Pornography Promoting Violence? A Sociological Deconstruction

"I feel I should introduce myself and tell you why I feel I am qualified to speak out against pornography. My name today is Linda Marciano. Linda Lovelace was the name I bore during a two and a half year period of imprisonment. For those of you who don't know the name, Linda Lovelace was the victim of this so called victimless crime. Used and abused by Mr Traynor, her captor, she was forced through physical mental and sexual abuse, and often at gunpoint and threats to her life, to be involved in pornography. Linda Lovelace was not a willing participant but became the sex freak of the 70's".

This was Ms Marciano's opening statement to the public hearing on pornography held by the Everywoman Ltd group in 1983. The hearings where held in America and where designed to add pornography to the Discrimination against Women Act based on the premise that pornography and sexual violence can be closely linked. Many influential feminist writers participated in this hearing and with reference to the relevant literature; this paper will address how sociology might analyse the arguments regarding pornography and male sexual violence towards females. It will not attempt to draw a concise conclusion regarding the argument; instead, it will detail how core sociological dichotomies may be utilised to examine this notion.