Impact of Technology and Mass Media
Over the past years, the advancement in technology and the rise of mass media have greatly impacted the normalization of pornography. The display of sexual acts as well as sexually explicit materials is increasingly shifting from the traditional status of being a taboo to an accepted norm in the public arena. The progressive and subtle pornification trend is penetrating through all media forms that are used daily. This has resulted in the prevalence of detrimental sexual behaviors ranging from the twerking craze, evolution of provocative fashion, to the public acceptance of skin showoffs which do not have boundaries and are unknowingly integrated into the society. The rising acceptance of pornification, and particularly pornography, can be explained by two theories: the Two-Step-Flow theory by Elihu Katz and Paul Lazarsfield; and the Looking Glass Self theory by Charles Cooley. The theories explain the occurrence and acceptance of pornification and how this affects the society which can help to come up with measures to deal with the concerning trend.
Two-Step-Flow Theory
The Two-Step-Flow theory explains how the media influences individuals towards the growing occurrence and acceptance of pornography. According to Bostian (2012, p. 110), Katz and Lazarsfield coined the concept of “opinion leaders” which refers to the individuals who exercise their personal influence over others through their understanding and judgment of the content in social media. When information from social media is passed to the opinion leaders, they interpret the content and pass the message to the population they have influence over, thus, a two-step communication process. With the pressure to “like” or “comment” on the scenes and pictures shared through social media platforms, many people would always fall prey to such information as they struggle to “fit in” the digital world which contributes to diversification and acceptance of pornification. Furze et al (2015, p. 255) illustrated that such invisible social structures and forces would be the reason for consuming and producing sexualized media information (Boyle 2018, p. 85). Accompanied with the freedom of expression and lack of content security, traditional socialization institutions such as schools have been overtaken by the ubiquitous media and consumer culture which normalize obscene sexualisation.
Two-Step-Flow Theory Effect
According to Smith (2010, p. 104), the Two-Step-Flow theory suggests that the consumers of social media do not engage passively, but rather actively in interpreting the content; thus, they end up copying and actualizing the indecent imagery they get exposed to. Calvin Klein, one of the most popular fashion labels in the United States, released a collection campaign “Erotica” which raised a lot of controversies. While many people considered the advert “pervy and sexist,” the provocative media received more than 44,000 likes which were supported by sexual comments (Schlossberg 2016, p. 1). This strengthened and built upon the mainstreaming and normalization of pornification; such information shapes the subsequent poor sexual behaviors. The concept of the theory is supported by Albert Bandura, a psychologist who posited that if role models from whom the behavior are learnt is attractive, then the learning process becomes slightly stronger and may draw more attention to the followers. Thus, Bandura supports the Two-Step-Flow theory in that the pornification phenomenon is observed, learnt, and emulated through actual performance, and the process is reinforced by opinion leaders and role models who justify the behavior (Smith 2010, p. 104).
Looking Glass Self Theory
The theory of Looking Glass Self by Charles Cooley also explains the pornification phenomenon as it explores how individuals perceive themselves in the eyes of others. People always imagine how they would present their behaviors such as manners and appearance in a manner that is acceptable to other people (Cooley 2012, p. 320). As such, Cooley believed that people consistently compare themselves to others. Furthermore, Downey (2015, p 536) denotes that “self-presentation” encourage individuals to present themselves in a manner that generate positive impression. According to Furze et al. (2015, p. 269), presentation of “self” constitutes three dimensions: the self as a social being, self as a consumer, and self that represents the first-person. Considering the social factor, self is presented in form of wall posts and photographs individuals display in the social media. Many people are surrounded by photographs in social media sites like Facebook and Instagram, magazines, advertisements, and billboards which promote sexualized images for public consumption.
Study on Cultural Differences
A comparable study in the United States and Germany was conducted among students to investigate the effect of culture on the presentation of oneself. The students in the United States listed their sources of self-identity to include sexual orientation, TV shows mostly preferred, and relationship status which was evident in their social media profile pages (Furze et al. 2015, p. 268). The German students, on the other hand, mentioned and presented their academic status, home town, and favorite books in their profile pages. The study revealed that students from the US places more emphasis on themselves as a sense of belonging compared to the Germans who majorly considered institutions as a source of belonging (Furze et al. 2015, p. 268). Considering the fact that a lot of media content is produced in the U.S. which dominate social media, television, movie screens, and films, it is evident that media has great influence sexualization. The Looking Glass Self, thus, reveals that by constantly imagining what others think, individuals respond to the pressure by conforming to bad behaviors such as pornification.
