Argumentative - Essay Example

Pornography is a big business and we – us, our friends, neighbors, relatives and colleagues make it so. Because of its commercial appeal, it rapidly evolved – taking advantage of technology – so that pornographic materials can be accessed faster and easier than ever before expanding its market reach and accessibility. Due to ethical and moral reasons pornography is a target of censorship. This paper will argue that some form of censorship is necessary to check its negative effects especially that pornographic materials are proliferating more than ever before, being made accessible to everyone regardless of age and location.

There is no standard definition or legally significant definition of pornography. Indeed, what may be pornographic to some may not be to others. Say, a depiction of nudity may be pornographic or not to people, while others may view it on a spectrum in between. Pornography can be defined as sexually explicit materials intended to be sexually arousing. (Preston, p. 104) Some countries have more detailed definition of pornography while other, particularly those countries with little access to the Internet, provide less detail in their definitions.

South Africa, for example has a very detailed legislation on pornography while Barbados refer only to “photographs” when describing child pornography. Determining what constitutes pornography or pornographic material from indecent or inappropriate works becomes very difficult because there is an absence of useful definitions. This is a very critical area in the discourse because such classification is pivotal in promulgating statutes, policies and procedures. It is here wherein policymakers must start in regard to censorship and regulation.

The most fundamental argument against the censorship of pornography is that it is a tool of the government to curtail people’s liberty and freedom. For liberal societies, only totalitarian and