It’s not your granddaddy’s “biker babe” stash.
Colin Alexander sat quietly in the last row as he stared directly ahead.
“I view porn, I won’t lie,” said Alexander, a Pacific Lutheran University student.
Alexander accompanied his friends to see the documentary presentation of “Price of Pleasure: Pornography, Sexuality and Relationships.”
The student audience at Pacific Lutheran University waits to see "Price of Pleasure: Pornography, Sexuality and Relationships."
“I don’t like viewing porn stars; I think they represent something that is wrong with our society,” said Alexander
With explicit and vulgar examples of popular pornography today, the film showed more than just famous porn stars.
“I think Jenna Jameson is hideous,” said Alexander. “It’s all fake, forced, and unnatural.”
The event took place Monday night in Ingram with a panel discussion proceeding. Professors Jennifer Smith, Greg Johnson, Christina Graham and Jonathan Grove led the discussion.
Students observed the documentary’s clarity of patriarchal privilege: male domination, female submission.
Many women in the film explain that they felt empowered and strong when men desired them.
“It does not empower woman to show their breasts while we’re still living in a male dominated culture,” said Smith.
The idea that a person is wanted and desired by others does not make that person powerful, but recognizes them as a “thing” or object.
General consensus among men in the film seemed to be that “women want it and like it.” They said pornography with a little violence and male aggressiveness is perfectly fine, because people enjoy it.
“I don’t think we should be surprised at what the men say, but shocked at what the women say,” said Johnson. “Not to let the men off the hook.”
The largest audience and top consumer of pornography are heterosexual males.
“I don’t think we should be surprised at what the girls say,” said Graham. “Porn is creating these insecurities.”
Our culture today influences men just as much as it does women. One way women live and survive is by using their bodies; because this is the message younger generations of women have received.
“Violence has become normalized in porn and film,” said Grove. “The more you see it, the more normal it becomes.”
Every type of popular porn that recently hit top choice lists included some sort of physical violence, specifically towards females. This usually involved spanking, slapping, choking and forcing one into a certain position.
“Male produced porn and female produced porn is very similar,” said Graham.
They both have the same characteristics and each being extremely violent. However, the female produced porn engaged in more female to female violence, instead of male to female violence.
During the panel discussion, the question arose of whether these violent sexual acts were innate desires or constructed desires.
“I think they are constructed desires,” said Johnson.
If these are innate desires, then porn would have always been violent, whereas violent porn has only recently become a large topic of concern.
“People with real violent or pathological propensities are drawn to violent porn,” said Graham.
Porn works the same way as all media. Not everyone who watches violent porn is going to become violent. But, the constant viewing of violent messages breaks down our barrier between real and imaginary.
Although the topic of porn and violence is serious, the professors kept it light hearted.
Statements such as, “Oh my God, I don’t want you that big,” and “dress like a slutty Finding Nemo,” kept the student audience relaxed and rid some the awkwardness.
A conversation about vaginal mints also surprised listeners.
“They are supposed to make your vagina smell and taste good,” said Graham. “It’s an infection waiting to happen, so don’t do it ladies.”
Towards the end of the panel discussion, an audience member commented on how diverse our beliefs about porn are.
“We live in a very bizarre bipolar culture,” said Graham.
On one side we are extraordinarily prudish and on the other, we love women who look gorgeous and half naked on magazine covers. It’s strange to be living in these two worlds.
The last discussion topic brought up what we should do in this situation of violence and porn.
“Don’t buy porn where women are being sexually brutalized and killed,” said Gove. “That would be a good place to start.”
More than 1,000 women a year turn to the porn industry with dreams of becoming the next big porn star.
