The Authority of Pornography

A revised and slightly expanded version of "Pornography as Symptom," developed for a forthcoming book on pornography edited by Lindsay Coleman and Jacob M. Held

… Journal of Media and Cultural Politics, 2010

Questions de communication, 2014

This English translation has not been published in printed form/Cette traduction anglaise n'a pas été publiée sous forme imprimée. Pornography has been the subject of much recent discussion, particularly in France. It has become an everyday theme in media discourse as the numerous articles, special files and columns in the printed and online press demonstrate, as does the multiplication of "sex" features under various names in nearly all the French daily and weekly papers, on numerous radio stations and television channels 1. Pornography has also become a research subject and is now an integral part of humanities and social science studies in France 2 , although it is new and somewhat controversial for some. A recent object for sciences of discourse and communication Pornography is rarely studied from a standpoint involving language, discourse and, more broadly, representations. This is the subject of this thematic issue devoted to the discourse of pornography in all senses of the term whether written, oral, techno-discursive, verboiconic, photographical or even, as we shall see, unconscious. At first glance, pornography may seem to escape language and communications specialists given that everyone appears to agree that it is above all a matter of sexual organs, images, fluids or positions-bodies in a word. What is more, it would take a wise person to draw up exact borders between pornography, eroticism and sexuality-all fields An Object of Discourse for Studies of Pornography Questions de communication, 26 | 2014

Womens Studies International Forum, 2000

Synopsis -This article examines the limitations of the effects model for feminist anti-pornography work. As a contribution to the on-going debate about the nature of pornography and its relationship to violence against women, this article aims firstly to identify why traditional effects research, which attempts to establish a causal relationship between pornography and violent behaviour, is a dubious ally for anti-pornography feminism. Secondly, the enduring implications of the effects model for feminist anti-pornography politics are explored. It is argued that anti-pornography feminists need to reject the effects model and return to the crucial question of how some pornographies are produced and consumed in ways that are abusive to women.

The cultural position of pornography has gone through evident and drastic transformations during the past decades. These transformations involve an increase in the public visibility of all kinds of pornographies that have, since the 1990s, been increasingly distributed through online platforms, as well as a wave of academic and popular titles diagnosing the mainstreaming of porn and sex in contemporary culture characterized as " pornified, " " porned, " and " raunchy. " 1 This chapter addresses these recent developments within the pornographic, as well as diagnoses thereof, from two intertwining perspectives. It starts by asking whether the term " pornification " can be put into productive analytical use that would not efface the complexity of the cultural tendencies involved, or truncate the potential meaning of the term " pornography " itself. This is followed by a brief discussion of the binary legacy of porn studies as it connects to diagnoses of pornification. The second part of the article investigates how the genre of porn has been transformed in the course of its digital production and distribution, and what challenges contemporary porn poses for scholarly analysis that still remains largely rooted in studies of print media, film, and video productions distributed as material commodities (such as magazines and DVDs). In sum, this chapter asks how transformations in the visibility and ubiquity of pornography have been diagnosed, how the genre itself has been transformed, and what kinds of modifications within scholarly investigation all this may necessitate.

Sexualization, Media, & Society

The mainstreaming of pornography, often referred to as pornographication, pornification, or porn-chic, has become a topic of considerable academic and popular interest. In the last 15 years, an expanding academic literature has documented and begun to analyze the increasing consumption and normalization of pornography as well as pornographic imagery. More recently, there has also been a growing concern among policymakers and commentators in the mainstream media about trends labeled ''sexualization'' and, in particular, the potential consequences of these trends for children. This article begins by sketching out the academic origins of ''pornographication'' and related terms before considering the different ways that prominent authors have conceptualized them. Recent literature on sexualization is then outlined, with a focus on understanding this in the context of discussions around pornographication. Using a number of examples from key academic texts, and from prominent print media outlets in Australia, we argue that there is a lack of conceptual clarity about pornographication and that pornographication is often conflated with sexualization. We suggest that the lack of clarity in existing literature creates two key issues for feminist analysis: (1) it obscures the role of the pornography industry in the processes of pornographication and (2) it deflects discussion away from the potential harms of the normalization of pornography and pornographic imagery for adult women. It is, therefore, important to clarify and separate the terminology of pornographication and sexualization in order to further critical feminist analyses of these cultural trends.

Sexualities, 2004

This article draws on a qualitative research study which set out to explore women's experiences and views of pornography within the broader context of conflicting feminist positions on pornography. The research methodology posed an implicit criticism of the kind of 'findings' familiar from mainstream psychological research: semi-structured interviews were conducted with women from diverse backgrounds in the UK, and feminist theory and discourse analysis were used to inform interpretation of their accounts. Although the question of feminism was not explicitly raised by the interviewer, it emerged as a recurrent theme in interviews, with interviewees suggesting that the feminist anti-porn stance in particular has influenced their perspective on pornography. Their accounts show that women's experiences are variegated, individual and complex, and that discourses of pornography and feminism may be negotiated in unpredictable ways.

Pornography is a reflection of a collective fantasy. Pornography can be subtle and nuanced or it may be graphic and direct. Regardless of the form it takes, most pornography reflects a collective fantasy that interacts with societal definitions of gender. The interaction with gender is at the center of the socially objectionable aspects of pornography. It is through gender identity that it is possible for pornography to become violent, to objectify and to become an oppressive force. Pornography's power to do these things is powered by the demands of a capitalist system and supported by the societal structures that create and consume the pornographic commodities. This paper will proceed with the assumption that sexuality in itself is not a shameful occurrence and that it is a central part of the human experience. The potential for societal taboos in regard to the viewing of sexual imagery are set aside so that attention may be given to the gendered systems at work in pornography.

PsycEXTRA Dataset, 2004

To encounter erotica designed to appeal to the opposite sex is to gaze into the abyss that separates the sexes." The pornography debate has been a long one and it shows no signs of letting up. People have made the claim that pornography is bad for men, dangerous for women, harmless, a waste of money, bad for people in the industry itself, and a reflection of how some men see (or objectify) women. Many of these claims have not been based on actual research, though some have. Many people are uncomfortable with the whole topic, feeling that sex is not appropriate for public discussion, that there's something inherently "bad" about the idea of pornography. But if we are to reasonably address the issues behind this debate, and perhaps one day end it entirely, we must try to understand the male sexual psychology that makes the pornography industry so successful and how it differs (and at times may resemble) from pornography, or erotica as it is often called, that is produced for female consumption.

Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy, 1999