Bob Guccione

By: Kiara Bell

The 1960’s were some very sexually awakening and groundbreaking years. Being able to love whomever one pleases without the penalties or judgments was a time people will never forget. Throughout this time, Hugh Hefner and his Playboy magazine and bunnies had become a popular topic throughout America. Hefner made an enormous difference in the way society viewed sexuality. That is, until Bob Guccione came along and added some competition.

          Bob Guccione was a New Jersey native who spent the sixties working as a photographer in London.[1] Guccione was raised in a Catholic Italian-American family and he had studied most of his life for priesthood. So as you can see, it probably sent a wave of shock through his family when he published Penthouse magazine after all of his religious studies. Going back to his early life, Bob was always involved in religious activities with his family until one day he dropped it all to become an artist. [2] He traveled throughout the countries of Europe and Africa but things did not turn out in his favor. During this time, Bob often borrowed money from his parents and worked odd jobs.

          Luckily, thanks to an accident and a loan of $1,170, Penthouse became the revolutionary sex magazine of the time and for many years later. Guccione found the Penthouse magazine, one that showed explicit nude photos of women, in 1969 and built a pornographic empire.[3] In 1979, the magazine reached its peak selling more than 4.7 million copies. It became so popular that Bob Guccione rose to become one of America’s richest men in the eighties. In 1973, he also created a magazine called Viva, which contained images of nude males in order to satisfy women. However, that magazine wasn’t as successful and crumbled after a few years.

          Bob Guccione was married four times. The end of the third marriage was the one that hit him the hardest. He was married to a woman named Kathy Keeton and she lost her battle to breast cancer in 1997. Keeton worked with him for many years and helped found the Penthouse magazine. They worked on many different projects together that were unrelated to pornography. The duo created a magazine called Omni which was a magazine that covered science and science fiction. Both Guccione and Keeton had an interest in personal appearance so they created another magazine called Longevity which was devoted to staying young.[4] After the death of his beloved wife, things went downhill from there. Guccione began losing profit because there was a decrease in the number of viewers of his magazine and his company, General Media Inc., later filed for bankruptcy. Bob was evicted from his home for failing to pay $24 million in debt. Not only did his business fail, but he was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1998 and passed away in 2010 because of lung cancer at the age of 79. Although his life ended in tragedy, Bob Guccione made a huge impact in America.

 

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[1] Sex in '69: Sexual Revolution in America. Film. : A&E Networks, 2009.

[2]A&E Networks Television. "Bob Guccione Biography." Bio.com. http://www.biography.com/people/bob-guccione-273678#!&awesm=~oCSZMpMHq1j67Y (accessed April 29, 2014).

[3] McFadden, Robert. "Bob Guccione, 79, Dies; Founded Penthouse." The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/21/business/media/21guccione.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 (accessed April 29, 2014).

 

[4] A&E Networks Television. "Bob Guccione Biography." Bio.com. http://www.biography.com/people/bob-guccione-273678#!&awesm=~oCSZMpMHq1j67Y (accessed April 29, 2014).

If You are not a Sex Object, You are in Trouble”

                                               –Helen Gurley Brown

                                                                     By: Nia Beals

            Helen Gurley Brown was most known for being the editor of the famous Cosmopolitan magazine during the Sexual Revolution. Helen Gurley Brown was born in February 18, 1922 in Green Forest, Arkansas. By the time Helen graduated from high school her, her sister, and her mother had moved to Los Angeles, California. However, her sister and mother decided to move back to Arkansas. She decided not to go back to Arkansas because she was not made to live in the country. Helen always felt more at home in the big city. Helen is also known for quoting Carson McCullers by stating “I must go home periodically to renew my sense of humor.”

            Years later, Brown began working for several different advertising company. It was rumored that Brown slept with several of her bosses. Some of the people she was rumored to be with included Jack Dempsey and the son of an oil tycoon. However, it was at her seventeenth job that one of her employers noticed how good of a writer she was. With the help of her boss and his wife she managed to win several awards for her articles. By 1950, Helen was earning the highest salary of a female writer. Her new success helped her meet her future husband David Brown who happened to be the producer of the movie Jaws and Driving Miss Daisy. Her new husband was also very influential to her career by convincing her to write her famous book Sex and the Single Girl. Her new book encouraged women to not get married and to enjoy premarital sex with different partners. The book was so popular that the prestigious film company Warner Bros bought the film writes from the book.

