Social demand, not court rulings, drove the pornography flood

Evidence

Those who prefer traditional morality tend to blame the courts for the flood of pornography, for stretching the First Amendment so that it protects this “filth.” No doubt the courts have played a role. The courts have opposed censorship; they have vetoed restrictive laws; they have allowed very broad standards. But the major change has been, unquestionably, not legal but social. There is a demand for these videos, books, and magazines, and, what is more, customers want to buy them cheaply, easily, legally, and openly. — Lawrence M. Friedman and Grant M. Hayden, American Law, 1011

Categorization

• XREF: Contradicts the common moral-conservative narrative blaming courts; resonates with the social-context method in the polyad. — connects to: Legal change on sexual morality tracks shifts in the larger society — Lawrence M. Friedman and Grant M. Hayden, American Law: An Introduction, 1436; Sexual liberalization in consumer society can function repressively, not liberatory — Marianne DeKoven, Utopia Limited: The Sixties and the…, 159; Prostitutes’ moral adaptation reflects social demand, not innate depravity

Broader Connections

• Prostitutes’ moral adaptation reflects social demand, not innate depravity #corroborates (0.75)
• Sexual liberalization in consumer society can function repressively, not liberatory #complicates (0.70) — Marianne DeKoven, Utopia Limited, 159