Opposition To Pornography

Opposition to pornography comes from many sources:

• Social conservative opposition to pornography, in that it offends traditional social values
• Religious opposition to pornography, in that it offends traditional religious values
• Feminist opposition to pornography, in that it demeans and/or harms women in particular
• Harm-reduction based opposition to pornography, on the basis that it causes objective, measurable social harm (of which the feminist harm arguments above form a subset)

Anti-pornography movements coming from these various viewpoints find themselves allied in common opposition to pornography, even when their underlying views on other issues are in opposition. The definition of "pornography" that these groups oppose also varies from country to country and group to group, and many make distinctions between pornography, which they are opposed to, and erotica, which they consider acceptable, or consider some forms of pornography more or less harmful. Others draw no such distinctions.

On the other hand, support for, or at least lack of opposition to, pornography can come from:

• Social liberal and libertarian support, on the basis that the ability to produce or consume pornography is a form of freedom
• Feminist support, on the basis that the ability to produce or consume pornography is one aspect of general freedom for women (see sex-positive feminism)
• Harm-reduction based support for pornography, on the basis that it, overall, causes more good than harm, for example by the overall reduction of sexual assaults

Note that a single person may hold more than one of these positions, and even different positions, pro and con, for different kinds of pornography, simultaneously.