The Philosophy of Pornography

Contemporary Perspectives

Edited by Lindsay Coleman and Jacob M. Held

For many individuals, pornography is a troubling and problematic issue. Regardless of how the public views this topic, one thing is clear: Pornography is as prevalent and accessible as smartphones and laptop computers. Indeed, beyond traditional hardcore material, a pornographic sensibility permeates many aspects of culture—from tween and young teen fashions to television and commercially successful films. In fact, pornography is so widespread that more often than not it is taken as a given in our modern social space. However, the thought of engaging in intellectual discussions about the topic strikes many—particularly scholars—as beneath them. And yet something this impactful, this definitive of modern culture, needs to be laid open to scrutiny.

In The Philosophy of Pornography: Contemporary Perspectives, Lindsay Coleman and Jacob M. Held offer a collection of essays covering a wide range of viewpoints—from issues of free speech and porn’s role in discrimination to the impact of porn on sexuality. These essays investigate the philosophical implications of pornography as a part of how we now seek to conceive and express our sexuality in contemporary life. Contributors to this volume discuss:

pornography as a component of gender and sexual socialization
ecological understandings of sexually explicit media
subordination, sexualization, and speech
feminism and pornography
pornography’s depiction of love and friendship
black women and pornography
playfulness and creativity in porn

Because its subject matter—sex, gender, interpersonal relationships, and even love—is reflective of who we are and what kind of society we want to create, pornography demands serious treatment. So whether one chooses to accept pornography as a fact of modern culture or not, this collection of timely essays represents a variety of voices in the ongoing debate. As such, The Philosophy of Pornography will be of interest to not only those who are engaged in porn studies but also to an audience educated in and conversant with recent trends in philosophy.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 302 • Trim: 6½ x 9¼

978-1-4422-3596-0 • Hardback • September 2014 • $111.00 • (£85.00)

978-1-4422-7561-4 • Paperback • July 2016 • $42.00 • (£35.00)

978-1-4422-3597-7 • eBook • September 2014 • $39.50 • (£30.00)

Subjects: Social Science / Pornography, Performing Arts / General, Social Science / Popular Culture, Philosophy / General

The Philosophy of Pornography

Contemporary Perspectives

Hardback

Paperback

eBook

Summary

For many individuals, pornography is a troubling and problematic issue. Regardless of how the public views this topic, one thing is clear: Pornography is as prevalent and accessible as smartphones and laptop computers. Indeed, beyond traditional hardcore material, a pornographic sensibility permeates many aspects of culture—from tween and young teen fashions to television and commercially successful films. In fact, pornography is so widespread that more often than not it is taken as a given in our modern social space. However, the thought of engaging in intellectual discussions about the topic strikes many—particularly scholars—as beneath them. And yet something this impactful, this definitive of modern culture, needs to be laid open to scrutiny.

In The Philosophy of Pornography: Contemporary Perspectives, Lindsay Coleman and Jacob M. Held offer a collection of essays covering a wide range of viewpoints—from issues of free speech and porn’s role in discrimination to the impact of porn on sexuality. These essays investigate the philosophical implications of pornography as a part of how we now seek to conceive and express our sexuality in contemporary life. Contributors to this volume discuss:
Because its subject matter—sex, gender, interpersonal relationships, and even love—is reflective of who we are and what kind of society we want to create, pornography demands serious treatment. So whether one chooses to accept pornography as a fact of modern culture or not, this collection of timely essays represents a variety of voices in the ongoing debate. As such, The Philosophy of Pornography will be of interest to not only those who are engaged in porn studies but also to an audience educated in and conversant with recent trends in philosophy.

Details

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 302 • Trim: 6½ x 9¼

978-1-4422-3596-0 • Hardback • September 2014 • $111.00 • (£85.00)

978-1-4422-7561-4 • Paperback • July 2016 • $42.00 • (£35.00)

978-1-4422-3597-7 • eBook • September 2014 • $39.50 • (£30.00)

Subjects: Social Science / Pornography, Performing Arts / General, Social Science / Popular Culture, Philosophy / General

Author

Lindsay Coleman is an academic and independent film producer based in Melbourne, Australia.

