Pornography

Written for a broad audience and grounded in cutting-edge, contemporary scholarship, this volume addresses some of the key questions asked about pornography today. What is it? For whom is it produced? What sorts of sexualities does it help produce? Why should we study it, and what should be the most urgent issues when we do? What does it mean when we talk about pornography as violence? What could it mean if we discussed pornography through frameworks of consent, self-determination and performance?

This book places the arguments from conservative and radical anti-porn activists against the challenges coming from a new generation of feminist and queer porn performers and educators. Combining sensitive and detailed discussion of case studies with careful attention to the voices of those working in pornography, it provides scholars, activists and those hoping to find new ways of understanding sexuality with the first overview of the histories and futures of pornography.

“"Here, at last, is an introductory book that grounds the study of pornography in theory and empirical research, discusses it in relation to industry, labour, technology, regulation and performance, and is thoroughly accessible and engaging. Sullivan and McKee's book will become the key text for anyone researching pornography, as well as those who are interested in sex, sexuality and media." Feona Attwood, Middlesex University "Eschewing simplistic causal models, Sullivan and McKee offer a rich and nuanced exploration of pornographic entertainments. Their account recognizes pornography as part of the vast creative industry: neither good nor bad, neither necessarily transgressive nor oppressive. Instead, they interrogate the multiple valences of sexual representations, their production and consumption, in the twenty-first century. Sullivan and McKee offer an engaging and critical approach to this polarizing topic and, like the very best scholars, open up multiple directions for future research.'" Clarissa Smith, University of Sunderland”

“Here, at last, is an introductory book that grounds the study of pornography in theory and empirical research, discusses it in relation to industry, labour, technology, regulation and performance, and is thoroughly accessible and engaging. Sullivan and McKee’s book will become the key text for anyone researching pornography, as well as those who are interested in sex, sexuality and media.”
Feona Attwood, Middlesex University

“Eschewing simplistic causal models, Sullivan and McKee offer a rich and nuanced exploration of pornographic entertainments. Their account recognizes pornography as part of the vast creative industry: neither good nor bad, neither necessarily transgressive nor oppressive. Instead, they interrogate the multiple valences of sexual representations, their production and consumption, in the twenty-first century. Sullivan and McKee offer an engaging and critical approach to this polarizing topic and, like the very best scholars, open up multiple directions for future research.’”
Clarissa Smith, University of Sunderland

Rebecca Sullivan is Professor at the University of Calgary
Alan McKee is Professor at the University of Technology Sydney

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