Politicans and the media now use "obscenity" to refer to any sexually explicit content. There is a distinction, however, between "obscenity" (sexually explicit content that is not protected by the first amendment) and "pornography" (sexually explicit content that is protected by the first amendment). Further, even the use of the term "pornography" has been hijacked! "Child pornography" should more appropriately be termed "child obscenity", since pornography is entitled to first amendment protection, whereas obscenity is not.

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