Pornland

Professor Gail Dines has written about and researched the porn industry for over two decades. She attends industry conferences, interviews producers and performers, and speaks to hundreds of men and women each year about their experience with porn. Students and educators describe her work as “life changing.” In Pornland—the culmination of her life’s work—Dines takes an unflinching look at porn and its affect on our lives. Astonishingly, the average age of first viewing porn is now 11.5 years for boys, and with the advent of the Internet, it’s no surprise that young people are consuming more porn than ever. But, as Dines shows, today’s porn is strikingly different from yesterday’s Playboy. As porn culture has become absorbed into pop culture, a new wave of entrepreneurs are creating porn that is even more hard-core, violent, sexist, and racist. To differentiate their products in a glutted market, producers have created profitable niche products—like teen sex, torture porn, and gonzo—in order to entice a generation of desensitized users. Going from the backstreets to Wall Street, Dines traces the extensive money trail behind this multibillion-dollar industry—one that reaps more profits than the film and music industries combined. Like Big Tobacco—with its powerful lobbying groups and sophisticated business practices—porn companies don’t simply sell products. Rather they influence legislators, partner with mainstream media, and develop new technologies like streaming video for cell phones. Proving that this assembly line of content is actually limiting our sexual freedom, Dines argues that porn’s omnipresence has become a public health concern we can no longer ignore.

In an era in which the internet has made pornography readily accessible, Seeing with the Eyes of the Heart offers a theological critique of pornography and retrieves from the Christian tradition an alternative visual culture. This visual culture is constituted by both the character of the images we behold and the manner in which we see. Contributors include psychologists William M. Struthers and Jill Manning, who address the neurological effects of pornography and its influences on personal, familial, and social life. Their professional analysis is complemented by the testimony of a young man in recovery from pornography addiction. In an exposition of Christian visual culture, Orthodox iconographer Randi Sider-Rose describes the spiritual discipline of icon writing, Danielle M. Peters, S.T.D., surveys the iconography and art of Marian traditions, and art historian Dianne Phillips elucidates the meaning of divine desire as evident in Catholic visual culture of the late medieval and early modern periods. Catholic theologians Ann W. Astell, Nathanial Peters, Boyd Taylor Coolman, and Nicolas Ogle discuss specific practices and dimensions of the Catholic tradition that can contribute to the cultivation of sacramental vision, and David W. Fagerberg, Kimberly Hope Belcher, Jennifer Newsome Martin, and John C. Cavadini offer reflections on sacramental imagination and the healing of vision. Seeing with the Eyes of the Heart is a work of scholarship composed with pastoral care and concern, and it will be serviceable to both classroom teachers and pastoral ministers. A special feature of the book is an inset of seventy-two full-color plates featuring both classic and contemporary works of Christian iconography and art. The essays and images invite readers to behold in beauty the truth that we are created by the triune God not for sexual objectification but with a sacramental vocation to deification through Christ and the Holy Spirit of love.

In this book, the author draws on Karl Marx’s writings on alienation and Erich Fromm’s conception of necrophilia in order to understand these aspects of contemporary culture as expressions of the domination of the living by the dead under capitalism. Necroculture is the ideological reflection and material manifestation of this basic feature of capitalism: the rule of dead capital over living labor. The author argues that necroculture represents the subsumption of the world by vampire capital.

"This book offers a straightforward and vibrant approach to the study of criminal behavior and contemporary criminal justice issues through the use of popular TV shows. Students, researchers, and anyone else interested in crime will find this book an accessible and informative resource for understanding the causes of crime and how society responds to crime"--

Scholars and social critics are looking at gender and sexuality, as well as masculinity, in new ways and with more attention to the way cultural ideologies affect men’s and women’s lives. With the rise of an online “incel” (involuntarily celibate) community and the perpetration of acts of violence in their name, as well as increased awareness about the complexities of sexual interaction brought to the fore by the #metoo movement, it has become critical to discuss how men’s sexuality and masculinity are related, as well as the way men feel about the messages they get about being a man. Prior research on masculinity and masculine sexuality has examined the experiences of adolescent boys. But what happens to boys as they become men and as many move away from homo-social environments into sexual relationships? What happens when they no longer have a crowd of peers to posture or perform for? How do their sexual experiences and sexual selves change? How do they prove their masculinity in a society that demands it when they are no longer surrounded by peers? And how do they cultivate sexual selves and sexual self-confidence in a culture that expects them to always already be knowledgeable, desiring sexual subjects? In Getting It, Having It, Keeping It Up, Beth Montemurro explores the cultivation of heterosexual men’s sexual selves. Based on detailed, in-depth interviews with a large, diverse group of heterosexual men between the ages of 20 and 68, she investigates how getting sex, having sex, and keeping up their sex lives matters to men. Ultimately, Montemurro uncovers the tension between public, cultural narratives about hetero-masculinity and men’s private, sexual selves and their intimate experiences.

