The Pornography of Representation

I have to take issue with Peter Summers review of Kappeler's work, which seems to assume a kind of progress that I can't see. He uses as an example of Kappeler's outdatedness the quote: ""It is, in fact, impossible that women, black people, the working classes and consumers attain anything like their 'democratic rights', anything like full human rights and liberty within the present cultural system of values."" Still sounds right to me. One thing he misses is Kappeler's value as a contemporary counter to anti-porn feminists like Andrea Dworkin. It's true that the book is long on theory, but theory is a good thing when it helps to explain culture. This is a text which has helped me think about representation/imagery for over twenty years now, far more useful than more famous books like Sontag's _On Photography_. Another point the previous reviewer misses is the way that Kappeler connects racism and sexism and sees both as essential aspects of patriarchal culture.