Censorship Essay - No Need to Censor Pornography

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No Need to Censor Pornography

Pornography is often considered an ugly word and possibly an ugly act. The pictures and words of pornography can be vulgar and degrading to many of us, but is it the evil of all things? Is it, and it alone, responsible for sexism, rape, racism, battery, and child abuse? No! The media is loaded with many sexist, racist, violent material, and most of it is not considered pornography. The issue of violence and oppression is much deeper than pornography. Most people are not in favor of pornography; however, the public should not be in favor of censoring pornography. Freedom of speech is more logical than censorship because of the lack of a definition of pornography, individual rights and the claim that pornography causes violence against women.

First of all, in order to censor something you need to define it. One of censorship's biggest supporters is Andrea Dworkin. Dworkin's definitions is, "It [pornography] means the graphic depiction of women as vile whores"(168). This definition, is very broad. Wnat constitutes a whore? Does what a woman wear make her a whore? Does the way she dances make her a whore? Do sexual acts make her a whore? I have heard the word whore used to describe women in all of these examples. The next part of the definition is "...the graphic depiction of women as vile whores" . What is a graphic depiction of a whore? Is it a woman scantily dressed, dancing provocat lively? Is it a woman in black leather with whips and chains on a music video? Maybe it is a work of art such as Manet's painting Le Dejeuner sur l'herbe. There is no definite answer to these questions. Ones idea of pornography could be another's idea of art. There is no specific definition that tells...

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...ould Receive Free Speech Protection." Leone 213223.

Katz, Leanne. "Pornography Does Not Promote Violence Against Women.U Swisher and Wekesser 131-134.

McEntee, Patty. "The First Amendment Does Not Protect Pornography." Leone 172174.

Leone, Bruno, ed. Free Speech. Current Controversies Ser. San Diego: Greenhaven, 1994.

Pally, Marcia. "Pornography Should Not Be Censored." Swisher and Wekesser 135140.

Pally, Marcia. Sex & Sensibility. New Jersey: The ECCO, 1994.

Pilpei, Harriet F. "Porn Vigilantes-Are They Confusing Feminim With Censorship'Y' Vogue. Sept. 1985: 681 +.

Small, Fred. "Censoring Pornography is a Danger to Freedom." Leone 207-212.

Swisher, Karln L. and Carol Wekesser, eds. Violence Aaainst Women. Current Controversies Ser. San Diego: Greenhaven, 1994.

Willis, Ellen. "Pornography Should Not Be Censored." Leone 181-187.

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