The “Pornification” of U. S. Culture

Graphic sexual images have become so ubiquitous that many university literature, film, anthropology, law, and women’s studies departments offer "porn curriculum" courses that delve into pornography issues (Cullen, 2006). The mainstreaming of aspects of pornography and sex work into U. S. culture is so prevalent that author Ariel Levy has described today’s culture as "raunch culture" (Levy, 2005). For example, on her talk show, Oprah Winfrey featured a stripper instructor whose program has taught over 12,000 women how to strip and pole dance, and TV programs demonstrate and teach how to "lap dance" a man to orgasm. Hundreds of young women cheerfully strip and mimic pornographic poses for Girls Gone Wild videos that generate an estimated $40 million a year (Deveny, 2007). Preadolescent girls wear T-shirts with "PORN STAR" written in rhinestones on the front. Porn stars have hosted programs on cable TV, including the reality show Can You Be a Porn Star? (Paul, 2005).