The Porning of America: The Rise of Porn Culture, What It Means, and Where We Go from Here Hardcover - 2008

Media reviews

This fascinating, provocative book had me glued and makes a great crack at unraveling the mysteries of today's pornography. If you're questioning how to think through the vast array of porn that is now available, The Porning of America has great information and fresh insights that will enhance any debate. I've been involved in the sex industry for over three decades, and yet I learned a great deal from Sarracino and Scott's current research.—Annie Sprinkle, Ph.D., porn star turned sexologist

"Whether it's the sexualization of girls, a pimp lifestyle, or Abu Ghraib, there's no dismissing the influence of pornography . . . In this smart, provocative book Sarracino and Scott tease apart the dark, debasing forms of pornography-that 'cultural toxic waste' polluting the social body-from the sensual, pleasurable part of us that yearns for expression. This brave, nuanced book tells a story we don't want to know but can't, for the life of us, ignore."—Lyn Mikel Brown, founder of Hardy Girls Healthy Women and coauthor of Packaging Girlhood

"As someone whose business has been pornography for decades, I'm thrilled with The Porning of America. Sarracino and Scott show a real understanding of the development of porn, and make a convincing argument that porn has become mainstream-and that the mainstream has become porn. Comprehensive and thought-provoking, this is a must read if you want to understand porn and our culture."—Al Goldstein, founder and former publisher of Screw magazine and Midnight Blue

"Sarracino and Scott-dads first, professors second-open our eyes to the porning of America. Readers are given the history, the politics, and the psychology of porn today. With straight-talk but nuanced arguments, the authors take us on a fascinating and sometimes alarming ride through comic books, pop culture, the Internet, soft-core porn, and on beyond XXX. This is simply required reading for anyone interested in girls' and boys' development and for all of us who care about promoting a sexual ethic of mutuality and care."—Sharon Lamb, professor, psychologist, and coauthor of The APA Task Force Report on the Sexualization of Girls

"This bold book is both pro-sex and pro-feminist. A critical and comprehensive examination of the misogyny and racism that are alive and well in porn and mainstream society, it nevertheless manages to celebrate sexuality."—Jessica Valenti, author of Full-Frontal Feminism