What is Pornography?


the debate over definition





The definition of pornography has historically been difficult and sometimes controvercial. The word itself comes from a Greek word meaning "writing about prostitutes." Some have said this original root word is no longer relevant to the modern usage of the term "pornography." Some radical feminists, for reasons I will discuss in future articles, consider this a useful starting-point for a modern analysis.

Both American commissions on pornography and obscenity had trouble with the terms "erotica," "pornography," and "obscenity."

The Johnson Commission (1970) decided that the term pornography had "no legal significance" and that is "often denotes subjective disapproval of certain materials rather than their content or effect." Erotica was determined to simply be interchangable with "sexually explicit content."

The Meese Comission of 1986 defined pornography as "any depiction of sex to which the person using the word objects." They agreed with the previous commission that (in it's common use) it is a subjective term, and does not in any way reflect more specific content than sex. Again, erotica is simply sexually explicit material, but the Meese Commission believed that it, too, was a subjective term for material "which the user of the term approves." (Hawkings and Zimring 26).

Both of these commissions completely ignored feminist analysis of pornography. They also seem to have preferred not to develop their own definitions based on studies of pornography; instead, they relied on colloquial usage.

Antipornography feminists believe, like Susan Brownmiller (author of Against Our Will: Men, Women and Rape) that "hard core pornography is not a celebration of sexual freedom; it is a cynical exploitation of female sexual activity through the device of making all such activity, and consequently all females, 'dirty'" (Brownmiller 31). Brownmiller described pornography as propaganda.

"Yet the very same liberals who were so quick to understand the method and purpose behind the mighty propaganda machine of Hitler's Third Reich . . . now fervently maintain that the hatred and contempt for women that find expression in four-letter words used as explitives and in what are quaintly called 'adult' or 'erotic' books and movies are a valid extension of freedom of speech that must be preserved as a Constitutional right." (32).

The most convincing and well-developed definition of pornography from a radical feminist analysis is Helen Longino's:

"I define pornography as verbal or pictoral explicit representations of sexual behavior that, in the words of the Commission on Obscenity and Pornography, have as a distinguishing characteristic 'the degrading and demeaning portrayal of the role and status of the human female . . . as a mere sexual object to be exploited and manipulated sexually." (Longino 42)

Thus, pornography is distinguished from other sexually explicit materials. It is not the sexual content that feminists object to, it is "its implicit, if not explicit, approval of and recommendation iof sexual behavior that is immoral, i.e., that physically or psychologically violates the personhood of one of the participants" (Longino 43).

This leads to the question of sexually explicit materials which are not pornographic. Most antipornography feminists label such materials "erotica." Gloria Steinem described erotica as "a mutually pleasurable, sexual expression between people who have enough power to be there by positive choice . . . . It doesn't require us to identify with a conquerer or a victim" (Steinem 37).

Some may argue that these are still subjective definitions which assign values to pornography. They come, however, from studies of sexually explicit materials, and do make use of analysis based on content.




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