GRSJ224/AntiPornography

What is Pornography?

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines pornography as "the depiction of erotic behaviour (as in pictures or writing) intended to cause sexual excitement." However, there is no one absolute definition of pornography as it is a controversial and sensitive topic among many people. Churches see pornography as a cause of sin. Liberals see pornography as sexual freedom. Conservatives would consider pornography as an invasion of the human body. Doctors or psychologists may be worried about the health impacts of pornography. Susan G. Cole, a Canadian feminist author and activist, defines pornography as "a practice of sexual subordination in which women's inferior status is eroticized and thus maintained."

History of Pornography

In "A History of Prostitution From Antiquity to the Present Day" by George R. Scott, Scott explains that the first sexual drawing was made by a cave man, and that it was created almost a thousand years before the first written document. Since then, human sexuality has played a major role in societies. Even though pornography existed, it was used as educational and instructional materials instead of as a sexualization and destruction of the human body image. In 1557, the rise of the Roman Catholic Church started banned books because they were "sexually explicit and theologically challenging." In 1857, Robley Dunglison gave rise to the English term "pornography" and defined it as "a description of prostitutes or of prostitution as a matter of public hygiene." Then, a lot of pornography films were published. In 1969, Denmark legalized pornography, being the first country to formally do so. In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Stevens that pornography is not classified as "obscene." Scott also made an estimation that one of eight women in 18th century New York was working as a part-time or full-time prostitute.

Pornography in Present

As the society becomes more liberal, pornography has become a tool and medium to sexual satisfaction. Not only it is being treated as an entertainment, but it is also a culture in some countries.

As Entertainment

For many producers and consumers, pornography functions as entertainment. This means that pornography was targetted for certain audiences and it's based on characters and stories. As Alan McKee says in his study on pornography, pornography's "primary purpose is to create an emotional response." He defines pornography a "sexually explicit entertainment."
Pornography is a form of entertainment. In other words, it is an aesthetic way of portraying the human bodies and their sexual intercourse. McKee claims that pornography is vulgar - "pertaining to the common people" and sexualized. Pornography often has a storyline, which is the main characteristic of entertainment. There are different events, in cause-and-effect or problem-solution order, that are played out by characters. Most importantly, there is always a happy ending in pornography. Usually, entertainments like movies or novels would want a satisfying solution to the problem that they pose. In pornography, there are also no difficulties or arguments over sexual managements. There is no negotiations, consent or boundaries being worked out. Ultimately, "pornography is simply about joy and pleasure."

Feminist Arguments and Anti-Pornography

Men and women use pornography differently. Men are six times more likely to watch pornography than women. As feminism rises in the society, many feminists have brought attention to the harm on women from pornography.

Harm to Women

Pornography not only is a damage to culture and one's mind, but it also has an impact on how women are viewed in the society. In the modern world, pornography can be seen as a passive entertainment. The noises, images, portrayals of violence or sexual degradation have the power to shape one's imagination. By watching pornography, men tend to have false imagination of sex and women's bodies.

Objectification and Degradation of Women

Dr. Patrick F. Fagan said that men who watch pornography tend to view women and even children as sex objects, or "instruments for their pleasure." Since men use pornography more frequently than women, their exposure to sexual material from different mediums is widely ranged - through the use of Internet, magazines, television. Being a type of entertainment, pornography not only presents women in terms of their sexuality but it also falsely depict what sex is like in reality. It also fosters the idea of female submissiveness and how masculinity plays in sexual intercourse. Fagan also noted that "men who use pornography are also less attractive to potential female partners" due to their false image and perception of sex and the women body. In pornography, women are constantly dominated, humiliated, and coerced or forced. Objectifying and degrading women ultimately lead men to sexism.

Rape and Sexual Violence

There are pornographic films that degrade women through "rape myth acceptance" scenes, where the women would be raped but ultimately enjoying the experience. These scenes may give men the idea that women want to be raped.
A significant part of pornography is also related to sexual aggression and violence. "A study of different pornographic media found violence in almost a quarter of magazine scenes, in more than a quarter of video scenes, and in almost half (over 42 percent) of online pornography. There is a positive correlation between what one sees and how one acts. A study of convicted Internet sexual offenders reported that the offenders spend more than eleven hours per week on pornography.

Anti-pornography

Anti-pornography is the opposite of pornography, not supporting pornography. There are various reasons to anti-pornography, including feminist and religious beliefs, and health concerns.

Anti-pornography Movements in the United States and Canada

In 1969, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Stanley v. Georgia that people have the "right to privacy." This drew attention to the study of pornography. "The anti-pornography movements seels to maintain or restore restrictions and to increase or create restrictions on the production, sale or dissemination of pornography."
In 1962, the Morality in Media was found to raise awareness of the harms of pornography. Its founder Morton A. Hill was later appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson as the President's Commission on Obscenity and Pornography.
In 1992, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in R. v. Butler that some Canadian obscenity laws violated its citizens' rights to free speech under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The court decision was even supported by Women's Legal Education and Action Fund, a national organization in Canada, to ensure that the equality of women and girl are promoted by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
In 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court ended the Exploitation of Children Today Act by ruling Michael Williams guilty because he offered to sell nude pictures of his daughter on the Internet.

Anti-pornography Movements in the United Kingdom

In the 1970s, there are many anti-pornography groups emerged in the United Kingdom. For example, Campaign Against Pornography, Campaign Against Pornography and Censorship, and Women Against Violence Against Women were all formed as an effort to protect women and children from pornography.
The British government has more control over pornography as compared to the U.S. and Canada. In 2004 the UK government announced plans to ban violent pornography. In 2006, the government had plans to "criminalise possession of the material, including images staged with consenting adults." It wasn't until 2009 that the possession of adult pornography was illegal. In addition, the government also "criminalized possession of non-realistic sexual images that depict a character in the scene who appears to be under 18" .