SOC 2070 Lecture 17: A Feminist Overview of Pornography

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOC 2070
• Professor: Norman Dubeski

Document Summary

Ending in a defense thereof by wendy mcelroy. Woman"s right to pornography, and it constitutes a more extreme defense of pornography than most feminists are comfortable with. I arrive at this position after years of interviewing hundreds of sex workers. Feminist positions on pornography currently break down into three rough categories. The most common one -- at least, in academia -- is that pornography is an expression of male culture through which women are commodified and exploited. The liberal position combines a respect for free speech with the principle. "a woman"s body, a woman"s right" to produce a defense of pornography along the lines of, "i don"t approve of it, but everyone has the right to consume or produce words and images". A true defense of pornography arises from feminists who have been labeled "pro-sex", and who argue that porn has benefits for women.