I’ve just had an article published in the Porn Studies journal that reflects on the 50th anniversary of the Longford Report. Published at a time when other countries had legalized or were planning to liberalize laws regarding the production and distribution of pornographic materials, the Longford Report is often viewed as a failed attempt at policymaking. Drawing on extensive ethnohistorical research conducted over a six-year period, which includes engagement with archival documents, media reportage and the published report, the article shows how the Longford Report inadvertently had a significant impact on Britain’s hardcore pornography trade and how the activities of moral entrepreneurs like Longford can have a lasting effect on pornography regulation.
It can be accessed here.
