Hello,

I am working on a project for my college Ethics class on pornography and its harm to women. Could you please help me locate some information on what is currently being done to tackle this controversial issue, and what you as a website are also contributing?

I appreciate your help,

Angela

Dear Angela,

As you probably know, pornography is a very confused issue within the feminist community. Confused because some people don't think that it does any harm to women. Other people, including me, actually think that there are two kinds or pornography - one which is about mutual attraction and love and desire, and one which is about power and dominance.

When asked, I usually quote Andrea Dworkin who says "I wish women had better choices." So even the women that are making a conscious choice to participate in pornography are most likely making the choice within a limited context.

To learn more about what is happening - I suggest you reference the work of Andrea Dworkin, Catherine MacKinnon (at the University of Michigan Law School, Ann Arbor, Michigan) and Diana Russell (at the University of California, Berkeley). Also, organizations like Equality Now recently helped pass legislation which put restrictions on the international trafficking of women. You can contact that organization to learn more about that legislation.

Good luck.

—Amy