A number of Facebook pages have attracted media attention recently for offering an opportunity to rank a partner’s sexual ‘performance’.
I have argued that the sites provide more opportunity for revenge and bullying through social networking pages (as if there isn’t enough of that already).
Porn-inspired descriptions of various body parts appear to make up much of the reviews, relaying an impression that this is all there is to sex. Sex becomes about performance, not intimacy or connection with another person, which gives many young people, including those not yet sexually active, a limited view of sexuality and relationships. This creates additional pressure and stress about one’s ability to provide the Porn Star Experience.
These are some of the points I made in a recent interview on Channel 7’s Sunrise.
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I write professional resumes and I cannot tell you the number of clients who have been completely shocked when I’ve told them that potential employers most certainly DO check Facebook, MySpace, Bebo etc. (I’ve also had to tell some people that email addresses like “pornkitten@…” are probably not a great idea… ) And the thing is, if people are being ‘ranked’ on these sites without their knowledge, damage has been done by other people to their online reputation and there’s no way of fixing it.
There is already enough media to tell women that intimacy = sex, that we are of worth only if we are young, thin and beautiful (where ‘beauty’ means ‘sexiness) and that we must compete with each other for our worth. We don’t need Facebook pages, where we get all that PLUS a ready-built platform for bullying and sexual harrassment.
Blatant sexual harassment. Wonder if anyone has filed charges against anyone else yet?