            By July 1965, all of the hard work Helen put into building her career did not go unnoticed because she became the new chief and editor of Cosmopolitan magazine. Because of Helen, the magazine grew to be over three hundred pages. However in 1997, Helen stepped down from being the regular chief and editor to being the chief and editor of the international Cosmopolitan magazine. Because of Helen’s efforts, the magazine was the number one women’s magazine. Also, she was named one of the top twenty five influential women. Sadly, at the old age of 90, Helen passed away in a hospital in New York.[1]

                                                                                       

                                                   

                                                                 

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[1] Garner, Dwight. "The Original Carrie Bradshaw." The New York Times. The New York Times, 21 Apr. 2009. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.

Effects of Cosmopolitan in the 60s

            Cosmopolitan, often referred to as  “Cosmo,” is a magazine that is geared towards the woman consumer.   Cosmo wasn’t always the place one would go to learn “great sex.”  The magazine was close to closing it’s doors until the company herd a pitch from Helen Gurley Brown.  Brown was the writer of a book called Sex and the Single Girl. [i]She wanted to find a way to further reach her curious fans and decided that responding to their cravings through a magazine was the best way to do so.   Brown emphasized that women not only could be happy without a man, but also encouraged them to sleep with whomever they wanted to. [ii]  Like her book, the women of the sixties were snatching up the magazine with haste. 

            The sixties began to see a whole new kind of women, one that was taking charge of their sexuality.  Women became more knowledgeable about sex and defiantly more sexually promiscuous.   Not only did the magazine encourage sexuality, it also pushed women to be assertive, and learn to speak their minds against men.   

Women were happily single and frolicking in a new kind of freedom.  One of the main draws to the magazine was the issue about the “pill that makes women more responsive.  This was implying that if women took birth control they would be able to better enjoy sex.

            Conservative men and women found the magazine to be threatening to society.  Some still even find the nature of the magazine to be insulting today.  Many thought that in reading the magazine that one would loose the sexual morals that conservatives have been clinging to so dearly.  Worries about premarital sex and spread of sexually transmitted diseases became prevalent. 

            In a study a control group did not read Cosmo and the experimental group was given short exposure to the magazine.  [iii]After interviews with the women of the study the researchers found that the women exposed to the magazine were far more okay with the idea of women being sexually assertive.  All in all the magazine proved to be thought provoking in an way that women may have not had the courage to think of before.  The newfound liberalism in sexuality did not stop there and could not be diminished by conservatives.  The magazine was front and center for society to see and skyrocketed in sales.  Today the magazine still goes along with the theme of women being promiscuous in the bedroom and being strong willed.   Regardless of if the magazine is controversial to conservative beliefs it was not taken off the racks in the sixties and cannot be expected to be taken off of them any time soon. 

Lydia Boinest

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[i] Moore, Crystal. "The Sexualized Society." Lecture,, , April 1, 2014.

[ii]  Benjamin, Jennifer. "How Cosmo Changed the World." Cosmopolitan. http://www.cosmopolitan.com/about/about-us_how-cosmo-changed-the-world (accessed April 30, 2014).

[iii] Mark, Kristen. "The Impact of Cosmo Magazine on Women’s Sexual Attitudes." Kinsey Confidential RSS. http://kinseyconfidential.org/cosmo-impacts-womens-sexual-attitudes/ (accessed April 30, 2014).

Dating in the 1950's

by Rhyann Bowman

When we picture dating in the 1950's, we picture ice cream shops, swing music, suits, dresses, and huge grins. After WWII, teenagers had more freedom than the generations before them ever were. One of the freedoms they had was the way they dated. During this time period, they set up conventions of dating that are still used today. Dating replaced calling in this time period. When a young man "calls" a young woman, he usually shows up at her house and presents his card to the maid, who gives it to the young woman. She either accepts his call by letting him in or rejects it by making up an excuse as to why she can’t see him [1]. The entertainment at a calling event was usually piano playing. The lower class of society didn’t have much money so they couldn’t afford pianos and maids. Instead, they started “dating”. Soon after, the upper class started “dating”. This practice is obviously still around today.

