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After reading, my mind was broadened and I definitely have a more informed view of pornography. The book was very interesting and one that I had no trouble reading because the subject and the author's analysis were fascinating reading. I would recommend this book to just about anyone interested in human sexuality.
While Levensky doesn't give us all the answers, he makes a good start on asking the questions on basic character and treatment of men and women in this 21st century. Masculinity itself has been in turmoil since the "New Male" era in the 1980's and the "Real Men" of the 1990's. While you may not be involved in porn or feminism I believe you'll be interested to see Levensky's analysis of their affects on our culture.
He shows how the porn industry fits into this patriarchy and the consequences it has. While the author's views are extreme he makes several points which cause the reader to re-evaluate who they are and what they do. Levensky takes the extreme Feminist stance that western society is a patriarchy which automatically abuses the weak.
Any time an author causes us to re-evaluate our lives and actions I believe that's a positive influence. Note: Some content is "adult" in its descriptions of film content, so this book should be reviewed by adults before being shared with anyone younger. Levensky views everyone involved from actor to consumer as victims.
The producers and society at large are the perpetrators.
In fact, what was ostensibly a book about male consumers, and I chose to read it for that reason, turned into the usual rant about the degradation of women in pornography, without considering what the female performers might experience in their chosen line of work - or, rather, presenting it as though there is no choice, and that women pursuing pornographic careers are a result of false consciousness. I found this book problematic also, but I am female, advocate feminism, and study feminist theory. pornography) need to be so divisive. It's an extremely complex issue, and one that should not be reduced to these black and white treatments.
Are they exploited.Furthermore, as I have come to expect from extremist writing of any kind, there is no attention to genre, no content analysis, and even though he claims to randomly select the most popular movies, the more interesting and subversive popular movies were conspicuously absent. His analysis of a Wicked movie, for example, shocked me - it bore no resemblance to the overwhelming majority of Wicked movies I have seen, in terms of violence/degradation.I'm not saying that all of Jensen's positions are incorrect, or that I think all pornography is great; I am saying that the obsession with women in pornography is grounded in sexism, and the belief that the ultimate exploitation of women is rooted in sexuality is a cultural belief repeated again and again, with a lack of attention to why we believe this to be the case. What about women in other lines of work. What about male performers.
Nevertheless, I found Jensen's rhetoric infuriating, and as someone who writes about pornography using feminist theory (and I am neither "pro" nor "anti" pornography - I find some pornography progressive, interesting, smart, and highly enjoyable; some pornography I find racist, sexist, unpleasant etc. I found this to be absurd. I don't think the positions that critics of this book lay out as mutually exclusive (feminist v. His only "evidence" in this regard consisted of a curious "reading between the lines" of behind the scenes footage, where he drew conclusions from a brief look in a performer's eye.
His "analysis" of the women in pornography I found to be particularly offensive. However, it is the rhetoric of this book, and books like it (Dworkin, for example), that encourage polarized views of sex, sexuality, and pornographic media.In my opinion, both masculinity and femininity are constructed, and in ways that are damaging for both sexes; women, however, have been oppressed more considerably over history. I think pornography, just like everything else, is constructed in ways that replicate sexism, racism, classism et al, but that does not mean it is lacking in cultural value, or even feminist value) - but I do not condone censorship in any form, and I don't find Jensen's approach useful.
The book relies on assumptions and passes them off as facts from which to build its arguments, but unfortunately, the assumptions are broad leaps of intellectual dishonesty, much like the proponents who pedal this kind of tripe from their taxpayer subsidized classrooms, and pass it off as academia. Also if you reject the enormous assumption that men like porn because it proves they are different from women, and therefore superior to them then you will dislike this book. Moreover if you disagree that masculinity is solely constructed to dominate and screw over others then you will also find this book absurd. A mandatory book for a psychology class which pretty much reaffirms my growing realization that the field in general has become so rife with biases drawn from flawed assumptions that have no accurate basis in fact, history, reality etc. One star is too kind, and the taxpayers deserve better than this. If one accepts the given tenants of radical feminism, and supposes that masculinity is entirely constructed, and constructed to oppress women, than this book will be your cup of tea. And that pretty much mirrors this book. If you live in the real world and think that women are accountable for and play a controlling role in how they shape perceptions of themselves as a group then this book will read like more delirious gender feminist skreed.
His arguments are puerile, scattered, and inconclusive.Instead of whining, blaming men for their problems, and playing the eternal victim game, women need to step up to the plate and start taking responsibility for their own behavior. It won't kill you.Here's a better idea: If we get rid of masculinity, then men shouldn't have to pay taxes to support any women's programs. If Robert Jensen thinks masculinty is so toxic, he should get a sex change. Here's a thought, girls: try a little introspection once in a while. If the world doesn't need us anymore, it doesn't need our money, right.Sorry - is that too logical for you. I'm getting tired of this kind of man-bashing. Jensen's liberal humanism is nothing but a guise for thought control.
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