Books & Spoken Word
Naomi Wolf
Bestselling and award-winning author of The Beauty Myth and Fire with Fire, Dr Naomi Wolf, discusses the impact of the 1857 Obscene Publications Act in her book, Outrages.
“The Obscene Publications Act was a crucial turning point. Why? Because dissent and morality; ‘deviancy’ and ‘normalcy’; unprintable and printable were suddenly lawful concepts in the modern sense. This new law effectively invented modern obscenity. In a single stroke, not only was love between men illegal, but anything referring to this love also became unspeakable. And writers, editors and printers became the gatekeepers with a responsibility to uphold the morals of society – followed by serious criminal penalties if they didn’t.
“Wolf describes the ways this set of laws and consolidation of what we would call homophobia and censorship played out. She examines the idea of the state’s purported need and right to police speech – an idea which is with us to this day.”
is needed now More than ever
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