Degradation on Demand: Pornography and Gendered Intimacy in the Digital Age
Location
Ponderosa Room D
Presentation Type
Presentation
Presentation Topic
Pornography, Women’s Representation, Objectification, Digital Media, Generation Z, Women's studies, sexuality studies, media, social psychology
Start Date
6-3-2026 3:35 PM
Event Sort Order
58
Abstract
This research explores how women’s representation in porn has affected attitudes towards women in modern-day society. With the evolution of porn from magazines and VHS to today’s digital platforms, it has made sexual content more accessible than ever. It has recurring portrayals of women as objects of consumption rather than autonomous beings. The impact of these portrayals is dangerous and leads to women being perceived and treated as subhuman, inferior, and objectified. Porn often depicts women through the recurring themes of degradation, objectification, and infantilization. The portrayals of these stereotypes are harmful to youth as they negatively impact their perception of gender and intimacy. This ultimately reinforces how cultural attitudes toward women are socially constructed and maintained. These influences function on both conscious and subconscious levels, though often going unnoticed. Analyzing how these depictions are necessary as digital media is becoming an increasingly integral part of global society. This research examines specifically how these portrayals affect Millennials and Generation Z’s ideas of gender and intimacy. While also assessing the ways access to sexual content at a younger age influences their social development and views of intimate relationships, conducted through surveys and interviews with Millennials and Gen Z participants. This analysis assesses how existing research explains its findings, the language used when scholars discuss women’s portrayal in pornography, and how scholars’ bias may overlook key perspectives. This analysis demonstrates how pornography can reinforce misguided patriarchal understandings of women as a whole, fundamentally highlighting the urgency for culturally informed media literacy and representation.
Degradation on Demand: Pornography and Gendered Intimacy in the Digital Age
Ponderosa Room D
This research explores how women’s representation in porn has affected attitudes towards women in modern-day society. With the evolution of porn from magazines and VHS to today’s digital platforms, it has made sexual content more accessible than ever. It has recurring portrayals of women as objects of consumption rather than autonomous beings. The impact of these portrayals is dangerous and leads to women being perceived and treated as subhuman, inferior, and objectified. Porn often depicts women through the recurring themes of degradation, objectification, and infantilization. The portrayals of these stereotypes are harmful to youth as they negatively impact their perception of gender and intimacy. This ultimately reinforces how cultural attitudes toward women are socially constructed and maintained. These influences function on both conscious and subconscious levels, though often going unnoticed. Analyzing how these depictions are necessary as digital media is becoming an increasingly integral part of global society. This research examines specifically how these portrayals affect Millennials and Generation Z’s ideas of gender and intimacy. While also assessing the ways access to sexual content at a younger age influences their social development and views of intimate relationships, conducted through surveys and interviews with Millennials and Gen Z participants. This analysis assesses how existing research explains its findings, the language used when scholars discuss women’s portrayal in pornography, and how scholars’ bias may overlook key perspectives. This analysis demonstrates how pornography can reinforce misguided patriarchal understandings of women as a whole, fundamentally highlighting the urgency for culturally informed media literacy and representation.
Presenter Bio
Za’Kenzie Vaughn is a junior at the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO). She has recently presented her research at the 10th annual International Gender and Sexuality Studies conference. She is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology - Human Services and minoring in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. She conducts her undergraduate research through the Sexual Health Ambassador Internship with the Women's Health and BGLTQ+ Student Center at UCO. After obtaining her Bachelor’s degree, she plans to continue her academic studies at the University of Oklahoma and earn a master's degree in Social Work. After college, she wishes to use her passion for empowering youth to educate them about sexual health in disadvantaged Oklahoma areas. One fun fact about her is that she knows way too much about Beyoncé.