Introduction

Our group had the task of exploring the topic of body image and how it relates to women. We explored the body image of the black body, the transsexual body, the fat body and the violence against the body that we see in pornography. The black body image for women has evolved through historical events and emerges in a multitude of areas. The transsexual body image surveys the stress of gender and body uncertainty. The difficulty surrounding gender and body uncertainty for transsexuals is heighten when there is high pressure to have a certain body type and look a certain way. The fat body image discusses both the fetishization of the fat body and the negative, and often untrue, connotations associated with it. The fat body is also discussed in terms of its place in our ideological society and its limited beauty standards. Both the fear and erasure of the fat body are imperative in understanding the fat person's role in society. The woman's role in pornography and the pornographic treatment of their bodies, intersects with race, sexuality and body image. The pornography industry abuses and objectifies the women body, and also creates an "ideal" body image expectation.

Unrealistic Body Expectations

“The 51 respondents who were asked about the effects of porn on their sex and dating lives; 51 percent said they felt advanced sexual expectations from themselves; 17.6 percent felt advance expectations from their partner(s); 33.3 percent and 2 percent, respectively, felt an increase or decrease in sexual frequency; and 23.5 percent felt “other,” encompassing responses varying from “unreal view of what sex is,” to “gives new moves to try, but doesn’t change expectations or frequency.”

Although Internet pornography is traditionally more popular among men, about forty percent of Internet pornography viewers are women. Pornography can have a negative affect on how women view their own bodies. Through media and advertisement and with the recent mainstreaming of pornography in our media, we are constantly exposed to the “ideal” thin body. Along with the thin “ideal” bodies that we see in advertisements, movies, television and magazines, we are also seeing an “ideal” body type in the pornography industry. Pornography and the “ideal” body in media create unrealistic expectations of bodies, pleasures and desires. Pornography also increases sexual expectations, causing people to feel the need to live up to higher standards. In the article below, Whitney Strub, GLGBTQ advisor, explains that anti-porn feminists’ central argument is that pornography does not express sexuality, but illustrates a construction of sexuality. Anti-porn feminists argue sexual construction is a patriarchal influence upon women, persuading their understandings of themselves, their bodies, their sexuality, their desires and their pleasures. Pornography can encompass an unrealistic expectation of the body, sexual roles and abilities. With the constant publicity of all different bodies in media, it is inevitable that people in society are going to compare themselves to what they see. Comparison between bodies can lead to a distortion of the body image that they have already created for themselves.

http://temple-news.com/opinion/2010/04/08/porn-increases-sexual-expectations-decreases-two-way-sexual-activity/ 

History Repeating Itself

The maltreatment of black women’s bodies during the nineteenth century in Europe and the United States appears to be the template upon which modern pornography represents black women. Contemporary pornography with African-American women has prominent themes of 

Caricature of Sarah Bartmann
drawn in early nineteenth century

objectification, domination and control. In the nineteenth century black women’s bodies were objects to be displayed and when entered into slavery they were subjected to rape as a convergence of sex and violence. In the early nineteenth century in Europe Sarah Bartmann was displayed at fashionable parties, dressed in little to no clothing to provide entertainment. Her exhibition produced public captivation and sparked curiosity about the sexuality of non-European races. As a result of her display she was made into the first icon for black female sexuality, which was suspected to be deviant behavior. Today, we see Sarah's display as the blueprint of degrading and humiliating the black woman's body on a worldwide level. The abuse of enslaved African women and of women like Sarah Bartmann is recurring in contemporary portrayals of black women in pornography, concurrent with the historical treatment of their actual bodies. In modern pornography African-American women are usually shown with one or more white men in a situation of bondage or slavery and typically in a submissive position. The image of black women in pornography is almost constantly featuring them breaking from chains. There is a distinct difference between the images applied to white women and women of color in pornography. The use of chains, whips, neck braces and wrist clasps replicates the historical trappings of slavery and the pornographic treatment of black women's bodies is parallel with the historical abuse inflicted upon their bodies.

Madison Montag: Transsexual Porn Star

"I do wish I would have made better choices and thought things through before selling my soul and body for a couple of hundred dollars to a business that ends up exploiting women and only cares about making money off of them." -Madison Montag

Madison Montag is a 19 year-old transsexual porn star, recently nominated at the Adult Video News Awards (AVN) as “Transsexual Performer of the Year”. She grew up in a conservative small town in Texas, where she was discriminated against as a transsexual woman. Madison started in the adult entertainment industry at 18 years old to quickly gain resources for the hormones and surgeries she wanted. Montag describes the adult entertainment industry as “quite an experience”. She claims she learned a lot about her life, about herself and what she wanted but wishes she made better choices and thought her choices through. In this interview with Jincey Lumpkin, Madison says that she decided she wanted out of the business to escape the exploitation of her own body and the bodies of others around her. Madison describes the trans niche of pornography as a very small community and unfair one at that. While working in the pornography industry, Madison and other girls felt like “pieces of meat” because of the judgments their bodies received. As a transsexual performer and someone who identifies as a straight transwoman, Madison got breast implants to feel more comfortable in her own skin for her own benefit and for the industry. As a transsexual woman and a performer, her body was under constant scrutiny. In addition to the abuse that is inflicted upon these transsexual women through performing, the level of respect they gain in the industry is also lower because they are in a smaller sector of the industry. Madison discusses the unfair treatments that her and other girls receive in contrast with girls who are contracted through big corporations like Digital Playground. Madison says she was completely disgusted with producers, many of them using her and other girls as a “hole to fill”.  

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jincey-lumpkin/madison-montag_b_1419640.html