It was also understood that the young men would pay for the date. However, some young men did not have enough money to pay for the date so they would not date. Girls would miss out on some really great guys just because the guys weren't wealthy. This is still a norm that exists today but I think that it is fading away. Young women are now either offering to pay for the date or to split the cost of the date with the young man. However, some girls today still expect this from the young man. I think that if you took part in the activities that went on during the date, you should pay your share. It should not be on the man to pay for you.

Along with the dating, sexual activities took place. People understood that “necking” and “petting” were done by people who participated in dating. Usually, at the end of the date, the couple would sit in the young man’s car and “pet” [2], which meant that they would make out and caress one another. Petting was basically everything except sexual intercourse. In fact, petting was actually expected after dates. After paying for the date, the young man thought that petting was the least that the young woman could do in return. I disagree with this because that’s slightly similar to prostitution. If you paid for the date, kudos. But that doesn’t mean that I have to give you any part of my body and if you were expecting it, clearly sex was the only goal of the relationship and it wouldn’t have worked out anyway so it’s best to get out early. These conventions still exist today. I think that some minor adjustments should be made, like splitting the cost of the date should be become a norm. If it were a norm, they would be less pressure and less expectation of engaging in sexual intercourse.

[1] Sombat, Windy. "Teenage Dating in the 1950s." Teenage Dating in the 1950s. http://www.plosin.com/beatbegins/projects/sombat.html (accessed April 30, 2014).

[2] Moore, Crystal. "Beyond Reproduction." Lecture,, , April 10, 2014.

The Lost Colors of The Wind...

By: Gyovanni Boston-Crompton

         Many Americans have forgotten about the people who graced this land long before the crusaders came to take it over. After enduring diseases, murder and rape from the crusaders they were then forced to live on reservations. People have a misconception that these tribes live on their reservations and have a life like Pocahontas but they are naïve to the real danger that many of these Native Americans face every day. These once rich souls that once ruled this land have been lost due to this society including rape.

            I’m pretty sure if Disney had included a scene of how Pocahontas was raped while she captured after the First Anglo-Powhatan War that the movie would not have been as popular as it was.[1] Just as Disney blocked out the piece of history, many people today block out the issue of rape on these reservations. The rape of Native American women historically goes back to when the settlers first came over to the new land which was prominent during the time of the Trial of Tears. Rape was used as a mechanism for colonization in which they would rape these women to keep them in order. [2] These women have grown up in a culture throughout history where rape has been a part of their everyday life not only from outsiders but also inside the family as well. Statistics show that rape within Native American women is twice the amount of the national average of rape in America.[3] Most of these women are not only left with the scares of the rape, but the fact that the pain that they have endured will never have its justice.

            There are several issues that the United States faces when it comes to prosecuting a rape on reservations. This relationship between America and the Native American reservations are complex, in which that America has made it maze-like for women who want to report their sexual assault to any type of police whether they are tribal, state, or federal. The main factors deterring women from reporting these crimes are: determining if the person accused of the action is in a tribe that is on a federal level, determining if the victim lives in a tribe that is recognized on a federal level,  and if the sexual assault had taken place on the tribal land. To go along with these initial problems the law enforcement in these tribes have insufficient amount of funds from the government that would help with training and maintaining suitable officers that could help reduce the amount of rapes. [4] Even after all of that the women in these tribes are unable to have proper and adequate resources to for health issues that may occur after the rape. Such as contracting an STD or even having Plan B to prevent an unwanted pregnancy.[5]

            Although through the hardships that these women face, there have been several things implemented to stop this treatment and degrading of women. The law of Violence against Women Act was first passed in 1994 and actually last year was passed again with revision in order to protect these women from the abuse that they face every day. The law will take effect in March of 2015 and will protect women from everyone including people who are not Native Americans and people that are strangers to the victims.[6] This introducing the first actions of that should have been implanted many years ago to protect these women from this type of life.

