How can J.L Austin’s (1976) Speech Act Theory be used to understand Langton’s (1993) claim that pornography silences women? And is Langton’s (1993) claim justified? – PO-3317- Amelie Higgins
A note of warning to the reader: I would like to preface this dissertation with a
warning to the reader that the literature discussed in this dissertation includes sensitive
and potentially distressing topics, including rape, as well as unsettling and harmful
points of view. I would also like to state that throughout this dissertation I have in
some areas described rape in more abstract terms. For example, saying a women’s
refusal is frustrated and that a woman is unsuccessful in her illocutionary force. This is
not to disguise it from what it is, rape, but to use the language of speech act theorists. I
would also like to draw the reader’s attention to the definitions of rape and consent
which I have chosen to use in this dissertation. A person is guilty of rape or sexual
assault if they act intentionally towards a non-consenting person, and do not believe
that they have consented (Sexual Offences Act, 2003). Section 74 of the Sexual
Offences Act (2003) defines consent as “if he agrees by choice and has the freedom
and capacity to make that choice”. It also states that a prosecutor should consider
capacity, and if the individual was free or constrained in any way. These are the
definitions which I draw upon when stating that someone was raped as it is beyond the
scope of this dissertation to debate the nature of these definitions.
Introduction
This dissertation explores J.L Austin’s (1976) book ‘ How To Do Things With
Words’ , with a particular focus on his contributions to Speech Act Theory, a theory of
how spoken language can be used to perform acts (Austin, 1976). It examines how
Rae Langton (1993) draws upon Speech Act Theory to make the claim that
“Pornography silences women” (Langton, 1993, pp. 297). After establishing that
Langton (1993) can accurately draw upon Austin’s (1976) work I investigate how
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