Meese Report
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Pornography is degrading to women .... It is provided primarily for the lustful pleasure of men and boys who use it to generate excitation. And it is my belief, though evidence is not easily obtained, that a small but dangerous minority will then choose to act aggressively against the nearest available females. Pornography is the theory; rape is the practice." --Commissioner James Dobson, Attorney General's Commission on Pornography 1986, 1:78 |
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The final report of the Attorney General's Commission on Pornography (usually referred to as (the) Meese Report, for U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese) is the result of a comprehensive investigation into pornography ordered by U.S. President Ronald Reagan. It was published in July 1986 and contains 1,960 pages.
The following people composed the commission (nicknamed The Meese Commission):
- Henry E. Hudson, chairman
- Diane D. Cusack
- Park Elliott Dietz
- James Dobson
- Father Bruce Ritter
- Frederick Schauer
- Deanne Tilton-Durfee
- Judith V. Becker
- Ellen Levine
- Edward J. Garcia
- Tex Lezar
- Alan E. Sears
The report is divided into five parts and 35 chapters and details most aspects of the pornography industry, including the history of pornography and the extent of First Amendment protections. The report also documents what the committee found to be the harmful effects of pornography and connections between pornographers and organized crime. The report was criticized by many inside and outside the pornography industry, calling it biased, not credible, and inaccurate.
The "Meese Report" was preceded by the report of presidents Lyndon B. Johnson's and Richard Nixon's Commission on Obscenity and Pornography, which was published in 1970 and recommended loosening the legal restrictions on pornography.
See also
- Committee on Obscenity and Film Censorship
- Effects of pornography
- President's Commission on Obscenity and Pornography
