by Feminists for Free Expression

About the author: Feminists for Free Expression is an organization devoted to defending freedom of speech and opposing censorship of sexually explicit material.

Feminists for Free Expression (FFE) is deeply concerned about sexual harassment in schools and workplaces, and believes that gender-based harassment— like all serious social problems—requires thoughtful, fundamental solutions. We are alarmed by the facile proposals popular today among some policy makers and activists who claim that banning a list of “bad” words and images will improve the condition of women. It will not. Such quick fix solutions ignore the substantive causes of sexual harassment and establish restrictions on words and images that will harm women’s interests. Without this country’s tolerance for a broad range of words...