CENSORSHIP AND THE REGULATION OF EXPRESSIONby the government’s fear that prior review systems
would alienate the press and by the fact that
readily available nonmilitary air transportation in
the area would have rendered enforcement diffi-
cult. However, there is credible evidence that mili-
tary officials systematically misrepresented prog-
ress by the United States during the war and that
media routines and practices rendered them sus-
ceptible to this manipulation (Hallin 1986).
Despite the consensus on the need for some
form of press management system to protect the
lives of soldiers during wartime, controversies arise
over the scope and mechanisms of enforcement.
Of particular concern to press and public is the
fear that controls ostensibly designed to protect
the lives of soldiers are used instead to manage
public opinion at home.
PORNOGRAPHYThe term pornography comes from the Greek
words for ‘‘prostitute’’ and ‘‘write,’’ and originally
referred to writings about prostitutes and their
activities. Today, pornography is broadly used to
mean material with explicit sexual content. Like
the word censorship itself, however, the definition
of pornographic or obscene material is often con-
tested. For example, feminist writers often draw a
distinction between pornography, which combines
sexuality with abuse or degradation, and erotica,
which is sexually arousing material that respects
the human dignity of the participants. A distinc-
tion is also sometimes drawn between hard-core
pornography, which shows actual sexual inter-
course or penetration, and soft-core pornography,
which may be only suggestive of these activities.
Child pornography is prohibited in most nations,
and restrictions on its production and distribution
tend to be noncontroversial.
In the United States, the Commission on Ob-
scenity and Pornography (1970) and the Attorney
General’s Commission on Pornography (1986)
have provided recommendations for government
action regarding pornography. The first report
suggested that pornography should not be regulat-
ed by law, while the second rejected the claims that
pornographic material was harmless and urged
prosecution especially for materials that contained
violence or degradation. These differing conclu-
sions highlight the ongoing tensions between indi-
vidual rights and perceived community needs, as
well as changes in the progress and interpretation
of research on the effects of pornography. The
uses of the conclusions drawn in these and other
social-scientific reports are of particular sociologi-
cal interest. For example, the Nixon Administra-
tion was quick to dismiss the conclusions of a
report (which it had itself commissioned) that
were contrary to its political goals. Here, as in
other contested areas of expression, the political
climate in which research findings are interpreted
is often the deciding factor in how research is used.Regarding the related question of obscenity,
in 1973 the Supreme Court (Miller v. California,
413, U.S. 15, 1973) established three criteria for
determining whether a given work was obscene:
An average person, applying contemporary local
community standards, finds that the work, taken
as a whole, appeals to prurient interest; the work
depicts in a patently offensive way sexual conduct
specifically defined by applicable state law; and the
work in question lacks serious literary, artistic,
political, or scientific value.Political struggles over the regulation of por-
nography have been especially intriguing because
they have brought together conservatives and femi-
nists, groups traditionally on opposite sides of the
ideological spectrum. Although both sides may
support banning pornography, they have different
reasons for doing so, and the scope of the material
they wish to have regulated differs as well. Femi-
nists focus on the degrading character of pornog-
raphy, whereas conservatives view pornography as
morally corrosive. Antipornography activists such
as Catherine MacKinnon have defined pornogra-
phy as a civil rights issue, arguing that pornogra-
phy itself is a form of sexual discrimination; by
presenting women in dehumanizing ways, pornog-
raphy subordinates them.Although there is wide variation in porno-
graphic content, pornography often presents what
many consider to be an unrealistic view of sexual
relations. Encounters take place most often be-
tween strangers, not in the context of enduring
relationships; participants are sex objects rather
than complete individuals. Sexual activity always
results in ecstasy, and consequences (such as preg-
nancy or disease) are nonexistent.Empirical research on the effects of pornog-
raphy has shown a range of negative effects. In