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From: mfs@mhuxr.UUCP (SIMON)
Newsgroups: net.books,net.women
Subject: Re: Pornography doesn't degrade women ...(reply to Dubuc)
Message-ID: <190@mhuxr.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 10-Jan-85 08:26:00 EST
Article-I.D.: mhuxr.190
Posted: Thu Jan 10 08:26:00 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 12-Jan-85 00:17:07 EST
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Your points are well thought out, and reasonnable. The only problem
with them is that there is no valid legal definition of pornography.
The Supreme Court agreed when it offered the "community standards" concept.
Now some communities are homogeneous enough to agree on one standard
of what constitutes pronography, but cities, where most of the so-called
adult stores are, certainly are *not* homogeneous. So what you have
is the imposing of the views of a few on the rest. Therein lies the
problem. Sure, most sensible people can agree that Big Bertha
does the Los Angeles Rams (:-) or some such title has no value
except to stimulate sexually. But what about DH Lawrence or Erica Jong
books? You will, I am certain, find people who object to Lady Chatterley's
Lover and want it banned as pornography (remember, pornography is legally
what the community decides it is). WHich is where you run into problems.
On a related note: several small towns have refused to stock Mark Twain's
Tom Sawyer in public libraries, on the grounds that the book is racist
and should not be accessible to children, who could be harmed by it.
Do you agree? Do you see the analogy? I am afraid that in the case
of the first amendment, you have to take the bitter with the sweet.

One possible compromise that will satisfy no one is to zone adult stores
in so called "red light districts" or "combat zones", etc. The question
there is "in whose neighborhoods?" Well I did say this would satisfy no one
What does the net think?

Marcel Simon