Philosophy of Pornography

Lindsay Coleman is an academic and independent film producer based in Melbourne, Australia. Jacob M. Held is associate professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Central Arkansas. He is the editor of Dr. Seuss and Philosophy (2011) and Roald Dahl and Philosophy (2014), both published by Rowman & Littlefield.

• Pornification, Sexualization, and SocietyChapter 1: Diagnoses of Transformation: “Pornification,” Digital Media, and the Diversification of the PornographicSusanna PaasonenChapter 2: Pornography Makes the Man: The Impact of Pornography as a Component of Gender and Sexual Socialization Matthew B. Ezzell Chapter 3: Truth Claims about Porn: When Dogma and Data Collide Shira TarrantChapter 4: Pornographic and Pornified: Feminist and Ecological Understandings of Sexually Explicit MediaRobert JensenThe Politics of Pornography Chapter 5: The Problem with the Problem of Pornography: Subordination, Sexualization, and Speech Jacob M. HeldChapter 6: “The Price We Pay"? Pornography and Harm Susan J. BrisonChapter 7: Heidegger, Feminism, and Pornography Natalie NenadicPornography and SpeechChapter 8: Pornography and ‘Speech’Jennifer HornsbyChapter 9: Pornography and the Philosophy of LanguageLouise AntonyThe Value of Pornogr

One allegation leveled against pornography is that it harms women in a variety of ways, including through degradation, silencing, and outright violence. These harms occur in the context of how individual women are treated in their personal relationships and in how society treats women as a group. Against this, some scholars have argued that pornography can be a liberating form of self-expression, especially for underrepresented or misrepresented minorities, or at least that pornography is properly protected by free speech considerations. This engaging anthology assembles contemporary scholarship on the moral, psychological, and social causes and effects of pornography. Readers familiar with Andrea Dworkin and Catherine MacKinnon will recognize the influence of these anti-porn feminists in some of the entries, but the anthology strikes a nice balance between arguments in favor of and those opposed to pornography. . . .[T]he overall tone of the book is a welcoming but serious analysis of the issues. It is aimed at readers who have different levels of training and various theoretical backgrounds. This would be an excellent text for an advanced undergraduate or graduate-level course. The associated bibliographies will facilitate further exploration of this provocative topic. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above.