, emphasize feminists views and opinions about pornography in the past, present, and future. My main take away from connecting the two articles is from the feminist perspective presented in the articles. The articles connected the history of the feminist movement in pornography. One opinion of a feminist perspective from Gale Dines emphasized that watching porn has subversive and liberating consequences for women’s sexuality. In addition I found it interesting learning about the history of racial tension between racialized and white dominant feminists especially when racialized feminists argue feminism excludes the analysis of race. I think this is important when relating the topic this week because pornography’s racial representation has to do with having power and discourse. Dines and Ciclitira connect how this power creates inequality between women, especially considering how masculinity in porn creates a gendered system that is created by inequality, hierarch, and violence.

A new theme or concept from the assigned reading, defined in your own words.

            A new concept from the assigned readings related to this weeks topic is how gender, sexuality, and porn in history is related to gender and masculinity. Young men and boys positive attitude towards pornography from the article Hegemonic Masculinity and Pornography: Young People’s Attitudes Toward and Relations to Pornography by Johansson and Hammaren emphasized Dines’ article. I found that the concept of hegemonic masculinity was tied to both articles. In their article Johansson and Hammaren emphasized, that the attitude of young men having a positive attitude towards pornography could be related to the idea of masculinity or being manly. This has created a point of view that affects gender stereotypes for young men and boys. Understanding gender and sexuality in porn creates fake masculine roles that produce a gender system that is infused with inequality, hierarch, and violence.

How you might use the material in your own research/everyday life

I will use the articles related to gender, sexuality, and pornography that were assigned this week for my future research paper. Most importantly I think it is important to look at the history and how porn was first seen from a feminist point of view and how porn is now seen in the present from a feminist point of view. In my Research paper I will include that feminism explains how masculinity works together to produce a gendered system, especially emphasizing the effects of hegemonic masculinity. This leaves me with a new research question, how has the history of pornography impacted young men and boys perspective of hegemonic masculinity?