Jacob M. Held is associate professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Central Arkansas. He is the editor of Dr. Seuss and Philosophy (2011) and Roald Dahl and Philosophy (2014), both published by Rowman & Littlefield.

Table of Contents

Pornification, Sexualization, and Society
Chapter 1: Diagnoses of Transformation: “Pornification,” Digital Media, and the Diversification of the Pornographic
Susanna Paasonen
Chapter 2: Pornography Makes the Man: The Impact of Pornography as a Component of Gender and Sexual Socialization
Matthew B. Ezzell
Chapter 3: Truth Claims about Porn: When Dogma and Data Collide
Shira Tarrant
Chapter 4: Pornographic and Pornified: Feminist and Ecological Understandings of Sexually Explicit Media
Robert Jensen

The Politics of Pornography
Chapter 5: The Problem with the Problem of Pornography: Subordination, Sexualization, and Speech
Jacob M. Held
Chapter 6: “The Price We Pay"? Pornography and Harm
Susan J. Brison
Chapter 7: Heidegger, Feminism, and Pornography
Natalie Nenadic

Pornography and Speech
Chapter 8: Pornography and ‘Speech’
Jennifer Hornsby
Chapter 9: Pornography and the Philosophy of Language
Louise Antony

The Value of Pornography
Chapter 10: Porn, Sex, and Liberty: A Dialogue
Nina Hartley and Jacob M. Held
Chapter 11: The Gentle Side of Pornography: A Contemporary
Examination of Pornography’s Depiction of Love and Friendship
Lindsay Coleman
Chapter 12: Undisciplining Pornography Studies
Katrien Jacobs

The Possibilities of Pornography
Chapter 13: Sisters are Doin’ It for Themselves: Black Women and the New Pornography
Ariane Cruz
Chapter 14: Utopic Futures of the ‘Other’: Pornography and the Creative Imaginary
Taine Duncan
Chapter 15: In the Arms of the Angel: Playfulness, Creativity and Porn’s Possibilities
Joy Simmons Bradley
Index
About the Editors and Contributors

Reviews

One allegation leveled against pornography is that it harms women in a variety of ways, including through degradation, silencing, and outright violence. These harms occur in the context of how individual women are treated in their personal relationships and in how society treats women as a group. Against this, some scholars have argued that pornography can be a liberating form of self-expression, especially for underrepresented or misrepresented minorities, or at least that pornography is properly protected by free speech considerations. This engaging anthology assembles contemporary scholarship on the moral, psychological, and social causes and effects of pornography. Readers familiar with Andrea Dworkin and Catherine MacKinnon will recognize the influence of these anti-porn feminists in some of the entries, but the anthology strikes a nice balance between arguments in favor of and those opposed to pornography. . . .[T]he overall tone of the book is a welcoming but serious analysis of the issues. It is aimed at readers who have different levels of training and various theoretical backgrounds. This would be an excellent text for an advanced undergraduate or graduate-level course. The associated bibliographies will facilitate further exploration of this provocative topic. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above.
— Choice Reviews

The Philosophy of Pornography: Contemporary Perspectives…offers a wide range of articles on differing views on pornography as it reflects some of today's discussions of the topic…. Two must read chapters…are the second chapter, ‘Pornography Makes the Man’ by Matthew Ezzell, and chapter four, ‘Pornographic and Pornified’ by Robert Jensen. Ezzell discusses how pornography use…affects men's view of women and of sexual relationships. Jensen speaks about what types of expectations stereotypical pornography places on men and women, for example that men are naturally dominant and that women are naturally submissive, that all women always want sex from men and that women like all the sexual acts that men perform or demand…. The topic is surely a difficult one and this book really caused me to think, analyze and be critical of the arguments proposed in the book.
— Metapsychology Online

The Philosophy of Pornography

Contemporary Perspectives

Edited by Lindsay Coleman and Jacob M. Held

The Philosophy of Pornography

Contemporary Perspectives

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