This was an entertaining and informative read. I found myself sharing what I learned from this book with those around me. I recommend it to fans of good and highly readable non-fiction.

The Pornography Wars was an in-depth exploration of all sides of the discussion regarding pornography. Burke talked to and gathered insight from everyone from ultra-conservative Christians to anti-porn feminists to porn creators who are attempting to produce and embrace ethical porn that empowers all those involved. A variety of topics were explored - what is porn? Can porn be ethical? Can you be Christian or feminist and pro-pornography? Is sex addition or pornography addiction real? None of these questions had a simple answer, but Burke's ability to explore the variety of views and "answers" gives a more nuanced understanding of how we may be able to meet in the middle since pornography is not going anywhere anytime soon.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was primarily a really interesting history of pornography in America, from the early legal issues surrounding the production and distribution of "obscene" books, pictures, and films to the more modern regulation of pornographic content on the internet. The first half of the book was heavily focused on legal battles in the courts of history, so if that interests you then you would love this book. The second half was more interesting to me, however, and explored both sides of the modern pro-/anti-pornography debate. I found the author's interviews with independent, ethical/feminist porn producers the most intriguing, and I was able to refine my own position on this topic due to some of the things they said. Overall a nice overview of a very divisive topic!

The Pornography Wars by Dr. Kelsy Burke is a deep dive into the history and clashing ideas in regards to pornography. Growing up in a fundamentalist Christian household, I had a one-sided perspective on this issue and thought this book might give me some insight into an issue that is more complex than it first appears.

The Pornography wars covers a wide range of topics including the history of pornography, the ethics of the porn industry, the effects of watching pornography and common ground between the different viewpoints.

My takeaways:

1. Whether you agree with porn or not, it probably isn’t going away.
2. There is a way for porn to be made ethically some people are working to make the porn industry better.
3. Christian men are more likely to believe they have a “porn addiction” even though they are watching less porn than the general non-religious population.
4. There is no one research-backed definition of pornography addiction.
5. Both sides, anti-porn and pro-porn, want the same thing - to live a happy and sexually fulfilled lives. It’s how these are accomplished that differs.

I came out of this book with a more nuanced perspective on the porn industry and porn in general. My main complaint about the book is that at times it comes across more as a work debunking common myths about the porn industry rather than a narrative for or against something. Especially in the first half of the book, it sometimes lacked a cohesive stance on the porn industry but also didn’t come across as nuanced or unbiased. I would still recommend this book to anyone interested in seeing both sides of the argument for or against pornography.

Famously, I was told the internet is for porn. That can’t be true, of course, because as far as I am concerned, the internet is for writing book reviews! Anyway, The Pornography Wars: The Past, Present, and Future of America’s Obscene Obsession is yet another entry in a long line of books that looks at how people have lined up against one another to support or oppose the creation, distribution, and consumption of pornography. Some people on both sides call themselves feminists. Kelsy Burke looks at who the people are on these sides, and how we got here. Thanks to NetGalley and publisher Bloomsbury USA for the eARC!

I’ve read several books that touch on similar themes. Way back in 2018, I read the much older Female Chauvinist Pigs, which Burke cites here. More recently, I’ve read The Pornification of America and Why We Lost the Sex Wars, both through NetGalley as well. Why do I keep coming back to this topic? I think it has to do with a fascination with the limits of feminism. I identify as a feminist, but I also recognize that my views on feminism have been shaped by my privilege as a white, able-bodied person with a good education and job. A lot of my learning in recent years has focused on unlearning my white feminism in an attempt to look at things more intersectionally. Porn, and its influence on our culture, is at the centre of a lot of debates about what it means to be feminist. As usual, historically, it has been middle-class cis white women leading the charge, while sex workers are disproportionately poorer women and non-binary people of colour.

Burke’s book intrigued me because, while didn’t go so far as to promise objectivity, it did say it would strive to include multiple perspectives on “the pornography wars” and to critique those perspectives. This was something I felt was sorely lacking in Levy’s Female Chauvinist Pigs, which despite professing feminist views and a neutrality towards porn, interviewed mostly people one would describe as anti-porn. In contrast, The Pornography Wars has data and stories gathered from across a vast spectrum, ranging from interviewees who are staunchly anti-porn on moral grounds to people who are staunchly pro-porn to people who are just confused, unsure, or who don’t like porn for their own reasons but aren’t opposed to its existence socially.