Nalini Narayan presents Alpha Female, a collection of stories that ventures beyond the conventional boundaries of contemporary literature. Raised in Brazil within an Indian family, Narayan infuses her narratives with a rich cultural tapestry, set against the vibrant backdrop of Brazilian life. With a progressive lens and intricately woven prose, Narayan delves into the complexities of human sexuality while offering incisive commentary on social issues. Her writing, rich in humor and keen observations, immerses readers in a compelling literary journey. Challenging taboos and exploring daring themes, Narayan crafts a work that not only captivates with its provocative nature but also resonates deeply with its relevance in today's global literary discourse.

Can you teach a child to be kind? This vital question is taking on a new urgency as our culture grows ever more abrasive and divided. We all want our kids to be kind. But that is not the same as knowing what to do when you catch your son being unkind. A world-renowned developmental psychologist, Dr. Thomas Lickona has led the character education movement in schools for forty years. Now he shares with parents the vital tools they need to bring peace and foster cooperation at home. Kindness doesn’t stand on its own. It needs a supporting cast of other essential virtues—like courage, self-control, respect, and gratitude. With concrete examples drawn from the many families Dr. Lickona has worked with over the years and clear tips you can act on tonight, How to Raise Kind Kids will help you give and get respect, hold family meetings to tackle persistent problems, discipline in a way that builds character, and improve the dynamic of your relationship with your children while putting them on the path to a happier and more fulfilling life.

Since the publication of the second edition in 2010, the field of sex work studies has expanded. This fully updated edition of Sex for Sale: Prostitution, Pornography, and Erotic Dancing presents an innovative, in-depth, and nuanced analysis of sex work, its risks, and benefits, and pays attention to newer and everchanging types of sex work and its actors, as well as public policies and laws that govern its trade. Now in its third edition, this volume includes updated research on traditional forms of sexual labor and incorporates original, empirically grounded research on newer or less researched phenomena. New chapters explore the use of technology among street sellers, blurring the line between street and online solicitation, in addition to chapters on historical prostitution, transgender workers, illicit massage parlors, male strippers, commercial webcamming, alternative policies and legal systems, and the sex workers' rights movement. The combination of cutting-edge and comprehensive analyses and carefully constructed methodologies in Sex for Sale makes it an excellent source of information for scholars and university students in gender studies, sociology, and criminology.

The church is unsure of itself in the twenty-first century's media culture. Some Christians denounce digital media while others embrace the latest gadgets and apps as soon as they appear. Many of us are stumbling along amidst the tweets, status updates, podcasts, and blog posts, wondering if we have ventured into a realm beyond the scope of biblical wisdom. Though there is such a thing as "new media," Andrew Byers reminds us that the actual concept of media is ancient, theological, and even biblical. In fact, there is such a thing as the media of God. "TheoMedia" are means by which God communicates and reveals himself--creation, divine speech, inspired writings, the visual symbol of the cross, and more. Christians are actually called to media saturation. But the media that are to most prominently saturate our lives are the media of God. If God creates and uses media, then Scripture provides a theological logic by which we can create and use media in the digital age. This book is not an unqualified endorsement of the latest media products or a tirade against media technology. Instead, Byers calls us to rethink our understanding of media in terms of the media of God in the biblical story of redemption.

For decades, and in some cases centuries, individuals, families, and friends of victims sought out ways to help heal the hurts caused by sexual abuse and implement some way to protect against future harms. The recent very public conversations about victims standing up to perpetrators has expanded the reach and public platform of sexual violence prevention efforts in critical ways. What might appear a relatively simple task on the surface, to define “healthy” and “harmful” sexual practices, inevitably raises even more questions. When the questions and answers are framed and defined through historical, cultural, social, and individual lenses, solutions may seldom be simple. Structured in five parts, Sex Crimes and Offenders: Exploring Questions of Character and Culture uses healthy sexuality as a back drop for exploring the complicated issue of identifying and punishing sex crimes, defining the parameters of sexualized violence, and sexual violence prevention. The goal is to prevent harm, address hurts, hold perpetrators accountable, and eventually eliminate – to the degree possible—all future harms. The information presented explores individual treatment efforts, as well as the social and political responses designed to hold perpetrators accountable and help support victims. Essential resources made visible throughout this text are provided to help inform young people, families, faith communities and future practitioners, to raise important reflective questions, and to serve as a resource for anyone of any age who has suffered harm, or perpetrated harm, and is in need of support and healing. Finally, the book concludes by shining a light on the efforts each of us can take to identify, reduce, and work toward eliminating sexual violence and harms. Additional resources for Instructors, including PowerPoint Lecture Notes and Test Banks, are provided.