She knew it when she saw it: feminist antipornography movements in the United States and New Zealand, 1978-1993

Abstract

This thesis examines the feminist antipornography movements in the United States and New Zealand in the period from 1978 to 1993. The objective of this thesis is to track the New Zealand movement from its organisational inception in 1983, paying particular attention to its ideology, tactics, and successes, in order to later draw comparisons with the comparable movement in the United States. The thesis begins by tracking the key predecessors to the New Zealand feminist antipornography campaign, including the work of the Society for the Promotion of Community Standards and the rise of the liberation feminist movement. The thesis then examines the predominant feminist pornography group, Women Against Pornography, both in its first incarnation in New York City (1978) and in its later founding in New Zealand (1983). The tactics, mission, and influence of this latter, grassroots, organisation are discussed at length. The thesis then considers the formal governmental responses to antipornography activism in New Zealand, from the formation of the Ministerial Committee of Inquiry into Pornography in 1988 to the passage of the 1993 Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act. Of significant concern are the ways in which feminist antipornography activism influenced, or failed to influence, official bodies and laws. Ultimately, this thesis compares and contrasts the antipornography movements in the United States and New Zealand in light of their relative successes. Whereas the United States movement failed in its agitation for lasting legal change and the issue proved disturbingly divisive for the broader feminist movement, the New Zealand antipornography campaign achieved relative success, both legislatively and in public support. The final chapter of this thesis addresses and explores the broader national differences that influenced these disparate outcomes. Specifically, differences in feminist movements, in chronology, in conceptions of the role of government, in legal culture, and in approaches to redress of harm are considered.