Sexuality in the media: a distraction?

[DS1]

Sexuality in any media always seems to have this negative effect on people that leaves them unable to focus on anything else. Whether they're turned on or not, they seem blinded by anything remotely sexual.

What I'm getting at, is this: let's say a porn star tries to have an acting career outside the porn genre. People might not be able to take said porn star seriously as an actress/actor, ever. All because they're a porn star. All because people can't get that image of said porn star doing something sexually graphic, out of their mind, or rather, because they can't help but think said porn star doing something sexually graphic makes her/him...filthy. Disrespectable.

Why does sexuality prove so distracting to some people that it can spoil their fun? It's never been a problem to me. Skimpy outfits don't stop me from respecting a character. Of course I like said skimpy outfits, but I don't find myself thinking of such a character as nothing more than a piece of meat.

Prostitutes, porn stars and strippers are vilified for making money off their bodies. What exactly is wrong with that, as long they choose to do so willingly, and aren't forced into it? I actually respect them. It must take a strong stomach to have sex with repulsive losers, and to pretend to care about them.

I'd really like to know what makes sexuality something so wrong and distracting to some people, than whenever a non-porn movie features so much of it, makes them complain and say "if I wanted sex I'd just watch porn", confining sexuality to a single genre, and one that's treated as filthy, at that.

[CliffHanger2]

I think it's more of an American thing even though I might be wrong. Putting sex in a dirty box or making it something to be punished for (horror movies) is a part of our culture. I think it has alot to do with self hate, if you think you're a pos you're gonna hate how you got here.

As far as a bias against porn stars, honestly outside of porn most aren't good actors. In terms of prostitutes having strong stomachs I don't know about that, I think cocaine is just a helluva drug.

[DS1]

As far as a bias against porn stars, honestly outside of porn most aren't good actors. In terms of prostitutes having strong stomachs I don't know about that, I think cocaine is just a helluva drug.

Even if most porn stars are lousy at acting, I'm sure than even those with more acting talent than Meryl Streep and Sigourney Weaver combined wouldn't be accepted as "legit" actresses/actors. Or if they were, there'd be an insane effort to keep their pornographic past under wraps. Some would ask why they even became porn stars in the first place, if they were that talented.

[CSTowle]

Kim Kardashian has built an empire on a sex tape with some guy I'd never heard of who was related to a famous guy. Maybe this prudishness would have been the case 30 years ago, but in today's world if you know how to keep eyeballs on you (and whatever else you have to say about the Kardashians, they can do that) you'll be in the public eye. If they're decent actors they can get into the business.

[Arfguy]

Kim Kardashian has built an empire on a sex tape with some guy I'd never heard of who was related to a famous guy. Maybe this prudishness would have been the case 30 years ago, but in today's world if you know how to keep eyeballs on you (and whatever else you have to say about the Kardashians, they can do that) you'll be in the public eye. If they're decent actors they can get into the business.

Agreed. Sasha Grey wasn't great, but she wasn't terrible during her time in Entourage season 7. If they never mentioned IN the show that she did porn, I honestly would not have known cuz I had never seen her stuff.

I also don't find overtly-sexual displays in comics, TV or movies to be all that distracting.

[ed2962]

When I first saw the title of the title of the thread, I thought you were going to be talking about fan-service. Like gratuitous panty shots, Ed Benes art, female cops on detective shows that look like runway models etc.


But, uh...as far as the example you bring up with porn stars...there's been a small handful of individuals that have crossed over into "mainstream" success. But you've got to remember that a lot of people have all sorts of moral, religious, and political reasons for being anti-porn. It's seen as a terrible industry by some and if you're a person that works in it willingly you're tainted. More mainstream outlets might sell tittilation, but they still don't want to be associated with "those people." They'd rather take a chance on an untalented actress that looks good than an adult film star that might have some skill. Most would rather not risk any negative publicity that might occur.


I don't know if you remember the TV show Growing Pains, but star Kirk Cameron actually got an actress kicked off the program cuz he found out that she posed in Playboy.

