| dc.description.abstract | "Pornography" is a term possessing considerable weight in the context of contemporary society; however, it lacks a solid, singular definition. Though it is typically used when referring to videos and images depicting sexually explicit scenarios published on online streaming services such as Pornhub or image-hosting websites such as DeviantArt, a sort of grey area exists, featuring content in which sexually explicit scenarios occur, yet they are not typically described as pornography. This essay intervenes in feminist scholarly works on the interplay between pornography and masculinity by examining work positioned in this grey area. Video games such as the Tomb Raider franchise act as a solid example of this work. The protagonist of this video game is Lara Croft, a character described by some as a feminist icon and by others as a sexist stereotype due to her sexualized design. This game, the primary consumers of which are adolescent males and its position as a product of the free market, raises questions concerning the prevalence of pornography in the daily lives of younger members of contemporary society. This essay explores the role of pornography in the construction of masculinity in late capitalist societies. I argue that the objectification of women through the consumption of pornography available on the Internet parallels the process by which the Nazi party dehumanized the Jewish people as Hannah Arendt describes in her work The Origins of Totalitarianism. In making this claim, this essay contributes to feminist critiques of pornography by reinterpreting the violence featured in entertainment such as video games as pornography. | |
