Testimony in Massachusetts: “He took things straight out of the movies and used them on me”

Massachusetts legislators heard testimony about peoples’ encounters with porn at a hearing on March 16, 1992. This account appears in In Harm’s Way: The Pornography Civil Rights Hearings (p.370-371). Testimony of Pat Haas My name is Pat Haas. I live in Brookline. I experienced from 1987 to 1989 in a two-year relationship with my batterer–from […]

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Testimony in Los Angeles: Pornographers Place Recruitment Ads for “Models” in Newspapers

Our opponents chant ‘consenting adults’ like a magic formula to ward off all criticism, yet time and again we see pornographers making a mockery of the idea of informed consent, let alone informed consent from people unpressured by money troubles. Members of the Los Angeles County Commission for Women heard this testimony about peoples’ encounters […]

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“Sex-Positive” Debate-Killing Tactics Stretch into Their Fifth Decade

Our opponents profess extreme devotion to free speech, yet in reality many of them freely employ debate-killing tactics such as disrespect, ridicule, misrepresentation and intimidation. Tactics like these have a history in this debate that stretches back for nearly half a century. They have been effective at skewing the public dialogue over issues of love, […]

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The Pornified Life: “Tonight, we will fake love”

From Tonight, we will fake love, by Steve Turner (Charisma Books, 1974)… Tonight we will fake love together. You my love, possess all the essential qualities as listed by Playboy. You will last me for as long as two weeks or until such a time as your face and figure go out of fashion… I […]

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Testimony in Los Angeles: Psychologists Underestimate the Role of Porn in Sex Offenses

Members of the Los Angeles County Commission for Women heard testimony about peoples’ encounters with porn at a hearing on April 22, 1985. This account appears in In Harm’s Way: The Pornography Civil Rights Hearings (p.357-359). Testimony of B. J. Cling I am a clinical psychologist in private practice in Los Angeles… I’m also about […]

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Testimony in Los Angeles: Psychiatrist Rapes Patient as ‘Therapy’ for Her Inhibitions

Members of the Los Angeles County Commission for Women heard testimony about peoples’ encounters with porn at a hearing on April 22, 1985. This account appears in In Harm’s Way: The Pornography Civil Rights Hearings (p.353-354). Testimony of Elana Bowman I am a member of the WAVAW [Women Against Violence Against Women] Coordinating Committee [and] […]

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Testimony in Los Angeles: Peter Bogdanovich on Porn and Hollywood

Members of the Los Angeles County Commission for Women heard testimony about peoples’ encounters with porn at a hearing on April 22, 1985. This account appears in In Harm’s Way: The Pornography Civil Rights Hearings (p.351-352). Testimony of Peter BogdanovichSince Dorothy [Stratten] was killed, a lot of women have written to me or told me […]

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Testimony in Los Angeles: “it was harder to tell their assailants that they enjoyed the rape than enduring the actual assault”

Members of the Los Angeles County Commission for Women heard testimony about peoples’ encounters with porn at a hearing on April 22, 1985. This account appears in In Harm’s Way: The Pornography Civil Rights Hearings (p.342-343). Testimony of Dr. Pauline Bart I’m Dr. Pauline Bart. I’m a visiting professor of sociology in women’s studies at […]

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Commerce, Addictive Products, and Harm: Lessons from The Cigarette Century

Porn is a product that addicts many, often with consequences that can be dire (loss of family, loss of job), affect innocent parties (abuse, molestation, secondary effects), and take a long time to manifest. During this time, the addict generates handsome profits for the companies that perpetuate his addiction. The industry, not surprisingly, aggressively protests […]

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Testimony in Los Angeles: Freud Hears of Pervasive Sexual Abuse, Ultimately Decides to Portray It As Mere Fantasy

Members of the Los Angeles County Commission for Women heard testimony about peoples’ encounters with porn at a hearing on April 22, 1985. This account appears in In Harm’s Way: The Pornography Civil Rights Hearings (p.336-338). Testimony of Jeffrey Masson My name is Jeffrey Masson, and I’m a psychoanalyst [who taught] at the University of […]

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