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Chapter 14

Chapter 14. The Business of Sex. Quote for the day. Because consensually accepted programs of sexual education are lacking, erotica have come to serve as the primary agent of sexual socialization. - Zillman. Why Sex Sells. Social exchange theory

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Chapter 14

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  1. Chapter 14 The Business of Sex

  2. Quote for the day Because consensually accepted programs of sexual education are lacking, erotica have come to serve as the primary agent of sexual socialization. - Zillman

  3. Why Sex Sells • Social exchange theory • The vast majority of money spent on sex comes from men. • Controversy • Opposition from religious right and feminist left. • Women are more opposed to the sex industry than men. • Example: Varying perspectives on prostitution. • Evolutionary theory • The role of choice for women

  4. Prostitution • The world’s oldest profession • Statistics - it is difficult to obtain accurate data: • 16% of men reported paying for sex at some time (NHSLS, 1994) • Estimated that over 1 million women in the U.S. earn all or part of their living as prostitutes (Boston Women’s Health Collective, 1992). • There are laws against both prostitute and client, yet the prostitute is more likely to be arrested.

  5. Characteristics of Female Prostitutes

  6. Characteristics of Male Prostitutes

  7. Motives for Becoming a Prostitute • Poverty is the main reason • It is one way for women without skills or education to earn substantial amounts of money in a relatively short time. • Also linked with: • Childhood sexual abuse • Running away from home • Drug use • Motives of male versus female prostitutes

  8. What Do Prostitutes Actually Do? • Research with streetwalkers in New Jersey: • Four clients a day • 4-5 nights a week • Most common sexual service: fellatio • Easy to do • It can be performed in many places with low risk of detection • Married men see this as less of a betrayal • Men request because partner refuses to perform it • Most also reported vaginal intercourse • Some did have orgasms.

  9. Motives for Using Prostitutes • Six primary reasons: • Loneliness • Not having to risk rejection • Feelings of inferiority, anxiety, or shame regarding sex • Seeking sexual variety of sexual acts a regular partner won’t perform • Avoiding emotional involvement or commitment • The desire to degrade or to humiliate women

  10. Motives for Using Prostitutes • Strongest single factor that predicts the use of a prostitute is simply being male. • The obvious reason that men go to prostitutes is that they want to have sex. • In the U.S., most customers are white, middle-aged, middle class, and married. • Factors associated with use of a prostitute: older, military, more sex partners

  11. Child Prostitution • Throughout the world it is not a choice but a necessity forced upon them by poverty or abuse. • United Nations estimates that there are 60,000 child prostitutes in the United States. • Rising numbers may be due to: • Mounting third world poverty • Rise of organized crime in Eastern Europe and Russia • Spread of sex tourism • Fear of AIDS • Spread of child pornography on Internet

  12. Sex Tourism • Traditionally, the use of prostitutes has been among men who were away from home, such as businessmen at conventions. • Today, sex is often the purpose, not just a byproduct, of travel. • Sex tours, initially concentrated in Southeast Asia, spread across the world as wealthy tourists made it a growth industry (e.g., Thailand, Philippines) • Equality Now • You can be prosecuted at home for having sex abroad with a minor

  13. The Cost of Prostitution • Earnings may be split with a pimp or madam, plus costs of rent, fines if arrested • Prostitution has been largely responsible for spread of AIDS in some countries: Thailand, parts of Africa. • Brothel owners in Nevada test workers and require customers to wear condoms. • Cost depends on: • supply and demand • legal status of prostitution

  14. Pornography • Questions to consider • Our perceptions of what is pornographic may vary • Controversy about works of art portraying the human body is nothing new. • Making distinctions: • Erotica versus pornography • Hard-core (e.g.,Hustler) versus soft-core (e.g., Playboy)

  15. Pornography and the Law • Obscenity laws address the right to create and disseminate written, visual, or spoken material of a sexual nature intended for the purpose of sexual arousal. • Pornography is legal in the United States, but obscenity is not. • Individuals have vastly different opinions about what is obscene.

  16. Pornography and the Law • 1873 Comstock laws • Important cases: • Roth v. United States • Miller v. California • Pope v. Illinois • U.S. Supreme Court rulings • In 1997 struck down Communication Decency Act • In 2000 struck down Telecommunications Act of 1996 • Three forms of pornography considered obscene: • Violent pornography • Degrading pornography • Child pornography

  17. Effects of Exposure to Sexually Explicit Materials • We are not sure. • 1970 Commission on Obscenity found no significant long-lasting effects of pornography and it might even have educational benefits.

  18. Effects of Exposure to Sexually Explicit Materials • Thematic Content • Fisher & Byrne (1978): Both men and women were most stimulated when they thought the scene involved a man and a women who just met each other. • Cowan & Dunn (1994): Women and men were most aroused when they initiated and controlled the sexual activity in the story.

  19. Effects of Exposure to Sexually Explicit Materials • Thematic Content • Effects on Sexual Violence • 1985 Meese Commission: • direct opposition to 1970 Commission • concluded that there is a causal relationship between exposure to violent pornography and sexual violence, and that pornography is harmful to individuals and to society • Critics claim they relied on overgeneralizations of lab findings and failed to distinguish between effects of sexually explicit from violent materials

  20. Effects of Exposure to Sexually Explicit Materials • Thematic Content • Effects on Sexual Violence • Inconsistent findings - need for further research • Conclusion seems to be: Watching films of people having sex does not cause aggressive behavior in the vast majority of viewers.

  21. Effects of Exposure to Sexually Explicit Materials • Thematic Content • Effects on Sexual Violence • Pornography and Gender Attitudes • Calloused attitudes toward women may not be generated by sexually explicit videos, but are more deeply ingrained in society

  22. Effects of Exposure to Sexually Explicit Materials • Thematic Content • Effects on Sexual Violence • Pornography and Gender Attitudes • Other Effects of Pornography • An aphrodisiac effect • Novelty • Link with masturbation

  23. Purchases of Autoerotic materials During the Past Year

  24. Sex and Profits • Advertising • Sexual imagery does help sell products.

  25. Sex and Profits • Advertising • Movies • Sex in films is nothing new • As early as 1899 nudes appeared in motion pictures • Films with sex could be viewed privately in early 1900s • 1970s: Deep Throat • 1980s: The VCR - 1 in 3 video rentals is X-rated movie • Today, 150 new adult films each week.

  26. Motion Picture Rating System

  27. Sex and Profits • Advertising • Movies • Literature • Kama Sutra,written around A.D. 400 to 500 • Issue of banned books

  28. Sex and Profits • Advertising • Movies • Literature • Theater • Sex has been a part of live theater for centuries • Hair; Oh! Calcutta! • Topless dancers

  29. Sex and Profits • Advertising • Movies • Literature • Theater • Television • Since the 1970s, more sexually oriented • From I Love Lucy and Happy Days to Sex in the City and Queer as Folk.

  30. Sex and Profits • Advertising • Movies • Literature • Theater • Television • Music • From Sinatra to Elvis to Rolling Stones to 2 Live Crew

  31. Sex and Profits • Advertising • Movies • Literature • Theater • Television • Music • Magazines • Playboy, Penthouse, Oui, Gallery, Hustler, Blueboy, Mandate, Playgirl, On out Backs

  32. Sex and Profits • Advertising • Movies • Literature • Theater • Television • Music • Magazines • Telephone Sex • 1983 Dial-A-Porn • 1991 FCC banned obscene communications for commercial purposes - now route calls overseas

  33. Sex and Profits • Advertising • Movies • Literature • Theater • Television • Music • Magazines • Telephone Sex • Sex Toys

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