Obscenity
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| A baker's dozen on sex |
Obscenity, according to the U.S. Supreme Court, is material that appeals "to a prurient interest", shows "patently offensive sexual conduct", and "lacked serious artistic, literary, political, or scientific value." So the question "but is it art?" looms large when deciding whether sexual content falls under First Amendment protection. Jacobellis v. Ohio gave us the famous quote, "I shall not today attempt further to define [hardcore pornography] ...But I know it when I see it."
[edit] A Very British View of the matter
When Penguin Books was prosecuted in 1960 for having published D.H.Lawrence's obscene sexy book Lady Chatterley's Lover, prosecuting attorney Mervyn Griffith-Jones famously asked the jurors to consider whether it was the kind of book "you would wish your wife or servants to read". The verdict was "not guilty."
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