Word: porn
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...commission placed a special emphasis on the problem of child pornography, which it says has undergone the greatest growth since the 1970 commission. To combat what it calls the rise of the "kiddie-porn industry," the commission proposed that the knowing possession of child pornography be considered a felony...
...point the Meese commission is fully in tune with most Americans: both consider pornography a worrisome problem. A poll taken for Time by Yankelovich Clancy Shulman found that nearly two-thirds of the respondents* are "very" or "fairly concerned" about the pervasiveness of pornography in the U.S. Not surprisingly, porn is much more troubling to women than to men; precisely half of all women said they were "very concerned," while only 27% of men were similarly bothered. Overall, the proportion of people who want the government to crack down harder on pornography has varied only slightly since Yankelovich first asked...
...national governmental body of a truth that women have long known: pornography harms women and children." Hunter tapped a different strand of feminist thinking: women should seek liberation, not special protection from the state. "Protectionist attitudes," she said, "ultimately hurt women." Friedan once again declared that the war against porn is a woeful waste of energies needed on the economic and legal fronts. Said she: "As repulsive as pornography can be, the obsession with it is a dangerous diversion for the women's movement...
...prudish or giving comfort to the antifeminist right. Gloria Steinem has tried to promote a distinction between pornography, which should be opposed, and erotica, healthy sexual materials marked by mutuality and respect, presumably the kind of material men should be interested in, but usually aren't. Some feminists see porn as repellent but harmless masturbatory material for shut-ins, or as an expression of anxiety by males who are threatened by the women's movement. But some of the more militant feminists take a darker view: porn is a conscious assault against women, comparable to antiblack and anti-Semitic literature...
...underscore their civil rights strategy and distinguish themselves from the religious Right, some militants rejected the commission's first 36 recommendations, which call for stronger antiobscenity measures. Other feminists consider porn a symptom of sexism, not a cause. Says Nan Hunter: "Sexual abuse is not caused by violent sexual movies any more than war is caused by Rambo." But many agree with the commission that porn is linked to sexual assault. NOW President Eleanor Smeal says that feminist work with rape victims and battered wives points up "the influence of violent pornography firsthand." But, she adds, "we don't want...