Philosophical Considerations on Sexual Objectification in Pornography--An Approach from Phenomenological Ethics

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K00040
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 01010:Philosophy and ethics-related
• Research Institution: Konan University (2023); University of Kochi (2020-2022)
• Principal Investigator: Yoshikawa Takashi 甲南大学, 文学部, 教授 (20453219)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: ポルノグラフィ / 倫理学 / 現象学 / 性的モノ化 / ブルーフィルム

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This project explored the ways in which women and other characters are sexually objectified in Japanese hardcore pornography, and the ethical issues involved. It draws on discussions of radical feminism by McKinnon, Dworkin, and others, as well as discussions of the philosophy of pornography influenced by this philosophy. What such an examination reveals is that while "sexual objectification" is valid as a "vision" that could guide the examination, and the importance of analyzing sexual expression from such a perspective is clear, it is not possible to develop general claims such as "pornography is bad because it is objectifying," and so on.

Free Research Field

倫理学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

性表現は、猥褻なものや性差別的なものとして否定的に評価され、法的な検閲の対象になることもある。しかし、そうした表現は、差別や抑圧の記録であったり、多様なジェンダーやセクシュアリティの人たちの性的な自己理解の手がかりであったりと、社会的な意義もある。本研究はそうした論点を明らかにすることができた。