joy@mit-vax.UUCP (Joy Hoppe) (08/02/84)
For he who asked why the pictures in magazines like _Penthouse_ or (say) _Hustler_ are degrading, etc...... I believe one of the main objections is that PARTS (not the whole) of the female anatomy are shown, especially in _Hustler_, and many people knowledgeable in psychology, etc., think that this helps to dehumanize a man's view of a woman. Allows him to think of her as just a set of breasts, legs, whatever part appeals to him: not as a person with feelings. Let me state, for the record, that I believe that these magazines should have the right to print what they will. And that the women/men who pose for them should not be deprived of their opportunity to do so, providing they do so of their own free will. joy
blenko@rochester.UUCP (Tom Blenko) (08/10/84)
For he who asked why the pictures in magazines like _Penthouse_ or (say) _Hustler_ are degrading, etc...... I believe one of the main objections is that PARTS (not the whole) of the female anatomy are shown, especially in _Hustler_, and many people knowledgeable in psychology, etc., think that this helps to dehumanize a man's view of a woman. Allows him to think of her as just a set of breasts, legs, whatever part appeals to him: not as a person with feelings. I still don't understand. Would you be happier if they showed face, arms, legs, etc. all in the same photo? And what does dehumanize mean? If I see pictures of a woman's feet from lots of different viewpoints, in different positions, what does that mean? Does it mean that when I see a woman walking down the street, whom I don't otherwise know, that I think feet are a primary characteristic of her being? Does this mean that I think her feelings are less important? I sure don't think that that's what I think! I also happen to know that men have feet: how is my view of men and women, then, going to be different? One might point out that some of the bizarre things women are shown doing in these magazines are exactly that: contrived, unrepresentative, or misleading. But they can only influence those who don't know better. So then, the problem is that some people having no better way to form expectations about sexual roles than from porn magazines -- and that certainly isn't an objection to porn magazines. Tom