General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Porn. Rape? [View all]Erich Bloodaxe BSN
(14,733 posts)I think anyone who gives any critical thought to the issues is going to realize that sexual violence arises from a multitude of factors. I would also suggest that while the increasingly sexualized depiction of women in media over the last half century does influence societal attitudes, it probably is less a driver for rape than other, supposedly 'non-pornographic' media.
Violent rape by strangers has never been considered a 'positive' in media, and so is less likely to increase as a result of media portrayals of it. But... there are a lot more rapes of the type portrayed in scores of B movies of the last generation. These 'teen party movies' are not considered pornography, but they have sent years of repetitive messaging that the way 'hookups' in college work is that men get women drunk and then have sex with them. And we don't teach 'relationship ed' in schools, only 'sex ed'.
So young people see dysfunctional messaging about how the sexes should interact in such settings, and we wind up with an epidemic of young women being sexually assaulted and even raped while incapacitated, then not reporting the vast majority of such assaults because they have been taught by movies, television and songs that this is simply 'the way it is'. Media that specifically teaches young men to be sexually aggressive, glorifies such as being 'manly', and constantly ties sex to intoxication has been far more damaging to society than, for instance, depictions of actual sex between adults that occur when both parties are able to give consent and do so.
So I'd say movies like 'Revenge of the Nerds' or songs like 'Blurred Lines' are more damaging to society than many sorts of pornography. (There's certainly an argument to be made that pornography that depicts women as victims or unequal and lesser partners in relationships is damaging, and I would agree with that argument.)