The principal argument against pornography has been that it appeals to the
lowest instincts and may lead the weak among us to commit evil acts of a sexual nature. Advo-cates of this view have asserted that the public is incapable of deciding what is healthy to read or to view, and must be protected for the sake of the weakest among us. According to Baker, the reading of descriptions of the body, sexual organs, and of sexual acts, is supposed to fill the mind with such erotic thoughts, and the body with such erotic feelings, that the immature or weak-minded reader or viewer becomes completely
debauched by uncontrollable sexual cravings, even to point where they driven to commit
rape or become sex addicts.(2) This fear led a group of people, called the Bowdlers, to
try to purify the printed word by expurgating all sexual references. "Even the Holy Bible
. . . was not to escape."(3) The dangers of reading sexually explicit material purportedly
loom even larger for those viewing pictures and movies which are similarly explicit.
Modern theorists have added a new fear: that pornography causes degradation of women
and discrimination against women.(4) According to activists like Catherine MacKinnon,
pornography affects us adversely by promoting attitudes that lead to the subjugation of
women through the use of images of women (and others) being demeaned and brutalized,
and it reinforces the public view of women as objects whose sole purpose is the
gratification of men.

But pornography holds benefits other than appealing to the viewers prurient
interests and effects other than the degradation of women. For some viewers, such as
those people with medical conditions that preclude normal sexual relations, and for those
who are isolated from other members of society, it can provide an outlet for feelings that
have no other expression. Potential victims of medical conditions who might benefit from
viewing pornography include diabetics and paralytics who are medically impotent.
Military personnel serving in remote locations and prisoners are examples of those who
are incapable of sexual gratification due to isolation. People not denied normal sexual
outlets might view pornography in order to explore there own sexual feelings, and some
couples feel drawn closer together by watching pornography together.(5) Lisa Palac
writes that rather than subjugating or degrading women, pornography has a liberating
effect. She believes that pornography liberates women by giving them control of there
own sexuality. Through the use of pornography, a women longer needs to be dependent
on someone else for sexual gratification. This independence has a liberating effect by
removing women from the constraints that allowed them to be treated as chattel and giving
them control of their bodies.(6)

Additionally, the liberating effect of pornography is not limited to the
viewer; it extends to the makers of pornography as well. The production of pornography
is incredibly lucrative, and although there are some who are forced into the making of
pornography, there are many women who have chosen to use pornography as a means to
achieve financial liberation by performing in and producing their own pornographic
movies. Beyond financial liberation lies creative or artistic freedom. The artist or
producer may have something more in mind than a "how to manual" when producing a
pornographic work, and may use it to carry a theme totally unrelated to sex. The Song of
Solomon, for instance, contains vivid sexual imagery, but is held by bible scholars to have
higher spiritual meanings. In the same way, modern pornographic works can explore a
vast range of feelings, ideas and beliefs. An example of this is the erotic symbolism of
such artists as Robert Maplethorpe, which though offensive to some, is championed by
others as a serious exploration of the human psyche.

The struggle over public policy on pornography has spanned centuries. Although
some feel a need to protect society from potentially dangerous information, others prefer
to choose for themselves what they may read and view. Some moralists associate the
viewing of pornography with crimes committed by weak-minded and otherwise defective
individuals; some viewers of pornography claim that it enhances their lives. Some
feminists condemn pornography as maintaining the subservience of women; others
embrace its liberating effect. Finally, erotic works have been produced for their esoteric
value for centuries. Added together, the sum total of pornography's merits and demerits
balances in favor of its benefits.