Suggests that British, Canadian, and U.S. pornography commissions' definitions of pornography and their positions on its potential effects show substantial variation in sociopolitical interpretations and regard for social science evidence. (ARH)

Examines the National Commission on Pornography's purposes, membership, activities, deliberations, recommendations, and "Final Report." Notes that the Commission used evidence selectively and ignored recent thinking and scholarship on pornography. Points out that the commission received little attention from the mass media. (ARH)

Comments on the Meese Report on pornography and why the library community should pay attention to the actual text. Positive alternatives to censorship are suggested to counter the commercialization of sex, e.g., giving women more decisive roles in media production and strengthening alternative media. (EM)

This report was written to clarify the terms often associated with pornography and to help readers understand the issue of pornography more clearly. The first chapter defines pornography, as it was defined by the United States Attorney General's Commission on Pornography, as "that material (which) is predominantly sexually explicit and intended…

This statement supports and endorses the Intellectual Freedom policies of the American Library Association (ALA) as exemplified by the ALA Bill of Rights. The case of Pico v. Island Trees Free School District provides a legal precedent in support of the idea that decisions to remove materials from the school library cannot be based on personal…

Argues that there is no principled way to distinguish between the language used in the television program "Scared Straight" and that used by comedian George Carlin on radio station WBAI-FM, ruled indecent by the Supreme Court in "FCC v. Pacifica Foundation." (FL)

Traces the history of Henry Miller's novel "Tropic of Cancer"--censored in England and America for being too obscene--from its inception in 1932 to its vindication by the United States judicial system 30 years later. Also includes an annotated bibliography of related literature. (AEF)

This bibliography lists selected publications both from areas that relate pornography as a concept to libraries and, by extension, those that relate it to censorship. Introductory material includes listings of the Library Association of the City University of New York (LACUNY) 1987 Institute committee and emcees and LACUNY officers, and the 1987…

Pornography has become an issue of wide-spread concern outside academe and is the focus of disputes over censorship, feminism, and sex. The feminist claim that pornography is not a First Amendment issue, but a civil rights one, is discussed. (MLW)

Advances in media technology, specifically the videotape industry, have made pornography widely available. Opponents of pornography include religious groups, law enforcement officers, some politicians, and some feminists. A distinction is made between eroticism (occurring between consenting participants) and pornography (signifying overt or covert…

This document provides witness testimony and prepared statements from five sessions of the Congressional hearing called to consider the question of pornographic material and its effects on women and children. Witnesses include several victims of sexual abuse, medical personnel, legal and law enforcement personnel, magazine representatives, and…

To right-wing groups and some feminists pornography symbolizes immorality. The Attorney General's Commission on Pornography supported this thinking. It concluded that pornography increases aggression and it instituted a crackdown on pornography. Since no empirical evidence supports its conclusions, the commission was more concerned with censorship…

Two models are prevalent in obscenity research: one is democratic and political, the second is rational and scientific. An inquiry using the former model found that obscenity did no harm while another study using the latter model had opposite findings. It is difficult to mediate citizens' rights with moral ideology. (VM)

Presents an exercise in which students interview various groups of citizens--church leaders, school officials, government and business leaders--in order to give students a broader understanding of the definitions of obscenity and community standards. (HTH)

A few colleges have turned down grants from the National Endowment for the Arts because recipients must sign a controversial pledge that they will not use the funds for work that may be considered obscene. Many scholars do not believe that accepting money will infringe academic freedom. (MLW)