Governing Pleasures is a historical account of the production, distribution, and consumption of pornography in Great Britain from the early nineteenth century to the turn of the twentieth. Lisa Z. Sigel examines how pornography changed over time as a cultural and symbolic object in British society, and asks: What was considered pornographic? Who looked at pornography and read it? What sorts of messages did this medium transmit to both men and women? What was its thematic content, who controlled it, and how did these messages affect sexual and social dynamics?

In contrast to recent ahistorical feminist assertions that pornography necessarily teaches men how to oppress women, Sigel views the use of pornography through the lens of historical and social change. In a careful analysis, she illustrates the cultural complexities of the medium and links Victorian pornography to other arenas such as language, science, consumerism, and politics. Most importantly, the author asserts that pornography offered a way for people to make sense of sexuality and its relationship to their world.

Governing Pleasures is a greatly needed examination of a neglected topic. Access to public and private collections of pornography has enabled the author to provide vivid illustrations to bolster her arguments.

Sexual Imaginings
Revolutionary Pornography
Sexuality Raw and Cooked: Empirical and Imperial Pornography
The Pearl before Swine: Fetishism and Consumer Culture
Filth in the Wrong People's Hands: Postcards and the Expansion of Pornography
Sexuality Re-imagined

Lisa Z. Sigel teaches history and women's studies at Millsaps College and DePaul University.