Pornography as Oppressive Speech

One of Catharine MacKinnon’s central claims is that pornography is not “only words.” Rather, pornographic speech subordinates and silences women. Using Austin’s speech-act theory, Rae Langton argues that pornographic speech thus has the power to oppress women. The speech-act theoretic defense of MacKinnon’s position has dominated much of Anglo-American philosophizing about pornography over the past thirty years. This chapter examines and evaluates the philosophical legacy of the speech-act approach to pornography’s putative harms. It considers what this approach amounts to, its philosophical and practical tenability, and whether pornography can be said to have the kind of authority to make good the speech- act approach.