Bound and Gagged: Pornography and the Politics of Fantasy in America

Subtitled Pornography and the Politics of Fantasy in America, Kipnis's lucid, engaging text covers the legal debates, various tastes in pornography--fat porn, geriatric porn, and gross porn--and concludes with a chapter on "How to look at pornography."

Laura Kipnis, who teaches film at Northwestern University, adopts an unpopular stance: that of speaking for those whose sexual tendencies stray from the acceptable path. As such, she adds a different perspective in the always-raging debate on the role of pornography in America. Among her arguments is that pornography is often overlooked as a class issue, couched instead almost always as a morality matter. Realizing that many of those employed by the sex industry and those who support it are separated by class from those who deem it so unsavory, provides a particular insight into the perspective of those sitting in judgment.