The Problem of Pornography
Can a commitment to free speech be reconciled with the regulation of pornography? Easton explores and evaluates the feminist and liberal arguments to establish that it can. A text invaluable to anyone interested in this, the thorniest of issues.
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Can a commitment to free speech be reconciled with the regulation of pornography? In The Problem of Pornography, Susan M. Easton argues that it can.Using John Stuart Mill's harm principle as a starting-point, Easton explores and evaluates the feminist and liberal arguments in the debate on pornography, moral independence, censorship and the right to free speech. Given the problems of proving harm in the case of pornography, she argues that the concept of autonomy may provide a more suitable foundation for regulation, and shows how the legislation against incitement to racial hatred might serve as a model for legal constraints on pornography.This book includes a review of the English and American laws on obscene materials and will prove invaluable reading for anyone interested in one of the thorniest issues in feminist, legal and social theory: is the censorship of pornography justifiable?
AcknowledgementsIntroduction1The liberal defence of pornography12The types of harm103Proving harm324Diversity and autonomy425Feminism, truth and infallibility526Free speech and majoritarianism597The slippery slope658Feminism and puritanism799The protection of free speech8510Interpreting the First Amendment9411The civil rights Ordinances10912Freedom of speech and the regulation of pornography in English law12213The 'right' to consume pornography14514Incitement to sexual hatred15815Conclusion175Notes179Bibliography184Table of statutes189Table of cases190Index193
