Pornography: The Politics of Legal Challenges

561 Pages·2021·4.83 MB·English

by  Max Waltman

Pornography

Pornography
The Politics of Legal Challenges
MAX WALTMAN
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Library of Congress Cataloging-i n- Publication Data
Names: Waltman, Max, 1974– author.
Title: Pornography : the politics of legal challenges / Max Waltman.
Description: New York : Oxford University Press, 2021. | Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021008070 (print) | LCCN 2021008071 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780197598535 (hardback) | ISBN 9780197598559 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Pornography—L aw and legislation—U nited States. |
Pornography— Law and legislation—C anada. | Pornography—L aw and
legislation—S weden. | Pornography—P olitical aspects—U nited States. |
Pornography— Political aspects—C anada. | Pornography—P olitical
aspects— Sweden. | Obscenity (Law)
Classification: LCC K5293 .W355 2021 (print) |
LCC K5293 (ebook) | DDC 344.05/4 7— dc23
LC record available at https://l ccn.loc.gov/ 2021008070
LC ebook record available at https://l ccn.loc.gov/ 2021008071
DOI: 10.1093/ oso/ 9780197598535.001.0001
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed by Sheridan Books, Inc., United States of America
Contents
Preface xiii
Credits xv
Introduction 1
PART I. HARMS AND CHALLENGES
TO DEMOCRACY
1. Supply, Demand, and Production Harms 29
2. Harm Caused by Consumers 67
3. Democracy and Hierarchy 134
PART II. THE UNITED STATES
4. The Anti- pornography Civil Rights Ordinances, 1983–1 991 167
5. Federal Responses, 1984–2 014 216
PART III. CANADA
6. Legislative Attempts, 1983–1 988 239
7. Judicial Challenges, 1982–2 019 260
PART IV. SWEDEN
8. Challenging Production, 1993–2 005 311
9. Substantive Equality Prostitution Law, 1999–2 019 334
Conclusions 371
Notes 403
Index 521

Analytical Contents
Preface xiii
Credits xv
Introduction 1
Assessing the Harms 2
Implications for Equality 5
Gender- Based Violence as a Linchpin of Sex Inequality 5
In Context of Other Indices of Sex Inequality 8
Implications for Democracy 9
Challenging Subordination: A Problem-D riven Theory 10
Hierarchy Theory and Its Critics: A Key Summary 13
Methods and Research Design 16
Comparative Qualitative Case Studies 16
Case Selection Framework 18
Policy Output and Policy Outcome 23
Alternative Selection 24
PART I: HARMS AND CHALLENGES
TO DEMOCRACY
1. Supply, Demand, and Production Harms 29
Supply and Demand 29
Men and Women’s Consumption 29
Size and Economics 33
Consumer Desensitization 34
Aggression and Subordination in Popular Pornography 35
Gay Male Pornography 39
Contending Perceptions of Aggression 41
Production Harms 44
Preconditions of Abuse and Vulnerability 44
Abusive Conditions of Production 49
Mental Sequelae 51
Male Performers 54
The Myth of Alternative Production 56
Evaluating the Evidence 57
Credibility of Representation 60
Summary 63
viii Analytical Contents
2. Harm Caused by Consumers 67
Methods Assessing Effects from Exposure 67
Experiments and Naturalistic Studies 68
Meta- Analysis 70
Measuring Sexual Aggression, Experimental Predictors, and Attitudes 72
Experimental Research 74
Early Critical Findings on Aggression 75
Understanding Meta- Analysis on General Aggression 77
Attitudes Supporting Violence against Women (ASV) 79
Why Nonviolent Pornography Feeds Violence against Women 81
Individual Differences and Post-T reatment Bias 86
Population- Based Naturalistic Longitudinal and
Cross- Sectional Surveys 96
Sexual Aggression, Attitudes Supporting Violence,
and Post- Treatment Bias 96
Advantages of Longitudinal Research Designs 101
Targeted Groups, Perpetrators, Imitation 103
Impact in Battered Women’s Lives 103
Evidence from Prostituted Persons 108
Evidence from Johns 110
Imitation in Population Surveys 117
Unreliable Methods 122
Aggregated Comparative Cross-S ectional Studies 124
Causal Overdetermination in Aggregated Longitudinal Studies 126
Summary 129
3. Democracy and Hierarchy 134
Substantive Inequality in Democratic Theory 135
The New Rights Approach 140
Hierarchy Theory 144
Consciousness- Raising 144
Group Representation 147
Intersectionality 152
Postmodern Theory 155
Summary 163
PART II: THE UNITED STATES
4. The Anti-pornography Civil Rights Ordinances, 1983–1 991 167
Evidence, Equality, and Representation 169
Substantive Equality and Perspective 169
Representing Interests 173
Causes of Action 175
Summary Analysis 180
Analytical Contents ix
Public Responses and Ideological Clashes 182
Judicial Responses and Ideological Clashes 187
Representation and Ripeness 187
The Constitutional Review 190
Mill’s Distinctions 192
Strict Scrutiny: Equality as a Compelling Interest 193
Intermediate Scrutiny: Viewpoint Neutrality 202
Rational Review: Alternative Balancing 207
Summary of Analysis 213
5. Federal Responses, 1984–2 014 216
Civil Rights Challenges (1984– 1992) 216
Attorney General Smith’s Commission (1985–1 986) 216
The P.R. Campaign against the Commission 220
Congressional Attempts (1984–1 992) 223
Obscenity Law in the Twenty-first Century (2002–2 014) 226
A New Approach to Violent, Aggressive, and Degrading Materials 226
The First Trials 227
Some Well- Known Producers in L.A. Imprisoned 230
Results, Potential, and Limitations 232
PART III: CANADA
6. Legislative Attempts, 1983–1 988 239
The Fraser Committee (1983–1 985) 240
Vulnerability, Legal Distinctions, Intersectionality 241
Constitutional Substantive Equality 243
Recommended Legal Definitions 245
Civil Rights versus Criminal Law 247
Concluding Analysis 249
Parliamentary Bill C-1 14 (1986– 1987) 251
Parliamentary Bill C-5 4 (1987) 253
Responses to Bill C-5 4 (1987– 1988) 256
Comparative Analysis 258
7. Judicial Challenges, 1982–2 019 260
Substantive Equality in Obscenity Law (1980s) 262
Consolidation and Progression in R. v. Butler (1992) 269
Representation of Perspectives and Interests 269
Balancing Substantive Equality under Section 1 276
Butler’s Remaining Problems 278