The Negative Side Effects of Censorship
             In his article entitled "Feminism, Pornography, and Censorship," Mark Wicclair argues that even if pornography, as defined by Helen Longino, exists, censoring pornographic material may cause more harm than good. In this paper I will examine Wicclair's arguments and explain why I agree with him.
             Helen Longino defines pornography as "sexually explicit material that depicts and condones the acts of exploitation, dehumanization, subordination, abuse, or denigration of women"(382). Wicclair argues that Longino uses very vague and obscure terms to describe what specifically pornography is and states that "those who call for the censorship of pornography on the grounds that it is sexist and misogynistic fail to recognize the difficulty of formulating laws which would have an acceptable degree of clarity and specificity"(384). Wicclair states that different people have different criteria for deciding when something is degrading or humiliating and therefore it may be difficult to censor pornography without a clear-cut definition of what exactly it is that should be censored.
             Wicclair concedes that even if pornography in this definition does exist, censoring it would infringe upon our right to freedom of expression. The ability to express one's ideas without the threat of being penalized by the law or fear of government control is an essential principle in our free society (382). Wicclair suggests that censoring pornography hinders an environment that promotes the expression of differing views about politics, art, and religion, an environment that encourages progress and aids in the search for truth and justice (382).
             Another reason Wicclair gives for why we should not censor pornographic material is one that counters the feminist argument that by censoring pornography you are preventing harm to women. There is no conclusive evidence that establishes a...