2009/10/16 by Max Waltman · 1 citation
Social Sciences · Psychology · #Sex work and related issues #Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology #Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies #Subordination (linguistics) #Harm #Pornography #Democracy #Political science #Reign #Law #Law and economics #Inequality #Sociology #Criminology #Politics
paper · doi:10.1177/1065912909349627
openalex publication_date 2009/10/16 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
Why are democracies unresponsive to well-documented injuries in the production and by the consumption of pornography? Legal challenges to pornography in Canada and the United States in which sexual subordination, not moral notions of “obscenity,” were the driving rationale, show democracies inadequately recognizing gender-specific harms. Changes in Canadian obscenity doctrines to account for harm and inequality, in contrast with the U.S. reign of “free speech,” did not deliver a corresponding change on the ground. Developments in democratic theory, international law, and the particular U.S.—Canadian legal trajectory, and consideration of the void of institutions articulating the interests of those victimized in and by pornography, suggest the need to adopt empowering civil remedies.