Obscenity Law in the United States & Great Britain essays

Obscenity Law in the United States & Great Britain essays It was until the enlightenment in the 18th century in Britain when nearly all governments along with powerful churches with few exceptions, censored words and ideas considered by them threatening to their supremacy, meaning, for the most part, that words and ideas were considered to be rebellious or blasphemous (Bartlett, 1991). While, in the mid-19th century, United States took its cue from England, and started the official suppression of books and ideas which was not about politics or religion but had sexuality as its subject that in turn was a political subject, since the targets were ideas and information that had threatened domineering attitudes about women's role, social control of sexual behavior and reproduction (Bartlett, 1991). Obscenity Laws Formation in the United States Through passage of laws against "obscenity" this new structure of official government censorship was achieved. The combination of three social factors produced first obscenity laws; that are as follows (Balkin, Victorian-era official morality: this particular factor had its concerns with the attitudes about women's sexual nature or lack The second factor was the fear of corruption by detective stories, novels and other famous literature among newly literate working class Another factor seen by leaders of the middle and upper classes was threaten to the institution of marriage that was facilitating sex for pleasure rather than procreation. Thus, to institutionalize and control sexuality, particularly birth control and abortion information was carried out by means this law (Balkin, 1993). These factors became part of a larger political struggle while the Victorian era was not all button-down prudery; theories of re...