William Simon

William Simon (1930 - 2000) was a pioneer in social constructionist theories of sexuality, recipient of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality Award for Distinguished Scientific Achievement, and an advocate of liberal sexual policies.

On child pornography, Simon is reported to have said:

"I'm absolutely convinced that they [the police] are distorting. It's overkill -- the current King Kong of social sensationalism is the sexually abused child while more important and valid child abuse is being ignored. I'm not convinced there is substantive damage to the child, even those posed in sex acts. First off, there just aren't that many involved. The same pictures are used over and over again, and it's a marginal enterprise. The numbers of children, real or mythical, are very small -- too small to justify the hoopla that would once again convey to thousands that sex ought to be repressed and treated like dynamite."

Quoted in "Children: The Limits of Porn," by Myra MacPherson in The Washington Post, January 30, 1977, p. 33. (Available to subscribers of ProQuest)