*Sigh* Japan disappoints me again

[elfs]

Alternet is hosting this conversation between two clinical psychologists as to whether or not pornography is really harmful to its consumers or society. One of the writers says something that I found quite profound and essentially rang very true to me:

If there is one nearly universal common denominator in heterosexual porn it is that the women in it are generally portrayed as easily, constantly and powerfully sexually aroused, driven wild by whatever men want to do with and to them. For most men, this fact is crucial to their arousal, not because they're looking for a rationalization for their violent impulses but because they are guilty about feeling strong, selfish and masculine; feel overly responsible for and worried about women; and secretly believe that women are unhappy and relentlessly dissatisfied with men and their own lives. In the service of masturbation, these portrayals of "women in heat" momentarily reassure men against their fears, relieve their burdens and offer them a freedom they find lacking in relationships with real women.

That whole quote really rang true for me and I kinda hoped it was an accurate depiction of the genre. And then this morning I stumbled upon a manga this morning, a 230-page tome: Rape of the Warrior Princess, and in the lower right-hand corner it read, Volume 11. I don't find that topic particularly arousing, but... so much for the "nearly universal common denominator." It might be a common theme in Western smut, but it's hardly "universal." Not nearly.

Comments

[pixel39.livejournal.com]

And the typical HotBiBabe theme where two women are getting it on, the guy shows up and they both jump on him--more reinforcement and reassurance.

[antonia-tiger.livejournal.com]

I can, sort of, see how rape fantasies can connect with the claimed universal. But it's not a comforting thought. Instead of willingness, the women have to be somehow forced over some initial barrier.

Since it's a sort of fantasy I've seen produced by women, there's a lot of room to wonder if it really falls into the "most men" class. The obvious explanation is that it is a fantasy of pleasurable sexual excess without the same responsibility that comes from a free choice. There often isn't any protection, socially, from being a victim, but it works as a fantasy.

(And that freedom from responsibility may appeal to men too: look at all the pressure is to not have sex befopre marriage.)

It doesn't stop me being creeped out by some of the ways in which porn can be presented. It's not the enthusiasm, but the way in which so much, often captions rather than the actual images, still is set to diminish the status of women.

I don't think yopu need to throw around words like "ho" to make hot porn.

[codeamazon.livejournal.com]

Still a guilt-relieving vehicle, I'd think. I'm guessing most men have at least one experience where they coaxed/pushed/coerced someone -- it's what men are taught to do, after all. This fantasy reassures them that it was ok to be pushy. Women need some help to reach that natural eager state, after all. ;-)

[nbarnes.livejournal.com]

There's also the fact that a lot of US men are in relationships that aren't sexually satisfying to them. What's in shortage for a lot of men is female desire. Thus, they fantasize about female desire.

I don't think it's a universal, but I think it's a big part of the US pornography culture.

[purly.livejournal.com]

It's an interesting concept. I think it might hold true for certain people, but not everyone. What about men that want a woman to be in charge and in control/want a dom?

As for the 'fantasy rape' concept, that's something I've heard from my female friends before. It only works because it's not real rape, it's 'controlled' within the fantasy. Interesting concept.

Hi, I'm Jen btw :) and I found you through zoner's journal.

[elfs.livejournal.com]

Hi! Sorry I'm slow to respond. Welcome!

[http://users.livejournal.com/_candide_/]

Listen, Elf, I gotta question both analyses here. How sure are you that both aren't blatantly, rabidly ethnocentric?

One thing I've noticed, firsthand, is that Americans suffer from this disease of, "Everyone, everywhere, is exactly like us." Well, there not. Again, I've experienced it, firsthand, multiple times.

So, your post has me wondering, Elf: what does the porn favored by hetero-men of other countries look like? I'd be interested to know what the answer is for the Western European countries.

Then, of course, there's the question of where & how gay porn fits into this…

[memegarden.livejournal.com]

In the Japanese porn I've seen that had rape elements, the woman ended up turned on and wanting it anyway. Making it an extension of the "women in heat" thing--"see, even the ones who don't want it want it". But I may have a poor sample.