Pornography: Group Pressures and Individual Rights.

• Author: Holappa, Jeffrey N.

HUGH POTTER, PORNOGRAPHY: GROUP PRESSURES AND INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS, The Federation Press, New South Wales, Australia (1996); ISBN 1-86287-215-5; 180 pp. (paperback).

Contrary to its title, this book is not an in depth analysis of what "pornography" means or a straight-forward answer as to whether it is a good or bad thing. Rather, the author, Dr. Hugh Potter, chooses to examine the variety of definitions different social groups choose to attach. For some groups, pornography may mean any depiction of non-marital sexual relations, while other groups may see it as depictions as violent non-consensual sex. The book is not about individuals and their relationship to pornography, but rather how the issue of pornography is used as a tool to promote self-interest.

The author's analysis throughout concentrates on an organizational level. References to the works of individual writers are used, but only in the context of various group perspectives on pornography. Potter uses the case of Australia and the X-rated video industry, consumers and regulators as his starting point which to compare the various positions of argument. Throughout the text, Potter uses data from surveys of Australian X-rated video purchasers and those who regulate the industry as further foundation into these perspectives.

In the early chapters of the text, Potter outlines the Functionalist and Conflict approaches to the study of deviant behavior and social problems. In examining the Functionalist approach, Potter examines the Christian Critique of pornography. As an example of the Conflict approach, Potter analyzes the radical Feminist case against pornography. The author concludes that while the two positions are related in some ways, they both express different ideas about the moral world which should exist upon the elimination of pornography.

With the theoretical frameworks explored, Potter presents a brief history of Australian pornography chapter five. Potter focuses on the Australian video and magazine classification scheme to define exactly what an X-rated video is and how the classification came into being. From a legal standpoint, prior to 1945, there was no legislative concern about pornography due to general censorship legislation which essentially covered all media. In a legal sense, the word pornography did...