[lancerman]

Kim Kardashian has built an empire on a sex tape with some guy I'd never heard of who was related to a famous guy. Maybe this prudishness would have been the case 30 years ago, but in today's world if you know how to keep eyeballs on you (and whatever else you have to say about the Kardashians, they can do that) you'll be in the public eye. If they're decent actors they can get into the business.

Kim Kardashian is even funnier than that. She built an empire because she was friends with Paris Hilton (a women who is only famous because of her parents business) and her father was one of OJ's lawyers (not even the much more famous Cochran) and she had a sex tape with a d-list rapper (whose sister was a more famous b list rapper named Brandy, and their cousin was the much more famous Snoop Dog).

It's like the perfect storm of nepotism and mediocrity converging on one another.

[Charmed]

Kim Kardashian is even funnier than that. She built an empire because she was friends with Paris Hilton (a women who is only famous because of her parents business) and her father was one of OJ's lawyers (not even the much more famous Cochran) and she had a sex tape with a d-list rapper (whose sister was a more famous b list rapper named Brandy, and their cousin was the much more famous Snoop Dog).

It's like the perfect storm of nepotism and mediocrity converging on one another.

Brandy was a rapper? Since when?

[Arvandor]

A requirement for most porn actors and actresses is a certain ability to not give a damn what anyone thinks about you. This clashes with the image consciousness of mainstream media, where you have to constantly be aware of how the public perceives you.

[Arundel Armor Hunter]

Even if most porn stars are lousy at acting, I'm sure than even those with more acting talent than Meryl Streep and Sigourney Weaver combined wouldn't be accepted as "legit" actresses/actors. Or if they were, there'd be an insane effort to keep their pornographic past under wraps. Some would ask why they even became porn stars in the first place, if they were that talented.

The chick playing Tyrion Lannister's gf/prostitute used to do porn before she started acting. I wonder how she does in the future.

[Carabas]

Sylvester Stallone has done well for himself.

[Speed Force League Unlimited]

Prostitutes, porn stars and strippers are vilified for making money off their bodies. What exactly is wrong with that, as long they choose to do so willingly, and aren't forced into it? I actually respect them. It must take a strong stomach to have sex with repulsive losers, and to pretend to care about them.

What about if they choose to do that simply because they want to gain money and think that is the best open path available for a solid sum of money, but by the end of the day they hate making that choice?
They show consent, that doesn't mean they find it respectable, they feel loathe and self pity for making a choice they doing like

[t hedge coke]

Here's my thing: a prostitute is an individual who has an individual perspective on their life and work, that cannot me simplifies to one thing or another.

A fictional policewoman wearing short shorts or a tube top to a combat situation, however, is a fictional character. They are designed,and that sort of design is to objectify their sexual characteristics.

Presuming the motives or self-image of real human beings and pretending fictional people have real motivations or are naturally formed are both nonfunctional and kind of sad. But, then, so is confusing sexuality, sexy, sex,objectification, and sexism.

Sexualization does not equate to sexism. Acknowledging the existence of sexuality is not the same as sexually objectifying. Fictional people are wholly manufactured, always.

[CSTowle]

Here's my thing: a prostitute is an individual who has an individual perspective on their life and work, that cannot me simplifies to one thing or another.

A fictional policewoman wearing short shorts or a tube top to a combat situation, however, is a fictional character. They are designed,and that sort of design is to objectify their sexual characteristics.

Presuming the motives or self-image of real human beings and pretending fictional people have real motivations or are naturally formed are both nonfunctional and kind of sad. But, then, so is confusing sexuality, sexy, sex,objectification, and sexism.

Sexualization does not equate to sexism. Acknowledging the existence of sexuality is not the same as sexually objectifying. Fictional people are wholly manufactured, always.

I haven't seen anyone pretending fictional people have real motivations or are naturally formed. As you said, they're designed. And how they're designed indicates what their purpose is to the story they're involved in. Rocafort's Starfire served a different purpose to her story than Jessica Jones did to "Alias". I'm not arguing that there's no place for sexuality, I'm just arguing that it's far more common that female characters emphasize that aspect and I feel it takes away from other aspects. For some characters that is the be-all end-all, and that's fine.

[saiths]

my answer tends to stay on the topic of the sex industry and the harm it does but this applies to everything where women are treated poorly. this includes but is not limited to films, television shows, comics, books, etc.