Although I’m not going to get into it here, you can imagine, I hope, that my own relationship to porn, as a 32-year-old asexual transgender woman, is complicated. Indeed, Burke elucidates how most people’s relationship with porn is a complicated one, which is why this subject needs to be studied and discussed. Though I would largely describe myself as “pro-porn, sex-positive, pro-sex-worker,” I must admit that Burke’s work has me feeling more negative towards the porn industry than ever before.

Now, I knew already about how problematic PornHub/MindGeek are. But as Burke peeled off the layers of corruption and dysfunction within the industry, I started to realize that the idea of “ethical porn” is problematic, to say the least. It’s great that one can pay for one’s porn, but that only solves a single problem and doesn’t address the underlying abuse of sex workers within the porn industry. A consumer must embark on more extensive research—has that talent ever been accused of sexual assault of a fellow talent?—to feel confident in the ethics of one’s pornography. Suddenly the idea of consuming porn ethically feels closer to the idea of consuming meat ethically—and while I haven’t gone vegetarian, I am all for dramatically reforming the meat industry.

At the same time, Burke is careful not to repeat, and indeed she calls out, when critics of the porn industry cherry-pick the most sensational stories of abuse. As the subtitle of this book implies, part of her examination of the history of the pornography wars involves the battle to have pornography declared “obscene.” Burke is very careful to delineate between opponents of pornography who hold it as immoral versus those who see it as unhealthy (although there is often overlap).

Her exploration of whether or not there is science to support the idea of porn addiction reminds us that science is a tool prone to being biased or misused. Plenty of evangelicals are seizing on science, albeit often junk science, to back up gender-essentialist ideas of brain function and sexuality. Though out of the scope of Burke’s thesis, these findings hint at the underlying problem in American society—a general dismantling of scientific literacy to the point where what counts as science and fact is now up for debate.

As Burke points out, the pornography wars have become increasingly polarized and moralized. She wants to demonstrate that there is common ground between those who would describe themselves as anti-porn or pro-porn (or at least, porn-neutral). This might seem like an impossible task, but I think through the patient exploration of her topic from different angles, she succeeds. At the very least, The Pornography Wars shows that the history of smut, obscenity, and pornography in America is not as simple as many of the people on either side of this battlefield might claim. I really enjoyed learning about that history, and I think Burke did a great job of presenting different perspectives in a way that truly challenged my own existing views on pornography, both as a concept and as an industry.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Bloomsbury USA, Bloomsbury Publishing for an advanced copy

I really enjoyed this book it is a history as well as a commentary on the state of pornography. The first half of the book is a review of pornography and the laws around it particularly in the United States. The second is a commentary from both sides both Pro and anti-pornography on the benefits the risks of porn and sex work.
And with a subject as divisive as this I really appreciated the dive into the nuances. Too often particularly around things like sex and sex work everything has to be black or white this is a good thing or this is a bad thing and in reality usually more nuanced. I know where I fall on this topic but I really enjoyed hearing from the other side of it and they make points that I hadn't considered. Did it change my mind?no but it did give me a sense of why the people I disagree with think the way they do and I think that has value.

The writer also does a very good job of not making the reader feel like a voyeur. Too often with this subject writing can have a gee whiz or oh my gosh can you believe this kind of tone. This does not it is a matter of fact while still being engaging

While nonfiction isn't what I normally read, I found this book a good change of pace.

What I enjoyed about "The Pornography Wars was that Kelsy Burke focused more on the history of pornography and how society has interfaced with pornography rather than debating about if it's right or wrong. The focus is on sociology, which makes it an engaging and academic read.

Overall, if you have an interest in the history of pornography and how it's impacted society this book is very comprehensive and explains the topic very well.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA for the advanced readers copy.

This book was an interesting deep dive into pornography with perspectives from both sides. It is well researched and well written. This is not a bingable book that can be read in one sitting. It reads a lot more like a text book in some ways.

