Pornography and Censorship

Pornography and Censorship

The controversy on the censorship of pornography has remained alive especially nowadays when technological advancement has paved way to easy access to these materials . The different contrasting perspectives on this issue have caused so much distress on the conservatives versus the liberals . What best method can the government implement to satisfy both parties ? Or is there such a best method ? Before going any further , what could be a satisfactory definition of pornography "I can 't define pornography " one judge once famously said "but I know it when I see

it (cited in Pornography and Censorship ' para . 4 According to Pornography and Censorship

The word "pornography " comes from the Greek for writing about prostitutes . However , the etymology of the term is not much of a guide to its current use , since many of the things commonly called "pornography " nowadays are neither literally written nor literally about prostitutes (para . 5

But to define it simply , Pornography is any material (either pictures or words ) that is sexually explicit ( Pornography and Censorship para . 6 . It is a simple definition but may be broad in scope because to describe something as sexually explicit ' is culture-based . Meaning it varies from one culture to another . For instance in Middle East cultures particularly in Arab nations , women are required to wear veils and if possible , only the eyes are allowed to be displayed in public This is not true to Western countries where showing off skin is accepted by society

In this definition , there is something missing because it only defined pornography as all such material would count as pornography , insofar as it is sexually explicit ( Pornography and Censorship ' para . 8 How about textbooks in medical sciences where the anatomy of the human body is openly drawn and studied ? Can these be considered pornography Thus , a second definition of pornography might help clarify this confusion . Pornography is sexually explicit material (verbal or pictorial ) that is primarily designed to produce sexual arousal in viewers ( Pornography and Censorship ' para . 9 . This is quite a clearer of what pornography is . Nevertheless , to determine the explicitness of a material is another thing . Some materials are released for sexual arousal ' only while others such as paintings depicting bare humans may reflect artistry per se . Thus , a third definition of pornography may be qualifying . It says

Pornography is sexually explicit material designed to produce sexual arousal in consumers that is bad in a certain way ( Pornography and Censorship ' para . 12 . This refers to materials which are shown purposely and eliciting effects which are degrading to women as a whole The images in these materials can be characterized as obscene

Two really substantive issues at stake in the feminist debate over pornography are 1 ) whether any sexually explicit material is in fact harmful to women and , if so , what should be done about it and 2 whether all sexually explicit material is in fact harmful to women and if so , what should be done about it (Pornography and Censorship ' para 19...