            Having a great grandmother, who was a Cherokee Indian; it devastates me to think about the torture that these women have to endure every day. The thought that my ancestor, a strong willed woman, was potentially rape by someone whom she may or may have not known and simply because she lived in a certain location that she was unable to receive the proper care and attention that I would be able to receive today, makes me angry. As a young woman being in raised in an over sexualized society, which is already hard, hearing about other young women finding rape to be a social norm is just shocking to me. I can’t imagine growing up thinking that one day that I will be raped and when I get raped it will be fine because everyone else gets raped too. Society is truly messed up to allow this happen to the women who grazed this land before us.

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[1] Pocahontas Archive." Last modified 2014. Accessed April 28, 2014. http://digital.lib.lehigh.edu/trial/pocahontas/mattaponi.php.

[2] Amnesty International USA. "Maze of Injustice." Amnesty International USA. http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/issues/women-s-rights/violence-against-women/maze-of-injustice (accessed April 28, 2014).

[3] Williams, Timothy. "For Native American Women, Scourge of Rape, Rare Justice." The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/23/us/native-americans-struggle-with-high-rate-of-rape.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 (accessed April 28, 2014).

[4] Amnesty International USA. "Maze of Injustice." Amnesty International USA. http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/issues/women-s-rights/violence-against-women/maze-of-injustice (accessed April 28, 2014).

[5] Williams, Timothy. "For Native American Women, Scourge of Rape, Rare Justice." The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/23/us/native-americans-struggle-with-high-rate-of-rape.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 (accessed April 28, 2014).

[6] Horwitz, Sari. "New law offers protection to abused Native American women." Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/new-law-offers-a-sliver-of-protection-to-abused-native-american-women/2014/02/08/0466d1ae-8f73-11e3-84e1-27626c5ef5fb_story.htmlhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/new-law-offers-a-sliver-of-protection-to-abused-native-american-women/2014/02/08/0466d1ae-8f73-11e3-84e1-27626c5ef5fb_story.html (accessed April 28, 2014).

Bestiality and It's Affect on People

Victoria Ambrose

Professor Moore

LBST 2101

UNCC

Bestiality and its Affects On People

Before I dive into the details of bestiality, I think its important that you understand what it is. Bestiality, better known as Zoophilia, is the sexual attraction and activity between that of a human and another species, often times an animal. Although it seems like a rather weird idea to a society that is primarily homosexual and heterosexual, it is actually pretty normal. Most researchers say that 2 to 8 percent of society has some sort of hidden attraction to animals and most people are pushing for a new sexual movement[1]. Cody Beck, a sophomore in high school decided to come out to his classmates about his bestial sexual orientation especially after he heard several homophobic remarks in his class. As Beck describes it, " (it is) like being gay in the 1950s. You feel like you have to hide, that if you say it out loud, people will look at you like a freak.". After being in this class, I can approve that fact and I think that if we look at these people any differently than homosexuals it can lead to a war of the sexes. The only problem with zoophiles is that they have to battle against animal protection services who are against their notions, and even the Gay Rights movement, who widely disapproves of the bestiality movement. Some states have even pushed to enact laws that make bestiality a felony, such a Florida, who’s laws changed after the January 2007 incident of a man strangling and sexually attacking a goat[2]. Not surprisingly, other countries have taken into effect laws that completely ban bestiality as a whole such as Sweden who have been pushing for change in their sexual laws[3]. Most people in Sweden have connected bestiality with psychological issues and think it is socially unacceptable. This is similar to the increased war on homosexuals during the 1950’s to the 1960’s especially with Eisenhower’s executive order to ban homosexuals from employment. Personally I think that bestiality is something that should be categorized differently from other sexual orientations. The reason I say this is because I think that it violates and harms the animal, and since animals have no emotions or reactions, it completely

disregards any morals or wrongdoings and allows for the sexual penetrator to have full control regardless of what the receiver sees as pleasurable.

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[1] Francis, Thomas . "Those Who Practice Bestiality Say They're Part of the Next Sexual Rights Movement." Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach News and Events. http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/2009-08-20/news/those-who-practice-bestiality-say-they-re-part-of-the-next-gay-rights-movement/ (accessed April 29, 2014).

[2] ibid

[3] Tornkvist, Ann. "Bestiality now illegal in Sweden." - The Local. http://www.thelocal.se/20140331/bestiality-now-illegal-in-sweden (accessed April 29, 2014).