Prostitutes, porn stars and strippers are vilified for making money off their bodies. What exactly is wrong with that, as long they choose to do so willingly, and aren't forced into it? I actually respect them. It must take a strong stomach to have sex with repulsive losers, and to pretend to care about them.

let's focus on this.

you've contradicted yourself by saying that as long as they chose to do so willingly it's fine but towards the end mention how this sex with repulsive losers takes a strong stomach. which one is it? the thing with the sex industry is that women aren't willing to have sex with anyone and they're uncomfortable with a lot of the things they are FORCED to do on camera. who's forcing them? good question. their bosses, the person shooting, the male lead and the viewers.

(this contains mentions of sex, abuse, etc)
it's no secret that most pornstars start off doing mostly webcam shows. this used to be how you'd make it into the business because potential buyers (yes, buyers. women in the sex industry are bought) could literally view before they buy which is disgusting. after a woman accepts a generous offer and a contract built upon her own terms, they begin filming. they will start off with something on a "smaller" scale which could be a masturbation scene or a girl on girl film. bosses make sure their clients are comfortable with them before they start pressuring them into high level porn.

why climb up a ladder in the first place? because the viewers are persistent. it's also no surprise that males are a very large majority of the porn viewing culture so when these viewers want to see something that makes them feel pleasure, they demand it. this is what men are used to; wanting something and then getting what they want. this is a form of abuse on the viewers part because people are willing to watch a girl get tortured just so they can feel good afterward. this also implants the idea that this isn't bad because they're not torturing anyone and hardly anyone ever gives it a second thought so people come (no pun intended) and go day after day finding whatever other fetishes appeal to them and this all starts over again.

i used to be all about the sex industry because women were feeling liberated exploring their sexuality but it wasn't until i learned that female porn stars are treated terribly that i changed my mind of the whole issue. i educated myself and found out a lot more than i bargained for.

shelly lubben is an amazing source for learning about the porn industry since she's an ex porn star. she goes around exposing the lives of people working in the sex industry and is focused on telling their stories for the better good so that people get help. the site has quotes from both people who are pro-porn and people who are anti-porn.

quotes from men who work/have worked in porn
max hardcore (former porn star/producer) - "I'm not here to apologize. I'm just here to say, 'We make entertainment and let's see how far we can take it."
lexington stele (pornstar/producer) - "I find myself not that much unlike the slaves and slave traders of some 400 years ago. I participate in the most heinous of ALL trades- THE BUYING AND SELLING OF HUMAN FLESH. I trade my own flesh for monetary compensation and I sell the flesh of others for the same."
john stagliano (producer) - It looks like violence but it's not. I mean, pleasure and pain are the same thing, right?"

that's only some of them but really, it's a terrible look into the misogynistic POV that's being portrayed in adult films. these people are aware of what they're doing and they still APPROVE of it, they have no future plans of changing the way they do things and that's the message that's being put out into the world. not the females because no one cares about her. porn isn't about how a female is feeling, it's about how badly she's getting treated and how far they can go with it. this results in what you were first talking about: the reason porn is limiting the view of pornstars from being actual human beings.

people aren't taught or told about the things that happen when the camera is off. if you want to find out, you have to research and no one wants to research because it's so much easier to watch porn and masturbate. the social stigma of pornstars is that they're pornstars and they can't be anything else. why would they be? they were beat, spit on, thrown around and abused for the pleasure of other people. they aren't even treated as people so no one cares to take them seriously outside of that realm.

another really great blog for things about anti-porn and feminism is mean feminism. there's some amazing posts on there that go in depth about the porn world/culture and what it's created but my favorite thing she's ever said;

"In my anti-porn opinion, here are some of the best reasons for being anti-porn:

Because most women in porn would prefer to leave porn if they could.
Because it is very difficult, if not impossible, to tell if the women in porn are acting under coercion or being raped on camera.
Because porn desensitizes our culture to violence against women.
Because supporting the small percentage of women who CHOOSE and are VERY HAPPY about being in porn OVER the much larger percentage of women who are treated like human condoms is very sheltered and bourgeois and privileged and, frankly, naive."

women don't want to be treated like shit and yet, here we are.