“Pornography is the attempt to insult sex, to do dirt on it.”
- D. H. Lawrence -
In the 21st century pornography doesn’t have the negative connotation that it had when Lawrence wrote his book “Pornography and Obscenity” in 1929 quoted above. After the sexual revolution, the invention of the birth control pill and the women’s movement it seemed like there are no obstacles to live out the hard-fought sexual freedom and talk openly about any matters related to sex – including porn. It appears that our Western world has entered into an enlightened century with boundless sexual expression. However, there are still some issues needed to be solved, especially with regard to new technical accomplishments. The internet is often rumored to consist only of content related to either cats or porn, but it is true that no other genre has benefited from the internet as much as the porn branch. As a computer user, one is literally just clicks apart from the biggest collection of the digital lust serving any possible fantasy without being exposed to a judging public.
Online pornography has become more private and anonymous than ever before, but on the other hand it has generated an intense public debate. This essay examines how and why debates on pornography emerged in the western world and what the actual subjects, motifs and arguments of the controversy are.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. What is Public Sphere
2.1 Traditional and post-modern approaches – Habermas vs. Fraser
2.2 Digital Public sphere
3. Pornographos, Karma Sutra and the Golden Age of Porn
3.1 Cyberporn
3.2 Attempted definition of modern porn – “I know it when I see it”?
3.3 Porn, Erotica & Obscenity – a complex field of blurry lines
4. Pornography as a Genre
5. Porn and the public–private–dichotomy
5.1 Pornography as part of the public sphere
6. The Right to Online Pornography
7. Pornography and recent campaigns
7.1 Liberal theory of pornography
7.2 Feminist theory
7.3 Law vs. Porn
8. Conclusion
Research Objectives and Themes
This essay aims to analyze how campaigns supporting the censorship of online pornography contribute to redefining the concept of the public sphere and how the availability of online porn shifts the traditional boundaries between public and private realms. By examining theoretical frameworks and recent legislative attempts, the work investigates the legitimacy of state control in the context of democratic freedom of expression.
- The evolution of the "public sphere" theory from Habermas to post-modern perspectives.
- The role of the internet as a digital public sphere and its impact on political discourse.
- Historical and contemporary definitions of pornography, erotica, and obscenity.
- Conflicts between state censorship efforts, freedom of expression, and individual rights.
Auszug aus dem Buch
Pornography as a Genre
Pornography as a mediated and publically accessible product is one of the most popular genres of the internet with a numerous bunch of subgenres or rather subcategories. Generally, “the term ‘genre’ refers to a type of text or communicative event. Genre analysis should therefore aim to bring out the characteristics of types and texts” but as with any genre, especially the "genericness" of porn is an open question. “The everyday words we use to refer to genres of text characterize them in terms of their subject matters (e.g. ‘Westerns’, ‘romances’), their functions (‘advertisements’ seek to persuade, ‘sermons’ to teach a moral lesson), their truth claims (e.g. ‘fiction’, ‘documentary’, ‘report’, ‘opinion piece’), their effects (‘thrillers’ seek to thrill, ‘comedies’ to raise a laugh), or their forms and mediums (e.g. ‘musicals’ incorporate song, ‘radio plays’ use the medium of sound broadcasting).”
The elusive genre of pornography in particular seems to have a long history. For decades people have claimed to “know it when they see it”. How else would for example motion picture ratings decide on how to classify and rate their movies in terms of sexual content? Again, categorization into genre is not naturally given because a large amount of people agree upon a certain consensus. “Genres are cultural products, constituted by media practices and subject to ongoing change and redefinition.” That means consequently that applying genre theory onto porn, especially online pornography in modern western societies, causes the same problems as a proper definition of porn entails – a clear distinction is just not possible.
Summary of Chapters
Introduction: Outlines the historical context of pornography and the shift in its public perception, highlighting the emergence of internet-based pornography as a catalyst for new public debates.
What is Public Sphere: Explores the theoretical foundations of the public sphere, specifically contrasting Habermas' normative, traditional approach with Fraser's post-modern critiques.
Pornographos, Karma Sutra and the Golden Age of Porn: Traces the etymological roots and historical development of pornography from ancient Greece to the mass-marketed 20th-century industry.
Pornography as a Genre: Examines pornography through the lens of genre theory, discussing the challenges of classifying explicit material and its reception by audiences.
Porn and the public–private–dichotomy: Analyzes the struggle to locate pornography within the divide of public interest versus private, personal consumption.
The Right to Online Pornography: Investigates the tension between the protection of fundamental human rights (freedom of expression) and the perceived need for state regulation.
Pornography and recent campaigns: Reviews specific political efforts in Germany and Iceland to control online content, reflecting on the motivations and failures of such censorship.
Conclusion: Synthesizes the findings, arguing that strict censorship attempts are often technically unfeasible and ideologically detrimental to the democratic concept of the public sphere.
Keywords
Pornography, Public Sphere, Internet, Censorship, Freedom of Speech, Habermas, Fraser, Digital Media, Capitalism, Intimsphäre, Online Campaigns, Democracy, Genre Theory, Obscenity, Regulation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research?
The research explores the impact of online pornography on the traditional concept of the public sphere and examines the tensions between government censorship and democratic freedom.
What are the primary thematic areas covered?
The work covers public sphere theory, the history of pornography, the definition of the genre, the distinction between public and private domains, and contemporary legal and political debates surrounding internet censorship.
What is the central research question?
The study aims to understand how campaigns supporting the censorship of online pornography redefine the concept of the public sphere and how online porn shifts the boundaries between public and private.
Which scientific methods or theories are applied?
The paper utilizes political and media theory, primarily grounding its analysis in Jürgen Habermas’ concept of the public sphere and Nancy Fraser’s post-modern critiques of that concept.
What topics are discussed in the main body?
The main body treats the historical evolution of porn, theoretical classification of the genre, the specific dynamics of "cyberporn," and case studies of political campaigns in Iceland and Germany regarding content blacklisting.
Which keywords best characterize the work?
The work is characterized by terms such as Public Sphere, Censorship, Freedom of Expression, Internet, and Digital Media.
How does the internet influence the public sphere in this context?
The internet serves as a virtual space that revives the public sphere by lowering barriers to participation, but it also creates challenges regarding global accessibility and the destabilization of traditional political communication.
What is the author's conclusion on internet censorship?
The author concludes that introducing censorship is largely ineffective due to technical obstacles and poses a significant threat to democratic values and the freedom of expression.
- Citar trabajo
- Stefanie Groß (Autor), 2013, Porn and Public Sphere, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/231302
