Congress of the International Academy of Law and Mental Health, Berlin 2011.

1. Ethical and
legal evaluation of
pornography
Tommi Paalanen
Philosopher, specialist in sexual ethics
Centre of Excellence in
Sexual Health Education
JAMK University of Applied Sciences
Chairman
Sexpo Foundation
FINLAND

2. Moralistic bias in law
Moralism (Joel Feinberg)
Prohibiting conduct that is believed to be
inherently immoral, evil or harmhul to one’s
”moral character”
Value-laden but vague concepts
obscene, offensive, extreme, violence
Actual acts vs. ”what it looks like”

3. Torture or
mutual pleasure?
From Waterbondage

4. Behind the scenes

5. Obscenity
“Tends to deprave and corrupt” (UK 1868)
The Miller Test (US 1973)
1. sexual content, evaluated by the average
person, applying contemporary community standards
2. depicts sexual conduct in a patently
offensive way
3. lacks serious literary, artistic, political or
scientific value

6. Extremity
Extreme pornography (UK 2009)
1. is pornographic;
2. is grossly offensive, disgusting or obscene;
3. portrays in an explicit and realistic way
acts that are life threatening or can result
in serious injury

7. Violence
Violent pornography (Finland 2004)
1. offends sexual morality
2. includes physical marks of an assault
ie. whipping or sticking with needles (FBFC)
3. lacks informational or artistic value

8. Ethically relevant elements
1. Production
• Treatment of people involved
• Contracts and safety policies
• Who may participate?
2. Distribution
• Restrictions, ie. age limits
• Cross-cultural questions
3. Content
• Marginal relevance
4. Use
• Misuse: wrong audience, wrong
situation etc.

9. Ethical porn…
…is produced fairly
• Voluntary informed consent
• Fair treatment and compensation
• Sufficient safety measures
Unbiased comparison to other industries
Distribution and use
 Responsibility moves to the agent

10. Content: fiction and performance
From the SAW-series
From Max Hardcore

11. Applying the harm principle
Is an act essentially linked to production of
porn harmful to other person?
A product is not an agent
”Porn destroyed my marriage”
Content is not an agent
”Porn causes sexism and violence”
Paternalism
Who may not participate?
Limiting autonomy is a last resort

12. What may be prohibited?
Acts that harm or seriously offend others
excluding projected or self-caused harms and offences
For example:
• Actual mistreatment of anyone involved in production
• Giving or showing porn to children
• Forcing someone to watch porn

13. Thank you!
tommi.paalanen@jamk.fi
Centre of Excellence in
Sexual Health Education
JAMK University of Applied Sciences