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Defending Pornography: Free Speech, Sex, and the Fight for Women's Rights

Online ISBN:
9781479830800
Print ISBN:
9781479830763
Publisher:
NYU Press
Book

Defending Pornography: Free Speech, Sex, and the Fight for Women's Rights

Nadine Strossen
Nadine Strossen

Professor Emerita

New York Law School
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Published online:
19 September 2024
Published in print:
5 March 2024
Online ISBN:
9781479830800
Print ISBN:
9781479830763
Publisher:
NYU Press

Abstract

This book examines a key question that has divided feminists for decades: is censoring pornography good or bad for women? The book makes a powerful case that increasing government power to censor sexual expression, beyond the limits that the First Amendment sensibly permits (for example, outlawing child pornography) would do more harm than good for women and others who have traditionally been marginalized due to sex or gender. The book explains how the very anti-porn laws pushed by some feminists have led to the censorship of LGBTQ+ and feminist works, and it examines the startling connections between anti-porn feminists and right-wing fundamentalists. The book lays out the multiple current assaults on sexual expression, which continue to come from across the ideological spectrum. It shows that freedom for such expression remains an essential prerequisite for the equality, safety, and dignity of women and sexual/gender minorities.

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