Pornography

A CLASSIFICATION of crime peripherally related to white-collar and corporate crime, pornography refers to sexually explicit materials produced to induce sexual arousal in a viewer or reader. Pornography, as an illegal revenue source for enterprises ranging from organized crime to internet entrepreneurs, crosses into white-collar crime with tax evasion, money laundering, corruption, and a variety of frauds in accounting and banking that are spread all over the world.

The regulation of pornography evolved from early obscenity laws originally enacted to protect political and religious views. The concept of suppressing sexual expression in the media became a concern in the 19th century following the invention of photography, and the staging of theatrical performances with sexual themes. Anthony Comstock was among the first moral reformers to call for the suppression of sexual expression. Over the years, the manufacture, distribution, and sale of pornographic materials has been either forbidden or regulated in various jurisdictions, however possession of pornography by an adult in the privacy of one's home is generally legal.

To the extent the manufacture or sale of most pornography is illegal, it is viewed as censual crime. Whether viewing pornography has harmful effects or not has been debated for decades with passionate arguments, but with little conclusive evidence on either side. A case can be made for or against it depending on the industry perspective, images depicted, or whether pornography affects the viewer's subsequent behavior.

[Page 626]Two government commissions have addressed the issue of harm from pornography, arriving at different conclusions. Formed in 1970 under President Richard M. Nixon, the Commission on Obscenity and Pornography initiated the scientific approach to the issue. Researchers representing mostly behavioral sciences conducted studies under the auspices of a $2 million grant. Attempts have been made to classify pornography, with the simplest scheme being the three categories used in the 1986 Commission. Class I is adult erotica that may depict images of sexually explicit nudity but not actual intercourse or violence. Class II depicts intercourse, and Class III depicts images of intercourse in conjunction with violence.

The 1970 Commission concluded viewing and the availability of pornography had little measurable effect on the public. Feminists and conservative politicians subsequently challenged its findings. After the early 1970s, the nature and distribution of pornography changed. The 1970 commission examined only popular erotic materials such as Playboy and Penthouse magazines. By the late 1970s, the number of pornographic publications vastly increased along with the increasing use of videotapes depicting more depraved images.

Rape scenes were and are common, and this is the basis for the feminist argument that pornography encourages violence against women. At the extreme, is the so-called snuff film in which the actress is murdered on camera. Also in the mid-1970s, child pornography became more prevalent. No one doubts child pornography and snuff films are extremely harmful to those involved in production. They remain in the province of organized crime, and though penalties are substantial, profits are high. The appearance of such materials and the content of mainstream pornographic magazines and videos caused many to question whether the 1970 Commission findings still applied.

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