
The Pornography Wars
The Past, Present, and Future of America’s Obscene Obsession
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Narrated by:
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Kelsy Burke
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By:
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Kelsy Burke
About this listen
Bloomsbury presents The Pornography Wars written and read by Kelsy Burke.
For listeners of Peggy Orenstein and Rebecca Traister, an authoritative, big think look at pornography in all its facets – historical, religious, and cultural.
In the 1960s, sex researchers Masters and Johnson declared the end of the fake orgasm. Nearly two decades later, in 1982, evangelical activist Tim LaHaye foretold that the entire pornography industry would soon be driven out of business. Neither prediction proved true. Instead, with the rise of the internet, pornography saturates the American conscience more than ever and has reshaped our understanding of sexuality, relationships, media, and even the nature of addiction.
Dr. Kelsy Burke has spent the last five years researching and interviewing internet pornography’s opponents and its sympathizers. In The Pornography Wars, Burke does a deep dive into the long history of pornography in America and then turns her gaze on our present society to examine the ways this industry touches on the most intimate parts of American lives. She offers a complete understanding of the major players in the debates around porn's place in society: everyone from sex workers, activists, therapists, religious leaders, and consumers. In doing so, she addresses and debunks the myths that surround porn and porn usage while showing how everything from the way we teach children about sex to the legal protections for what can be published is tied up in the deeply complicated battles over pornography.
Sweeping, savvy, and deeply researched, The Pornography Wars is a necessary and comprehensive new look at pornography and American life.
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What listeners say about The Pornography Wars
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Ehrrin Keenan
- 08-05-23
deft
This is a fascinating and engaging look at porn's place in our society. Dr. Burke does an excellent job of presenting a thorough review of many perspectives and letting the reader experience the ambivalence of examining this complex and polarizing subject.
Burke presents all the myriad 'sides' with generosity to her subjects. She doesn't drive toward any foregone conclusion but presents the arguments and the people making them with deftness, situating them in an historical context--legally, religiously, morally, culturally. There are no easy answers and so much to think about.
Great narration of the audio as well. I'm looking forward to reading/listening to more from this author.
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- Kindle Customer
- 06-10-23
fantastic history!
Truly sheds light on a topic that is deeply entrenched in the systems of American power.
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- David D. Bickings
- 10-04-23
It’s a research paper, not a book.
While the author’s research was thorough and likely took many hours to compile, this felt more like a college term paper than a book.
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