Online Pornography and Objectification of Sexual Desire: A Sociological Inquiry

Online pornography‘s accessibility, affordability and anonymity become part of our popular culture. It simultaneously becomes an area of focus for academicians and offers particular challenges for researchers. Pornography can be defined as any media basically construed as intended to entertain or arouse erotic desire. It is a regular part of everyday life for many men and women. Some have been hurt by it and some have been able to entertain more fantasies. Persons and organizations against the availability and ready access to pornography usually argue such materials are detrimental to social order leading to rape and sexual assault or other sex related crimes. The other side of the argument holds that pornography is an expression of fantasies that provide pleasure and it actually empowers women by loosening them from the shackles of social prudery and anti-sexual restrictions. However, a number of scholars avoid the porn issue in order to avoid moral or social controversy. But we cannot refute the viability of the subject. Pornography is rapidly gaining its attention to social scientists. This paper looks at how the variety of issues, concepts, and genres of pornography considered in academic discourse, particularly in sociology, by examining the various theoretical and conceptual aspects.