In the United States of America, we have a structured legal system in which all citizens must abide by. The national government has created a series of laws to help protect the daily lives of the citizens. The government spends a great deal of time and money creating laws to ensure that potential problems are held to a minimum by limiting the chance of controversy. Unfortunately, several laws appear vague in nature and consequently create a series of problematic issues. Obscenity laws have been proven to fall into this category of question due to the fact numerous definitions exist in attempt to gauge obscenity. Obscenity laws are highly debatable because the principles that define obscenity laws can be altered in various ways depending on …show more content…
This idea mandates that the obscene image must depict an offensive sexual content that is conflicting with the states law (Cornell University, 2016). This legal issue is easier to uncover and prove because it is apparent when an image is expressing offensive sexual content. Laws have been created in every state to define what type of image is seen as illegal, and the only downfall is, everyone’s opinion in regards to an “offensive” image varies. For example, a person with a religious background may be highly offended by sexualized photos in comparison to that of a person who is not faith based. Each individual has different standards to what is socially appropriate, making it hard for laws to completely regulate what is deemed acceptable. This situation is problematic because the creators of inappropriate images have no problem with sexualized pictures and believe no wrongdoing has been conducted. The uncovering of obscene acts can merely be uncovered by a conservative person who views such obscenities as highly offensive and inappropriate. In fact, the only situation in which obscenity is always viewed as illegal is when as minor is involved. This shows that only in rare cases is an obvious decision readily available in attempt to characterize …show more content…
In recent times the media has pushed for a more provocative image on society. Celebrities on television and in magazine ads are seen wearing less clothing then they have in the past and pictures are becoming more sexualized. Back in 1960 less than 40 percent of women and 10 percent of men were sexualized on the cover of a magazine. But in present times the numbers have skyrocketed to over 80 percent of women and 15 percent of men (De Melker, 2013). This is affecting obscenity laws because it is increasing a hyper sexualized mindset for Americans. When magazines like these portray people in such a sexual manner, we begin to learn and accept that is a normal standard. This is making obscenity laws more lenient and allowing perpetrators to get away with obscene
In 1973, Marvin Miller, operator of one of the West Coast's largest mail-order businesses dealing in sexually explicit material, had conducted a mass mailing campaign to advertise the sale of illustrated books, which was known as “adult material”. He was found guilty based on the fact that he violated California’s pena...
Susan Jacoby, in her essay entitled “A First Amendment Junkie,” attacks those who believe that the first amendment should not be cause for the continuation of public obscenity. Jacoby, adamant defender of the first amendment, questions those who wish for the freedom of expression to be denied in the case of pornography, yet seem complacent about the racism and sexism that comes from freedom of speech as well. Additionally, Jacoby argues that it is too difficult to distinguish pornography from beauty and art from obscenity. One person may see David as a wonder to behold, and yet another may look at it as degrading towards men. Jacoby believes that rather than censorship-supporters controlling what their family watches, they want the government
Chief Justice Warren Burger set three rules that are helpful in determining whether a material is pornographic or not. First, it is important to determine whether the material appeals to the prurient interest if an average person applies contemporary community standards to that materia (Barmore 475)l. Second, determine whether the material describes or depict sexual content, in a patently offensive manner (Barmore 476). Finally, determine whether the entire work lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value (Hafen 210). These three tests can help one determine whether a
In the Bjorn, MN case of restricting “Animal Attractions” from selling the video, Hands Up!, the cities obscenity law directly violates the United States constitution, and the First Amendments guarantee of freedom of speech and expression. In the past, the Supreme Court of the United States had written that sexual materials could be deemed obscene if they were found to be "utterly without redeeming social importance" (Roth v. United States, Alberts v. California). This broad restriction, however, received numerous additions in the 1973 case, Miller v. California. In this case, the court established a three-prong test, which is as follows:
The Bill of Rights, “First Amendment Prohibits Congress from establishing religion and restricting it free exercise; also prohibits Congress from abridging freedoms of speech, press, assembly, and petition. So does the First Amendment cover obscenity? The Supreme Court says No, it has declined to grant First Amendment protection to utterances and writings that are obscene or defamatory. Justice Potter Stewart expressed the difficulty in his famous utterance “I shall not today attempt to further define obscenity, but I know it when I see it”. The Judicial system used the Miller test, a test that uses three questions to define obscenity. Question 1-does the average person applying contemporary, community standards, believe that the dominant theme of the material, taken as a whole, appeal to a prurient interest? Question 2-Is the material potently offensive? Question 3-Does the work, taken as a whole, lack serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value?
One of the most pressing problems facing America today is our moral crisis. This problem is one that is related to many other social dilemmas. It has a correlation to our rising crime rate, drug usage, and a trend towards sexual irresponsibility. It is imminent for Americans to find a cure for this moral disease lest we are bound for chaos. In order to solve this problem we must first, as with any problem, determine the causes. One of the causes is the overall tolerance of things that are immoral. Immorality can be defined as anything that deteriorates the decency, honorable or artistic merit, and overall purity of things. Today our society is one that accepts this trait. Tolerance of music and television that is morally questionable and an overall acceptance of a growing trend of sexual irresponsibility. That cause is the one that is possibly the most challenging one to remedy. The antidote includes a change of the current American attitude towards immorality. Another cause is the decline of the American family. The way to rid ourselves of this causing factor is to promote a more traditional family and encourage sexual responsibility. A third source of the destruction of America’s moral base is the media, It is becoming a crude exhibit of America’s worst ethics. The remedy for this component of the problem is to more strictly regulate and censor the media.
