1 Introduction

Pornography is one of the most profitable industries in the world, and

has been growing at escalating rates in recent years. Sociologists, psychologists and feminists groups alike have long attempted link exposure to pornography with misogyny. In the past decade, there have been numerous debates over whether pornography encourages misogyny.  The common perception is that pornography is used as a form of sexual entertainment for men, because the women are portrayed as willing sexual objects for mens fantasies, and sexual release.  What then is the real formal definition of pornography?  Perhaps due to emotional sensitivity, pornography has never been clearly defined. 

In Jacobellis v. Ohio, (1964), Justice Potter Stewart admitted that although he could not intelligibly define pornography, he knew it when he saw it (p.1).  His claim has become famous and is commonly used in academic papers that discuss issues on pornography because it brings to point that explicitly defining pornography is difficult. Apart from Justice Potter Stewarts claim, there is also the feminist claim that men create almost all forms of pornography.  Dworkin & MacKinnon, (1988, p.1) writes:

A systematic practice of exploitation and subordination based on sex that differentially harms and disadvantages women.

Arguments both for and against this relationship have been equally compelling. What is undeniable, however, is that attitudes towards pornography over the years have changed and pornography has become much more a part of mainstream entertainment than in the past.  Besides reviewing mens social influences on women after viewing pornography, this paper will also explore whether there are any elements involved in this relationship and the effects of pornography on women.