Social Science and Public Policy

Abstract

This paper analyzes the. debates over the last two decades surrounding the work of United States pornography commissions as a vehicle for exploring the political context of public policy decision-making in one area of sexual abuse prevention. Many attempts have been made to implicate pornography in the sexual exploitation of women and children, and inherent in the moves to regulate is the assumption that the linkage-between exposure to pornography and antisocial behavior-exists and is demonstrable. The United Stales 1970 and 1986 commissions on pornography are contrasted in terms of their staff structure, fiscal resources, use of social science research, and public policy recommendations.