NCJ Number
122407
Date Published
1988
Length
236 pages
Annotation
Pornography has become particularly interesting as a case study in social and governmental change, since the past 25 years have seen a transition in the United States and most Western nations from censorship to the widespread availability of sexually-explicit depictions.
Abstract
In England, the Williams Committee in 1977 was the first national body in that country to undertake a comprehensive review of pornography. In the United States, Attorney General Meese's Commission on Pornography published its final report in 1986, but this report received widespread criticism. The report was denounced for its persistent biases in collecting and evaluating evidence, and many felt its recommendations posed a threat to free expression. Commissions of inquiry into pornography in England, the United States, and Canada represent part of the process of adjusting to changes in the availability of pornography. Commission reports are viewed as procedural adjustments to the social fact of the widespread availability of pornography. Minor policy adjustments, rather than major innovations, are inevitably the recommendations of such commissions. Because pornography is a problem largely associated with the anxieties and hypocrisies of societal attitudes toward sex, the authors expect less social concern about pornography as time passes. They consider several problems that have become significant with the increased availability of sexually explicit material since the 1960's, such as pornography and the status of women, child protection, and the social control of pornography without censorship. 15 tables, 3 figures, 96 references.