1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910451994903321

Autore

Heins Marjorie

Titolo

Not in front of the children [[electronic resource] ] : "indecency," censorship, and the innocence of youth / / Marjorie Heins

Pubbl/distr/stampa

New Brunswick, N.J., : Rutgers University Press, [2007]

ISBN

1-281-22422-7

9786611224226

0-8135-4388-6

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (440 p.)

Disciplina

303.3/76/0973

Soggetti

Censorship - United States - History - 20th century

National characteristics, American - History - 20th century

Obscenity (Law) - United States

Youth - United States - Social conditions - 20th century

Electronic books.

United States Moral conditions History 20th century

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Originally published: New York : Hill and Wang, 2001. With new introduction.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Front matter -- CONTENTS -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction to the 2007 Edition -- INTRODUCTION -- 1. “ TO DEPRAVE AND CORRUPT” -- 2. MORE EMETIC THAN APHRODISIAC -- 3. THE GREAT AND MYSTERIOUS MOTIVE FORCE IN HUMAN LIFE -- 4. POLICING THE AIRWAVES -- 5. THE REIGN OF DECENCY -- 6. THE IDEOLOGICAL MINEFIELD: SEXUALITY EDUCATION -- 7. INDECENCY LAW ON TRIAL: RENO V. ACLU -- 8. FILTERING FEVER -- 9. CULTURAL DIFFERENCES -- 10. MEDIA EFFECTS -- CONCLUSION: “THE ETHICAL AND MORAL DEVELOPMENT OF YOUTH” -- NOTES -- INDEX

Sommario/riassunto

From Huckleberry Finn to Harry Potter, from Internet filters to the v-chip, censorship exercised on behalf of children and adolescents is often based on the assumption that they must be protected from “indecent” information that might harm their development—whether in art, in literature, or on a Web site. But where does this assumption come from, and is it true? In Not in Front of the Children, Marjorie



Heins explores the fascinating history of “indecency” laws and other restrictions aimed at protecting youth. From Plato’s argument for rigid censorship, through Victorian laws aimed at repressing libidinous thoughts, to contemporary battles over sex education in public schools and violence in the media, Heins guides us through what became, and remains, an ideological minefield. With fascinating examples drawn from around the globe, she suggests that the “harm to minors” argument rests on shaky foundations.