On Pornography Literature, Sexuality and Obscenity Law [Paperback]

The policing of pornography remains a subject of widespread controversy. On Pornography provides a history of this policing and an understanding of the current debate. The authors show that obscenity law should not be understood negatively as censorship but as part of the positive administration of a particular practice of sexuality. This book indicates that obscenity law is not, as liberals claim, a mistaken attempt to police moral ideas, but rather forms part of the legitimate governmental regulation of a problematic social conduct.Preface - Acknowledgements - An Introduction - The Pornographic Field - Nineteenth-century English Obscenity Law - Literary Erotics - Twentieth-century English Obscenity Law - The Limits of Law Reform - United States Obscenity Law - Feminism and Law Reform - Endnotes - Bibliography - Index