Bound and Gagged: Pornography and the Politics of Fantasy in AmericaIn a book that completely changes the terms of the pornography debate, Laura Kipnis challenges the position that porn perpetuates misogyny and sex crimes. First published in 1996, Bound and Gagged opens with the chilling case of Daniel DePew, a man convicted—in the first computer bulletin board entrapment case—of conspiring to make a snuff film and sentenced to thirty-three years in prison for merely trading kinky fantasies with two undercover cops. Using this textbook example of social hysteria as a springboard, Kipnis argues that criminalizing fantasy—even perverse and unacceptable fantasy—has dire social consequences. Exploring the entire spectrum of pornography, she declares that porn isn’t just about gender and that fantasy doesn’t necessarily constitute intent. She reveals Larry Flynt’s Hustler to be one of the most politically outspoken and class-antagonistic magazine in the country and shows how fetishes such as fat admiration challenge our aesthetic prejudices and socially sanctioned disgust. Kipnis demonstrates that the porn industry—whose multibillion-dollar annual revenues rival those of the three major television networks combined—know precisely how to tap into our culture’s deepest anxieties and desires, and that this knowledge, more than all the naked bodies, is what guarantees its vast popularity. Bound and Gagged challenges our most basic assumptions about America’s relationship with pornography and questions what the calls to eliminate it are really attempting to protect. |
What people are saying - Write a review
LibraryThing Review
User Review - aketzle - LibraryThingThere's definitely some interesting stuff in here, but it's not as fascinating as I expected. There were times I was downright bored, and I certainly didn't expect that reading a book about pornography. Read full review
BOUND AND GAGGED: Pornography and the Politics of Fantasy in America
User Review - KirkusDespite the suggestive title, this collection of well-argued essays on some of the socially constructive roles in which pornography can be cast would be more at home at an MLA conference than in an ... Read full review
Contents
Fantasy in America The United States v Daniel Thomas DePew | 3 |
Clothes Make the Man | 64 |
Life in the Fat Lane | 93 |
Disgust and Desire Hustler Magazine | 122 |
How to Look at Pornography | 161 |
Notes | 207 |
Acknowledgments | 225 |
Other editions - View all
Bound and Gagged: Pornography and the Politics of Fantasy in America Laura Kipnis Limited preview - 1998 |
Common terms and phrases
actually aesthetic agents appears argument Ashley asked audience become Bobby bodily body called charges child comes complex course critic culture Dave DePew described desire devoted discuss disgust distinctions entire existence experience expression fact fantasy father feel female femininity feminist Flynt force Freud gender given hand historically human Hustler identification imagine insistence interest issues it's jokes keep kind less look magazine male masculinity mean meeting misogyny narrative never once particularly perhaps person perverse play pleasure political popular porn pornography position possibility Press question refer regard relation role says seems sense sexual simply snuff film social sort symbolic talk tells there's thing tion transgression transvestite turn University violence woman women York