Porn Studies is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering the study of pornography. It is published by Routledge and was established in 2014. The editors-in-chief are Feona Attwood (Middlesex University), John Mercer (Birmingham City University), and Clarissa Smith (University of Sunderland).
 Cover of Volume 10, Issue 4 | |
| Discipline | Sexology |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Edited by | Feona Attwood, Clarissa Smith |
| Publication details | |
| History | 2014–present |
| Publisher | |
| Frequency | Quarterly |
| Standard abbreviations | |
| ISO 4 | Porn Stud. |
| Indexing | |
| ISSN | 2326-8743 (print) 2326-8751 (web) |
| LCCN | 2013200630 |
| OCLC no. | 828410289 |
| Links | |
In a call for papers, the editors described the journal as "the first dedicated, international, peer-reviewed journal to critically explore those cultural products and services designated as pornographic".
Reception and review
editWriting in The Guardian, John Dugdale considered the journal's appearance to be an implicit criticism of cultural studies' failure to investigate pornography, a reflection of the dispute in second-wave feminism between supporters and opponents of pornography. The newspaper associated the editors with the former position, as for example represented by Angela Carter.[1]
The journal's establishment was criticized by anti-pornography campaigners. Gail Dines, a leading anti-pornography activist, compared Attwood and Smith to "climate change deniers" and "cheerleaders for the industry".[2]
Lily Rothman of Time magazine commented that "anyone looking for titillation is likely to be disappointed. (Unless what turns you on is sociological analysis, in which case—it's your lucky day.)"[3] According to Alexis Madrigal of The Atlantic, "the mere fact of its existence, which became public in mid-2013, was occasion for a media event. But the journal's articles are serious articulations of the intersection between the concerns of media studies and those of pornography. Porn Studies is not a joke, though it seems to provide everyone with some relief to treat it as one."[4]
References
edit- ^ Dugdale, John (2 May 2013). "Porn studies is the new discipline for academics: first peer-reviewed journal invites experts to contribute in time for spring debut". Books. The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2016-12-02. Retrieved 2017-12-08.
- ^ Cadwalladr, Carole (15 June 2013). "Porn wars: the debate that's dividing academia". Arts. The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2017-10-16. Retrieved 2017-12-08.
- ^ Rothman, Lily (21 March 2014). "The Porn Studies journal is a real thing—and I read it". Entertainment. Time. Archived from the original on 2017-04-03. Retrieved 2017-12-08.
- ^
Madrigal, Alexis C. (21 March 2014). "Why it's time for the journal of Porn Studies". Technology. Atlantic. Archived from the original on 2017-11-10. Retrieved 2017-12-08.
Porn is everywhere, thanks to the Internet's effective distribution, and finally scholars have a venue for considering the phenomenon seriously.