Pornography benefits women, both personally and politically (McElroy.W 1995. XXX: A Women’s Right to Pornography). Comment on this statement examining both sides of the argument.
Pornography is any type of material that depicts erotic behaviour and is intended to cause sexual excitement in its audience. It is an issue that has been under constant debate in our society and there are many arguments for and against pornography it has been extensively debated whether pornographic material should be legally protected or banned. Those who believe pornography must be protected argue that the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees freedom of expression, including sexual expression. A strong defender to this view is McElroy, who reflects this in her writing of “XXX: A Woman’s Right to Pornography”. Opponents of McElroy’s view raise moral concerns, arguing that the First Amendment does not protect expression that corrupts people's behaviour, therefore defending the suppression of pornography because it perpetuates gender stereotypes, as women are reduced to nothing more than sex objects which promotes violence against women and that men are viewed as “naturally” oppressive and violent and they are ruled by their sexual natures. Opponents also believe that even if pornography is viewed as speech it should be treated as a low value form of speech that is not entitled to First Amendment protection. According to the Radical feminist view, men are socialized to have sexual desires and to feel entitled to have those desires met, whereas women are socialized to meet those desires and to internalize accepted definitions of femininity and sexual objectification. As men cling to the masculine idea that their sexuality is an absolute expression of their need and dominance, they prevent women from effecting new attitudes, self-realizations, and behaviours.
Radical