America, the ideal place for freedom, is home to a vast amount of liberties and rights that many countries do not acquire. In this country, citizens have the freedom to practice any religion they desire, live wherever they want to live, and love whoever they want to love. In this country, citizens have the right to choose any career, ranging from school teacher to politician and the liberty to reproduce as many children as they would like and speak their minds freely. In this country, with one click of a button, citizens have the ability to view explicit, videotaped, sexual activity for no cost at all. Pornography or the pornographic industry is one of America’s most profitable industries, making billions of dollars annually. Despite pornography’s
Pornography is considered by many to be an unwelcome and distasteful part of our society. However, I argue that it is necessary to voice the unpopular viewpoints, under the Constitution. This paper is a defense of pornography as a constitutional right of free expression, under the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights. In illustrating this argument, I will first define pornography as a concept, and then address central arguments in favor of pornography remaining legal and relatively unregulated – such as the development of the pornography debate throughout modern US law, and how activist groups address the censorship of adult entertainment.
Sexualization of women is taught to the public from an early age through the media. This is not a new phenomena, however. As Roberts and Zurbriggen (2012) address, the problem exponentially compounds over time, as evolving mass communication technology creates more opportunities for the press to teach sexualization. New technology is not entirely negative though, as it allows the public to more easily engage in discussions regarding the expression of
In her essay “Let’s Put Pornography Back in the Closet,” Susan Brownmiller, a prominent feminist activist, argues that pornography should not be protected under the First Amendment (59). Her position is based on the belief that pornography is degrading and abusive towards women (Brownmiller 59). She introduces the reader to the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment, and explains how it relates to her beliefs on censoring pornographic material (Brownmiller 58). In addition, she provides examples of First Amendment controversies such as Miller v. California and James Joyce’s Ulysses to explain how the law created a system to define pornographic material (Brownmiller 58). She described the system that used a three-part test as confusing (Brownmiller 58). Regardless of whether or not the First Amendment was intended to protect obscenities, she and many others believe that the legislatures should have the final say in the decision of creating and publishing pornography (Brownmiller 60).
Illinois, the constitutional position on obscene material has not changed. The Miller Test, with the revised third prong has remained unaltered and obscenity prosecutions have continued in steady decline from 1990. The dispute and definition of obscenity still persist but with the lack of Supreme Court attention to such matters it development is unlikely. Perhaps the law of obscenity ought to be reexamined and defined to create a more constructive standard. Or, just as feasibly, it could be considered that a unanimous, objective standard is unattainable as Justice Stevens stated in his dissent “De gustibus non est disputandum. Just as there is no arguing about taste, there is no use litigating about
Today, the media plays an essential role in the Western civilization. Considering this, entertainment, social media, and the news are all intrinsically valuable media literacy devices. In addition, the media “helps to maintain a status quo in which certain groups in our society routinely have access to power and privilege while others do not” (Mulvaney 2016). For instance, both in the music and pornographic industry the female body is perceived as a sexual object. In Dreamworlds 3: Desire, Sex & Power in Music Video, Sut Jhally mentions that “examining the stories that music videos tell us about both male and female sexuality, about what is considered normal, allows us to do more than just understand one aspect of our culture” (Jhally 2007).
A common trend in the entertainment industry today is the objectification of women in society. Sexualizing women are seen in media such as; movies, advertisement, television show and music video, where their main focus is providing the audience with an image of women as sexual objects rather than a human. This is detrimental to society since the media is producing social stereotypes for both genders, which can further result in corrupted social habits. Objectification in media are more focused on females than male, these false images of women leave individuals with the wrong idea of the opposite sex. As media continuously use sexual contents regarding women, the audience starts underestimating women. Specifically movies, it allows media to shape the culture’s idea of romance, sex and what seems
There are different types of indecency or obscene acts that can really affect society altogether. Being intolerant to an act doesn’t necessarily mean it is harmful to you or society. The Harm Test makes sure that not only are you tolerant with this act but you are out of harm’s way if any kind of indecent or obscene act were to take place. The Harm Test states three different types of harm that can support a finding of indecency: “1. Confronting members of the public with conduct that significantly interferes with their autonomy and liberty, 2. predispose others to anti-social behaviour, 3. physically or psychologically harming persons involved in the conduct” (339) As you can see the Harm Test goes into much depth when looking at the different kinds of harm people could be at risk at when being exposed to acts of indecency of obscenity. Unlike the tolerance test, the Harm test looks at thi...
In recent years, pornography has established itself as perhaps the most controversial topic arising out of the use of the Internet. The easy availability of this type of sexually explicit material has caused a panic among government officials, family groups, religious groups and law enforcement bodies and this panic has been perpetuated in the media.