Arguments regarding sexuality and sexual expression have been
central issues in feminist theory. This article explores three opposing
feminist models for interpreting sexual imagery—the radical feminist,
the libertarian feminist, and the socialist feminist-the conceptions of
sexuality and representation on which each is based, and the resulting
social policy positions regarding pornography. It analyzes the commonalities, differences, strengths, and weaknesses of each perspective
and the corresponding policy argument and discusses the divisiveness
of the feminist debates on pornography.
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