One of several books obtained from a used collection.
A clean, unread copy with minor spine bumping, old price sticker on back cover and mild shelf-wear.
ake Back the Night: Women on Pornography was published in 1982 by Morrow Quill Paperbacks in New York. The edition is edited by Laura Lederer, with an afterword by Adrienne Rich. All of the other contributors are also women, including Kathleen Barry, Pauline Bart, Robin Morgan, Gloria Steinem and Andrea Dworkin. Dworkin is considered one of the leading figures in feminist analysis of pornography; her Against The Male Flood: Censorship, Pornography, and Equality (1985) argued that pornography turned women into ‘subhumans’.
The aim of the book was to raise awareness of the harm caused by pornography, particularly due to the violence it often depicts. They hoped to educate the public on this harmful relationship, confront those responsible for maintaining it, and rid the existence of this kind of objectification of women’s bodies. The book’s sections cover: what is pornography, who it hurts, who it benefits, research on its effects, its relationship with the first amendment, taking action and looking ahead. The contributors’ address these topics through articles, interviews and research.
The introduction of the book highlights key events for the anti-pornography movement. These include the feminists from Southern California who hosted demonstrations and a national press conference in response to the ‘I’m black and blue from the Rolling Stones and I love it’ billboard which depicted a bound and beaten woman. Also, on 17th-19th November 1978, the Feminist Perspectives on Pornography conference was organised by the Women Against Violence in Pornography and Media (WAVPM) organization, which had a membership of over 1000 women. The conference intended to discuss ‘the destructive consequences of pornography’, because for the WAVPM “pornography is the theory, and rape the practice”.
One theme discussed by the collection is Gloria Steinem’s ‘Erotica and Pornography: A Clear and Present Difference’ which highlights the difference between pornography and erotica, right down to the words themselves; erotica is rooted in passionate love, while ‘porno’ means ‘prostitution’ or ‘female captives’, suggesting domination rather than mutual love. Erotica concerns mutual pleasure and sexual expression but pornography concerns dominance and conquest. She argues for women’s right to a sexuality, rather than the use of sex to reinforce inequality.
