Essay on Interpretation of A Feminist View on Pornography

Interpretation of A Feminist View on Pornography The article that I will be breaking down in the following paper is â€Å"Pornography, Civil Rights, and Speech† by Catherine A. MacKinnon. I believe the best area to start is to briefly describe MacKinnon and her article. MacKinnon is a professor of law at the University of Michigan. The article deals with the affects of pornography on society. MacKinnon feels that some pornography should be illegal. Her reason for this view is not that she finds it offensive, but rather that she considers it as a form of sexual discrimination. There are many different views on pornography ranging from the belief that it is harmless fantasy all the way to it being a prime factor of the deterioration for†¦show more content†¦She continues on to explain how her thoughts on society’s views of free speech. She says in out society, everyone has a right to free speech, and if that right is not chosen, then it is assumed that it has been done so for a reason. To her, the law of sex di scrimination, and the First Amendment, operate largely within the realm of these beliefs. MacKinnon defines feminism as the discovery that women do not live in this world, that the person occupying this realm is a man, even more of a man if he is white and wealthy. She has an obvious distaste for the structure and the beliefs of modern society. She says that in a society that allows people to reap the benefits, it is merely men whom do all the reaping. Feminism is a discovery because it is the first movement to take seriously the role of women in society. She is steadfast in the belief that women live in a world of inequality. To state such a theory, and not back it up, would be pointless, so she follows with some numerical data. The article delves into specifics about rape, but what seems most important, is that a recent report stated that 44% of women have had an encountered with rape; 85% of women will be forced to deal with sexual harassment in the work place; 25%-33% of women will be battered at home; 38% of little girls will be molested in or out of their homes. These numbers are a little shocking to read. She warrants them to women finallyShow MoreRelatedFeminism and Porn Essay1766 Words   |  8 Pages The idea that pornography gives feminists of differing opinions this middle ground that they can meet on and see how to articulate the different desires of feminism and what they want to turn it into is one of the main reasons Catherine Lumby argues that feminists need pornography (par 60). 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