SOC 160 Study Guide - Anthony Comstock, Fornication, Voyeurism
Document Summary
One reason was to preserve the family as the principal unit of social order by protecting it from adultery or desertion of a spouse. Fornication: sex between two unmarried persons like to result in out of wedlock births. Also written for protection of society"s morals but there is no consensus on what should be a law and what should not. Argued that the principle source of laws are sexism and the double standard. Us has highest rate of sexual crime and punishment. Victorian compromise: the decision not to criminalize behavior per se and instead criminalize conduct that is visible to the outside world. Not only criminal but also civil law may penalize certain sexual behaviors. Rape: nonconsensual oral, anal, or vaginal penetration, obtained by force, by threat of bodily harm, or when the victim is incapable of giving consent. Rape of spouse is also a crime in all 50 states.
