Extreme’ porn? The implications of a label

Bibliographic Data

ID13086121
AuthorsSteve Jones (0000-0003-0898-7789, Northumbria University, corresponding author)
Year2016
Volume3
Issue3
Pages295-307
Publication date2016-07-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenuePorn Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2326-8743 • E-ISSN: 2326-8751
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/23268743.2016.1196011
OpenAlexW2532665046
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited26

Despite its prevalence, the term ‘extreme’ has received little critical attention. ‘Extremity’ is routinely employed in ways that imply its meanings are self-evident. However, the adjective itself offers no such clarity. This article focuses on one particular use of the term – ‘extreme porn’ – in order to illustrate a broader set of concerns about the pitfalls of labelling. The label ‘extreme’ is typically employed as a substitute for engaging with the term’s supposed referents (here, pornographic content). In its contemporary usage, ‘extreme’ primarily refers to a set of context-dependent judgements rather than absolute standards or any specific properties the ‘extreme’ item is alleged to have. Concurrently then, the label ‘extreme’ carries a host of implicit values, and the presumption that the term’s meanings are ‘obvious’ obfuscates those values. In the case of ‘extreme porn’, this obfuscation is significant because it has facilitated the cultural and legal suppression of pornography

CLARITY · Computer security · Context (archaeology · Epistemology · Extreme right · Obfuscation · Political science · Pornography · Presumption · Set (abstract data type · Sociology · Term (time · Computer Science · Gender, Feminism, and Media · History · Law · Philosophy · Psychology · Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology · Social Psychology · Stalking, Cyberstalking, and Harassment