The Invention of Pornography, 1500-1800: Obscenity and the Origins of Modernity
by Lynn Hunt
Publisher's Description
This nicley illustrated collection of essays explores the origins and uses of pornography in Western culture. The general thesis is that pornography arose alongside currents of thought concerned with freedom and democracy and was a desired underside of these pristine and rational enlightened views. Essays include: "Pornography and the French revolution",Erotic Fantasy and Male Libertinism in Enlightenment England", and "Sometimes a Scepter is only a Scepter: Pornography and Politics in Restoration England."