American Notes Erotica

The task seems, except for the most insatiable voyeur, grim: analyzing nearly every Playboy, Penthouse and Hustler ever published--660 anatomically repetitive issues. Even so, the cost seems high: $734,371, or more than $1,100 per issue. And the announced goal is fuzzy: "To lay the foundation for future studies on the possible influence, or lack of influence, of erotica/ pornography, with particular emphasis on issues of child exploitation." The Justice Department has retained Judith Reisman, a communications consultant, to head a staff of 19 researchers on the project. A broader study, involving more magazines, was started more than a year ago at a cost of $798,531. But it was criticized by members of Congress, and an analyst in the Justice Department claimed that the work could be done for $60,000. The narrower, but almost as costly, project was recently approved by the department. "We don't need a study to determine that child pornography is bad," says Gordon Raley of the Child Welfare League. "We could use some assistance in doing something about it."