A brilliant cataloguing of the pornography wars that have embattled the various strains of feminism since feminism's start. I adored this book and really wish there were insights and conclusions within it that I had access to in undergraduate studying sex work and feminism. Brava, Burke!

Thank you to the publisher for the advanced copy via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion!

The Pornography Wars
by Kelsy Burke
Pub DAte: July 19, 2022
Bloomsbury
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.
For readers of Peggy Orenstein and Rebecca Traister, an authoritative, big think look at pornography in all its facets - historical, religious, and cultural.
An interesting look at pornography from both sides of the fence. I really enjoyed the scientific background that Burke brings.
Good book!
4 stars

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Bloomsbury USA, Bloomsbury Publishing for an advanced copy of this new cultural and historical book.

The subject of pornography can lead to some of the oddest comments, outside of the subject of sex in general, either for or against, and hardly ever in between. On one hand you can have the pornoisseur who can list classic movies, actresses, actors, even the homes that various scenes have been filmed at. The other side can list the evils sometimes for religious, sometimes for feminist, sometimes even for criminal reasons sometimes even mentioning addiction. For some there is only one reason, not the right reason, or the wrong reason, but their reason. And this is where discussions can get cloudy, and or antagonistic quickly. Dr. Kelsy Burke in The Pornography Wars: The Past, Present, and Future of America’s Obscene Obsession walks the middle path giving both sides views with science, history and plenty of well thought out questions and research.

The book begins with a personal history of the author, describing Dr. Burke 's upbringing and turn to religion in middle school. Along this time Dr.Burke also discovered Playboy, which opened her mind to a world that she never thought about, but one that she leaned a lot about herself, and her sexuality. From there is is discussions of pornography, starting about the Civil War and the the efforts of Anthony Comstock to act as a moral guardian for the people, making certain items illegal by mail, and pursuing early sex advocates as equal as dirty book or picture peddlers. Famous trials are covered, laws are passed, cinema begins, and so do film shorts, which were played at men's club called smokers, for the amount of cigar smoke that filled the room. VHS tapes changed the industry, and soon the Internet ruined that with conglomeration of various internet sites under one banner. All the time religious and feminist groups protested pornography, calling for an end of its exploitation of females, and freeing men of their addiction to sex and pornography. Sex workers, religions and addiction experts are profiled and interviews, science is studied, and an interesting summation about pornography and the future is presented.

The writing is very clear and without a jokey sense or a feeling of wow can you believe this goes on, which is prevalent in writing about sex or pornography. And it is not dry or dull, even when listing a lot of history, that many people might not have as much interest in. The narrative floats between both sides very well, and everyone and their opinion is treated fairly even and balanced.

Not a book to be read for fun. In fact many of the people that appear, with a few exceptions seem happy with what they are doing, either pro or anti. Everyone comes across as human, and strong believers in what they do, again, except for a few that seem to see dollar signs in addiction, but even they are given a chance in the spotlight. Dr. Burke does not praise or damn, but leaves it to the reader to make their own decisions based on the work.

The book was broken up into: a brief history of pornography and laws, the introduction of the Internet and working conditions of porn actors, porn addiction, recovery groups, and health effects.

It would have been interesting to include a chapter at least of how other societies and geographies deal with pornography. There are some cultures that embrace nudity and others far worse than the USA.

But as a whole, this was well researched and neutral on giving each side of things. A lot of insight to think about.

Special thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was an interesting and well-documented book. Definitely one to drive questions, thinking, and conversation.

An interesting look at pornography from both sides of the fence. I really enjoyed the scientific background that Burke brings.

Burke presents a series of different opinions, from the ultra-conservative anti-porn viewpoint to the most progressive, pro-porn voices she could find. I really enjoyed how Burke covers each of the "areas" that are hot topics in the porn wars. She shows that there is no one answer, though I will say that some of the information presented here swayed me in one direction (though as she states, that's probably a reaction based on my own place in society).

I think this book is a MUST read for any parent, especially since children are watching porn at younger ages than ever before. But regardless, it's a wonderful text filled with facts and anecdotes that will educate just about anyone on one of the most serious (and under-discussed) topics in the world right now.