Pornography in a Free Society deals with what has been called the "civil war over smut." The past two decades have been high seasons for pornography commissions. They were appointed in the United States in 1968, in Great Britain in 1977, in Canada in 1985, and in the United States again in 1985. In the United States, the report of the first commission was denounced as a pornographer's charter and that of the second as a reflection of the moral militancy of the Reagan counterrevolution. The authors look at the problems of pornography in a broader perspective than that of partisan political debate. They explain why it has become so controversial and divisive an issue in Western nations in recent decades. They discuss the radical feminist challenge to pornography and the question of pornography and children. Considering likely future developments, the authors argue that the furor over pornography and the appointment of commissions are part of a "ceremony of adjustment" to widespread availability of sexually explicit material and they predict less social concern about pornography as time passes. Franklin E. Zimring is Professor of Law and Director of the Earl Warren Legal Institute. Gordon Hawkins is Senior Fellow, Earl Warren Legal Institute at the University of California, Berkeley. Together they have written Capital Punishment and the American Agenda (1986), and The Citizen's Guide to Gun Control (1987).
FREE Two-Day Shipping for students on millions of items. Learn more |
| ||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
The authors, both academicians, comparatively analyze the findings of two controversial U.S. government-supported studies of pornography, the so-called Johnson Commission, which issued a liberal report in 1970, and the Meese Commission, whose conservative report appeared in 1986. References are also included to the 1979 British Williams Committee on Obscenity. Within this context, such pertinent questions as pornography's potentially deleterious effects, its misogynistic nature, and its role in sexual abuse of children are examined. A scholarly work, the goal is "more to comprehend the problems of pornography in a free American society than to solve them."-- Kenneth F. Kister, Poynter Inst. for Media Studies, St. Petersburg, Fla.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
"This is a highly informative and thought-provoking book. It makes a worthwhile contribution to our understanding of public policy and pornography." Ethics
"It is certainly the best and most intelligent work about pornography for a long time." John Kaplan, Stanford Law School
"[...an] intelligent and scholarly, yet easy to read work on a controversial, often emotional topic." Choice
"Overall, I consider this to be not only an excellent overview of the current psychological research in the area of pornography but also an interesting and enlightening journey into the public policy area. I believe that it is essential reading for anyone who is interested in the topic from a research or policy perspective...It should be mandatory reading for everyone interested in the topic, no matter what side they consider themselves to be on in this never-ending debate." Contemporary Psychology
"It is certainly the best and most intelligent work about pornography for a long time." John Kaplan, Stanford Law School
"[...an] intelligent and scholarly, yet easy to read work on a controversial, often emotional topic." Choice
"Overall, I consider this to be not only an excellent overview of the current psychological research in the area of pornography but also an interesting and enlightening journey into the public policy area. I believe that it is essential reading for anyone who is interested in the topic from a research or policy perspective...It should be mandatory reading for everyone interested in the topic, no matter what side they consider themselves to be on in this never-ending debate." Contemporary Psychology
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
There are no customer reviews yet.
|
|||
|
Video reviews
|
Inside This Book
(learn more)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence:
Nationally chartered blue-ribbon commissions, groups of more or less eminent citizens officially charged with the task of considering and then making recommendations for legislative or other action in relation to what is publicly perceived as a national problem, are a much favored political device in Western democracies. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
pornographic communication, sexually explicit communication, pornographic outlets, general release films, sexually explicit videotapes, audience sexually, available pornography, explicit magazines, explicit sexual materials, harm condition, most harmful form, pornography commissions, outlaw tradition, sexually oriented materials, sexual devices, sexually explicit material, radical feminist critique, erotic materials, sexually explicit films, exploitation films, violent material, explicit subordination, stag films, child pornography, explicit materials Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Johnson Commission, Williams Committee, United States, First Amendment, Home Office, Supreme Court, New York, Andrea Dworkin, Effects Panel, Los Angeles, San Francisco, President Nixon, Professor Simpson, American Booksellers Association, Men Possessing Women, President's Commission, Toolbox Murders, Debbie Does Dallas, Adult Film Association of America, Feminist Anti-Censorship Task Force, Geoffrey Gorer, Great Britain, Motion Picture Association of America, Nonviolent Materials Depicting Degradation, The Times New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Nationally chartered blue-ribbon commissions, groups of more or less eminent citizens officially charged with the task of considering and then making recommendations for legislative or other action in relation to what is publicly perceived as a national problem, are a much favored political device in Western democracies. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
pornographic communication, sexually explicit communication, pornographic outlets, general release films, sexually explicit videotapes, audience sexually, available pornography, explicit magazines, explicit sexual materials, harm condition, most harmful form, pornography commissions, outlaw tradition, sexually oriented materials, sexual devices, sexually explicit material, radical feminist critique, erotic materials, sexually explicit films, exploitation films, violent material, explicit subordination, stag films, child pornography, explicit materials Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Johnson Commission, Williams Committee, United States, First Amendment, Home Office, Supreme Court, New York, Andrea Dworkin, Effects Panel, Los Angeles, San Francisco, President Nixon, Professor Simpson, American Booksellers Association, Men Possessing Women, President's Commission, Toolbox Murders, Debbie Does Dallas, Adult Film Association of America, Feminist Anti-Censorship Task Force, Geoffrey Gorer, Great Britain, Motion Picture Association of America, Nonviolent Materials Depicting Degradation, The Times New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 29
books:
See all 29 books this book cites
13
books
cite this book:
See all 13 books citing this book
- Pornography by Andrea Dworkin on 5 pages
- Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure (Oxford World's Classics) by John Cleland on page 114, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Feminism Unmodified: Discourses on Life and Law by Catherine A. MacKinnon on page 153, and Back Matter
- The Secret Museum: Pornography in Modern Culture by Walter Kendrick on page 166, and Back Matter
- On Liberty by John Stuart Mill on page 110, and Back Matter
See all 29 books this book cites
- Reefer Madness: Sex, Drugs, and Cheap Labor in the American Black Market by Eric Schlosser in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- The Queen of America Goes to Washington City: Essays on Sex and Citizenship (Series Q) by Lauren Berlant in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Hate Speech, Sex Speech, Free Speech by Nicholas Wolfson on page 133, and Back Matter
- Sexual Salvation: Affirming Women's Sexual Rights and Pleasures by Naomi McCormick on page 171, and Back Matter
- Feminism Without Illusions: A Critique of Individualism by Elizabeth Fox-Genovese in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
See all 13 books citing this book
Books on Related Topics
(learn more)
|
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
