NCJ Number
115848
Journal
Journal of Law Reform Volume: 21 Issue: 1 and 2 Dated: (Fall 1987, Winter 1988) Pages: 47-53
Date Published
1988
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This article critiques the methods, findings, and Dietz' and Sears' interpretation of the findings of the Federal Attorney General's Commission on Pornography's survey of the content of pornography in the Nation's adult bookstores.
Abstract
The survey reviewed the covers and some contents of 5,132 books, magazines, and films in 13 randomly selected adult bookstores in Washington, Boston, Baltimore, and New York. A nationwide sample would require a sampling frame listing every magazine, film, and book available across the country, from which a random sample of each type of material would be selected. Further, limiting the study to covers of works sold in adult bookstores allows conclusions only about a small and relatively contained collection of images to which most Americans are not exposed. The study used police officers and special detectives as coders. They might be inclined to judge the material more harshly than other observers, since they have an interest in making a case against pornography. Additionally, since the coding categories are not mutually exclusive, a small number of particularly violent covers are counted many times. Also, to obtain a fair assessment of the impact of violence portrayed on covers in adult bookstores, images of violence should also be surveyed for magazines at local convenience stores. For the survey report, see NCJ-115847. 8 footnotes.