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- Creators: School of Social Transformation
- Resource Type: Text
The effect that pornography has on demand for sex trafficking has yet to be thoroughy investigated. A confidential survey was constructed and opened exclusively to heterosexual English-speaking men who are currently living in the U.S. and between teh ages of 18 and 25. Results showed that men who have purchased sex are more likely to watch porn more often and for longer durations than men who do not report ever purchasing sex. Results also support that men who have purchased sex consume different kinds of porn than men who report never having purchased sex. Finally, results also suggest that men who have purchased sex are more likely to simultaneously report feelings of guilt and satisfaction after viewing pornography. As a whole, these results demonstrate a difference in porn consumption by men who have a history of purchasing sex.
For this thesis, I analyzed the discourse and content of Proposition 22, a California law which defined all workers utilizing gig-based apps to sell services as independent contractors meaning they were not legally entitled to certain protections such as minimum wage. The law was overturned in court in 2020, however, the advertisements in favor of and discourse behind the law has had a continued impact on all workers. Because of this it is important to examine and conceptualize the ideologies behind the law in order to understand how it was able to pass in a state which tends to vote in favor of increasing employee rights and regulation of industries. To do so, I utilized two methods of analysis, a discourse analysis of legal documents and a content analysis of advertisements. The former revolves around analyzing the discourse and ideologies around two versions of the legislation which were shown to the public, while the latter analysis categorizes and examines the implications of various advertisements utilized by companies to support the proposition. Ultimately, gig companies created an effective campaign that was able to repackage neoliberal deregulation for the general public while actively misrepresenting information around the law leading to long lasting effects that continue to harm workers while lining the pockets of investors despite its overturning.