The value of liberty versus equality in pornography was the underlying issue McGill University Professor Susan Dwyer addressed in a lecture yesterday afternoon to about 50 people.
Dwyer explored the question of the compatibility of the freedom of expression with the equality of women in society.
If the two concepts are incompatible, Dwyer said feminists will face further problems because they will inherently support equality for women. But she said, most feminists would also support freedom of expression.
This dilemma is in the forefront at Dartmouth with the recent announcement of Playboy's intentions to seek Dartmouth women to pose for a feature on "Women of the Ivy League."
When asked whether she thought this would undermine the equality and treatment of women on campus, Dwyer relayed a story of one of her students who appeared naked in the movie "Exotica."
Dwyer later heard a student say that he would like to meet this girl solely because of her role in the movie.
Referring to any Dartmouth woman who chooses to pose, Dwyer said the woman "will attract attention to herself and is liable to make people form certain sorts of beliefs of what [she's] like."
Dwyer spent much of her speech discussing a Canadian court case regarding obscenity. In the case, the Canadian Supreme Court ruled against a man who was supplying obscene material on the grounds that it was justifiable to infringe upon freedom of expression rights in this particular case.
Dwyer said contrary to popular Canadian beliefs, the ruling was neither a precedent in the area of liberty versus equality nor a feminist decision.
She said the courts failed to define obscenity, leaving the decision to the "community standards test," where the community has the power to define what it sees as obscene.
Dwyer added the courts threatened democracy by allowing the general belief of the community to endanger the rights of an individual to view pornography.
She said the court cited attitudinal effects of violence in pornography.
The court said degrading or dehumanizing pornography gives people the idea that women are unequal to men, leading to the disintegration of morals and inappropriate actions.
But, Dwyer said the court failed to address such controversial issues such as the extent of pornography subordinating women.
