Mistreatment Of African American Women

According to the dictionary, a slave is “a person who is the legal property of another and is forced to obey them”. It is a word that has a very negative connotation and is typically associated with a dark period in America’s history when white people abused African Americans by making them slaves. A slave-like individual is someone who is entirely subservient to a dominating influence. Their voice is not heard and they do not have control over most parts of their lives. Understanding what it means to be a slave, one would never expect someone to flaunt being a slave to another person, unless they had heard the song, “I’m a Slave 4 U” by Britney Spears. This well-received hit was accompanied by a music video presenting a sexualized Spears inappropriately …show more content…
The directors, Chyng Sun and Miguel Picker, dissect components of pornography such as the submissive female character who begs for mistreatment by one or many dominating male presences. The documentary also draws upon issues regarding this industry as a whole, mainly how it turns women into commodities and accentuates the polar spectrum of masculinity and femininity. To do so, it examines scenes from pornographic films in which men harass women, often aggressively handling, choking or whipping them. The men yell degrading commands, expecting the women to willing obey, which they do because they have no control over their situations. Sickening scenarios such as this teach men to think that hyper-dominance is a necessary part of their masculine identity. While doing so, it teaches male and female viewers that women should be inferior, compliant individuals. Dr. Bressi, a victim of sexual assault that featured in Price of Pleasure, stated that being forced to view porn was meant to teach her, “how to be subservient, how to degrade [herself]”. Porn has the ability to do so because it portrays women as vulnerable, submissive beings that depend on men for their importance, otherwise feeling useless. Female performers in pornographic scenes get into their roles in ways such as shouting objectifying lines about being further manhandled which makes viewers think they tolerate how they are being treated. While many performers are simply acting the part, some truly to do tolerate it because they look at their role as part of their career in the industry. One porn star featured in Price of Pleasure referred to herself saying, “I’m a product and I know that. I am a dang good product”. The reoccurring trend throughout pornography of women’s acceptance of degradation is teaching young women to