Lahey (1991) argues that the attempt to determine the effects of viewing pornography misses the point because once again the focus is on men and their reactions; is it not enough that women feel belittled, humiliated, and degraded? The voice of women is silent in pornography studies. The questions focus on whether pornography induces sex­ual […]

Several laboratory studies have sought to determine the reactions of men exposed to dif­ferent types of pornography. In most cases, men are shown pornography, and then a test is done to determine whether their attitudes toward women, sex crimes, and the like are ReviewQuestion Describe the studies that have been done examining pornography and harm. […]

In 1969, J. Edgar Hoover, Director of the F. B.I., submitted evidence to the Presidential Commission on Obscenity and Pornography claiming that police observation had led him to believe that: A disproportionate number of sex offenders were found to have large quantities of pornographic materials in their residences. . . more, in the opinion of […]

Both sides of the pornography debate produce reams of studies that support their side; the Meese Report and antiporn feminists such as MacKinnon and Dworkin produce pa­pers showing that pornography is tied to rape, assault, and negative attitudes toward women, and others produce studies showing that pornography has no effects or is sec­ondary to more […]

A number of critics have responded to the arguments put forth by people like MacKinnon and Dworkin (Kaminer, 1992; Posner, 1993; Wolf, 1991). First, many argue that a re­striction against pornography cannot be separated from a restriction against writing or pictures that show other oppressed minorities in subordinate positions. Once we start re­stricting all portrayals […]

One of the scholars who has written most forcefully and articulately against pornogra­phy is Catherine MacKinnon (1985, 1987, 1993). MacKinnon argues that pornography cannot be understood separately from the long history of male domination of women and that it is in fact an integral part and a reinforcing element of women’s second-class status. According to […]

The religious conservative opposition to pornography is based on a belief that people have an inherent human desire to sin and that pornography reinforces that tendency and so undermines the family, traditional authority, and the moral fabric of society (R. J. Berger et al., 1991). Unless strong social standards are kept, people will indulge themselves […]

But these criteria are not without critics. Important questions remain about topics such as the definitions of community standards and prurient interest, and who gets to de­cide. Some argue that the criteria of prurience, offensiveness, and community standards turn moral fears into legal “harms,” which are more imaginary than real, and so we end up […]

Pornography has always aroused passions, but the debate over pornography is particu­larly active today because pornography is so widely available. People can buy books or magazines at a local store, rent a movie at the video store, tune into a certain channel on cable or satellite TV, or view images on the Internet. Throw in […]