ABSTRACT
In Chapter 3, we saw how a sense of disgust prevailed even in cases where it was claimed that no harm had occurred, and how this was taken by some as evidence of the moral fallibility of disgust. Might the same moral fallibility be applied to the obscene, or must that which is obscene be morally harmful? The question of whether virtual obscenity exists is perhaps dependent on how one defines ‘obscenity’. And what of the moral corruption associated implicitly or explicitly with different obscenity laws: is this warranted in cases of STAs? In this chapter, we discuss obscenity law as it currently stands in the UK and US, and consider the extent to which STAs satisfy the necessary and sufficient conditions for a classification of ‘legally obscene’ in either country. We also consider whether STAs that are or might be judged legally obscene are necessarily morally harmful.
