Feminism and Pornography

This paper will discuss the adequacy of laws criminalizing the distribution of child pornography through electronic means. The paper will particularly examine the distribution of pornography by electronic information services, or on-line computer networks. The first part of the paper will discuss feminist arguments against the First Amendment protection of pornography. The second part of the paper will briefly examine how child pornography has adapted itself to the computer. The third part of the paper will discuss the laws against child pornography in the United States, focusing on federal statutory and case law.

Although this paper concerns child pornography, the feminist arguments against pornography in general are helpful in determining the harms inherent in child pornography. In addition, they help us to understand why the traditional obscenity tests in First Amendment analysis do not easily apply to child pornography. Despite the now popular view of feminists as die-hard opponents of pornography, feminism was never completely unified with regard to pornography. Most feminists regarded the sexual revolution and the loosening of sexual mores as positive developments in western society, destroying the basic male-dominance in culture. Many, however, were dismayed at the misogyny in most pornography and argued that pornography was just another example of the societal emphasis on fulfilling the needs of

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of state criminal laws. Both Congress and the Supreme Court have accepted the idea that child pornography constitutes child abuse. A 1978 Congressional report concluded that children involved in child pornography were probably sexually abused; unable to develop healthy adult relationships later in life; sexually dysfunctional; and more likely to become sexual abusers as adults. The 1986 U.S. Attorney General's Commission on Pornography concluded that children involved in child pornography suffered permanent psychological scars. The Commission cited studies which indicated that these children suffered from depression, suicidal thoughts, feelings of shame, guilt, alienation from family and peers, and massive acute anxiety. The principal law covering this area is the Protection of Children Against Sexual Exploitation Act ("Child Protection Act"), a federal law criminalizing the distribution of child pornography and the possession of three or more articles of child pornography. This act prohibits the knowing interstate transport, distribution, or receipt of any visual depiction which involves the use of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct and is the depiction of such conduct. The section of the act prohibitin

Category: Government - F