Freedom of Expression and Pornification
Pornification does not, in any way, reflect the act of free expression in the society. According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, freedom of expression is the “right to hold and express certain opinion without any form of interference, and to seek and receive information through any media form…” (Downey 2015, p. 541). This means that individuals have the freedom and right to receive any form of information, whether in text or media form, as long as they do not interfere with others through defamation. Pornification may be a form of expression; however, Smith (2010, p. 103) highlighted that it is accompanied with sexually explicit content in form of print or broadcast media which may cause harmful social or health impacts on children and adults. Freedom of expression is a human right in which every individual is allowed to have a voice and exhibit their ideas and opinions which to not have detrimental effects while pornification is a phenomenon that results in “unforeseen consequences” (Smith 2010, p. 104). Such consequences include femininity expression, pornography, internet sexual harassment, and premature sexualisation among children which affect social morals as well as public health.
Social Measures to Address Pornification
Key social measures could be adopted to help address the issue of pornification in the current society. Rather than opinion leaders promoting and endorsing sexualized media, they should use the platforms to teach youths that “they are not just valuable because of their appearances and sexual orientation,” and to promote the existence of a society in which females are valued instead of being perceived as subjects or objects of pornographic fantasy (Boyle 2018, p. 85). The Calvin Klein campaign is an evidence of the view that social media is used to convey sexualized content. As such the Two-Step-Flow theory can be applied by musicians, models, fashion labels, and prominent role models to challenge the perception that “sex sells” (Smith 2010, p. 105). Furthermore, the Looking Glass Self theory denotes that the “self” develops from biological tendencies, social interaction, and influence of social institutions. As such, social media platforms and social institutions such as school and colleges should be regulated in regards to information conveyed to the public, and teach children and youths safe behaviors.
Fostering Affection Relationships and Increased Attachments
A significant social perspective measure to control pornification is the fostering of affection relationships and increased attachments in families. Parents should have a welcoming relationship among themselves (positive father-mother relationship) which should be followed by engaged parenting in which both parents actively interact with the children (Grubbs, Volk, Exline, and Pargament 2015, p. 89). This would mean limiting, directing, and monitoring the type of information young people consume, and in turn provide shield against pornographic information that is available across most media platforms. In the contemporary society, there is over-sexualized culture which is accompanied by long pre-marriage period. Because of this trend, children need to adopt abstinence behavior which could be channeled to health marriage and stable family life (Downey 2015, p. 540). Thus, strong families can be the best defense against the negative pornographic behaviors that may affect future marriage institutions. Furthermore, the government has a key role in protecting its citizens, especially children and youths (Grubbs, Volk, Exline, and Pargament 2015, p. 90). There is need to reevaluate the laissez-faire attitude towards pornification proliferation in the society and consider more strict rules that would enhance the basic functioning of social institutions of church, school, and family.
Summary
In summary, the normalization of pornification is harmful to the society. Its presentation in form of social media, advertisement, films, television, and internet pornography encompasses the daily lives of individuals including children and adolescents. The two theories reviewed, Two-Step-Flow and Looking Glass Self, illustrate how pornification affects the majority of the people through mediated information flow. As such, the theories should be adopted to help in understanding the effects of pornification and the need to formulate measures that can help prevent its further spread. Parents and social institutions should help in addressing the issue through engagement in educating children and youths on the impacts of pornification. Further, governments should also create stricter rules to prevent the normalization of sexualized media.
References
Bostian, L.R., (2012). The Two-Step Flow Theory: Cross-Cultural Implications. International Communications, vol. 47, no. 1, pp. 109, viewed 10 April 2016.
Boyle, K., 2018. The implications of pornification. The Routledge Handbook of Gender and Violence, p.85.
Cooley, C.E., (2012). New girl heroes: the rise of popular feminist commentators in an era of sexualisation. Gender and Education, vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 317-323.
Downey, B., (2015). The Looking Glass Self and Deliberation Bias in Qualitative Interviews. Sociological Spectrum, vol. 35, pp. 534-551.
Furze, B, Savy, P, Brym, R. J. and Lie, J., (2015). Sociology in Today’s World. Third Edition, Cengage Learning, Australia, pp. 245-270.
Grubbs, J.B., Volk, F., Exline, J.J. and Pargament, K.I., 2015. Internet pornography use: Perceived addiction, psychological distress, and the validation of a brief measure. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 41(1), pp.83-106.
Sampson, E. and Gridley, H., 2015. APS highlights concerns about the harmful impacts of pornography. InPsych: The Bulletin of the Australian Psychological Society Ltd, 37(2), p.18.
Schlossberg, M., (2016). Calvin Klein’s latest ad features an upskirt photo that’s spurring outrage. Business Insider Australia.
Smith, C., (2010). Pornographication: A discourse for all seasons. International Journal of Media and Cultural Politics, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 103-108.
