I remember someone asserting that the current omnipresence of porn in our society would, as a result, make women’s sexuality appear much more valuable to them than it would in an otherwise less sexually open environment.
Neil Gaimain’s introduction to his story, “Looking For The Girl”, sums it up best:
“To research the story, I sat in the Penthouse U.K. Docklands office and thumbed through 20 years of bound magazines…it occured to me, while I was looking at two decades of Penthouses, that Penthouse and magazines like it had absolutely nothing to do with women and absolutely everything to do with photographs of women…”
Images of women as sexual objects are pervasive in many cultures – and not just in what most people term pornography. There are a number of separate questions here, which should not be confused.
Does pornography increase the sense of self worth of women by adding sexual value to them while not detracting to their other social roles?
Almost certainly not. Most pornography features women who need not be treated with respect to be sexually available.
Does pornography increase the sense of a woman that it is a few particular portions of her anatomy that make her important, unlike men who can achieve in many different ways?
Perhaps, although pornography is more viewed by men than women, so perhaps it has little impact on the ’self-perceived value of pussy’. On the other hand, movies and television show many things that would have been considered pornography a few years ago.
Does pornography decrease the sense of their own value of women, by indicating they are valuable for one primary reason and do not deserve to be treated with respect for that one reason?
It’s hard to say, but very few women seem to think more of themselves because their sex is so prominently featured in pornography.
Does pornography lead women to overestimate men’s sexual interest in them?
Probably not for most women, since it also places a premium on anatomical qualities which are difficult to achieve with time, money, and the help of a cameraman. It may well lead them to misunderstand men’s priorities – or to understand the priorities of some men better.
