Should pornography be banned as a threat to women?
Resources used to support "no"
Women should be viewed as equal partners in their sexual
relationships, but feminists that complain that pornography
degrades women seem to have fotten this. Many of them want to suppress
all pornography, even though this could impair the women's rights movement
that was supposed to support expression of female sexuality. Some women's
groups claim
that pornography is degrading to women because they are often
portrayed in sexually explicit material as being submissive to men.
However,
they cannot present any evidence that eliminating pornography would reduce
sexism or
violence toward women because a causal relationship between these has nevr
been established. Neither is there evidence of a correlation between
the availability of pornographic materials in different communities and
the rate of sexual offenses. In fact, a higher rate of gender equality
seems to correlate with a greater availability of sexual materials.
[Kimberly Spitz.]
WWW
- Pornography is
Good by Jonathan Wallace (The Ethical Spectacle, November 1995)
This comment on the work of Wendy McElroy is very
informative. Its author discusses
why any debate about pornography is nothing more than a debate about
morality and law. He lists
various reasons why pornography is good for both women and men.
[Recommended by Stacy Baker.]
- The ACLU on Pornography
A detailed explanation of the beliefs toward pornography
held by the ACLU.
JOURNAL ARTICLES & PERIODICALS
- O'Hara, G. (1995). The Boring Truth About Pornography. World Press Review, 42, (10).
Argues that those who are disgusted and revolted by pornography should examine their feelings, especially below the belt. Pornography is more of a bore that a threat.
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