Citizens for Decency

Antipornography Crusades as Status Defense

Bibliographic Data

ID19904684
AuthorsLouis A Zurcher, R George Kirkpatrick, R Kirkpatrick
Year1976
Publication date1976-12-31
Open AccessNo
TypeBOOK
Reviewed byCitizens for Decency: Antipornography Crusades as Status Defense, John Wilson, 1977
VenueCitizens for Decency (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherUniversity of Texas Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.7560/710320
OpenAlexW4237927226
Open LibraryOL34978853M
ISBN9781477305355
LanguageEN
Citations received49

Throughout the United States, groups of individuals have been confronting the issues surrounding sexually explicit materials. Many have concurred in their perceptions of what is pornographic, have assessed pornography to be a problem our society must deal with, and have made organized efforts within their communities to stop or restrict the commercial availability of such materials. Citizens for Decency is an examination of two antipornography crusades, one in the Midwest and the other in the Southwest. It examines the evolution and impact of such crusades, the satisfaction derived from participating, and the relevant characteristics of the participants and their opponents. It is the first systematic, comprehensive, and theory-oriented study of antipornography crusades and one of the few studies that analyze movements to resist change. The book begins with the assumption that the term pornography is a value judgment and that the labeling of sexually explicit materials as “pornographic” can be adequately understood only in the wider context of sociological and psychological structures and processes. In approaching the antipornography crusades, Louis A. Zurcher and R. George Kirkpatrick gathered data by observation and document search and by interviews with persons well informed about and central to the crusades. Their examination of the organizations that directed the two movements is particularly extensive, and their comparative analysis of the two organizations allows them to determine which features are the most important, how these characteristics interact, and what their relationship is to the symbolic crusade. Among their important findings, the authors show that antipornography crusaders are people discontent with their status who have mobilized to protect the dominance and prestige of their traditional life styles. The participants in the crusades are shown to differ from their opponents in a number of significant ways. In the final chapters, the authors analyze their findings with reference to social movement theory and offer predictions concerning future symbolic crusades

Art · Political science · Asian Studies and History · Australian History and Society · Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East · Pornografie · Pornographie · Pornography · Social aspects · Social aspects of Pornography · Sociale aspecten · united states

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