--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Supreme Court says pornography is…" description: "\"Supreme Court says pornography is anything without artistic merit that causes sexual thoughts; that's their definition, essentially. No artistic merit,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46e/bill-hicks-970_art_supreme-court-says-pornography-is-anythi_454585.jpg" --- # Supreme Court says pornography is anything without… ![“Supreme Court says pornography is anything without artistic merit that causes sexual thoughts; that's their definition, essentially. No artistic merit, causes sexual thoughts. Hmm. . . . Sounds like . . . every commercial on television, doesn't it?” quote by Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46e/bill-hicks-970_art_supreme-court-says-pornography-is-anythi_454585.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46e/bill-hicks-970_art_supreme-court-says-pornography-is-anythi_454585.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46e/bill-hicks-970_art_supreme-court-says-pornography-is-anythi_454585.jpg) > “Supreme Court says pornography is anything without artistic merit that causes sexual thoughts; that's their definition, essentially. No artistic merit, causes sexual thoughts. Hmm. . . . Sounds like . . . every commercial on television, doesn't it?” [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Hicks mocks the vague legal definition of pornography, equating it with any media that provokes sexual thoughts, highlighting absurdity. **In simple terms:** He jokes that the law’s definition is overly broad. Key Takeaway Question the consistency of moral standards. Themes hypocrisy media criticism law freedom of expression Mood sarcastic critical provocative Type satire commentary When to use this quote - television advertising - internet content - public policy debates - artistic censorship Key Concepts legal definition moral relativism Questions to Reflect On - How should societies draw line between art and obscenity? - What criteria should define artistic merit? A Different Perspective Legal definitions can be subjective and inconsistently applied. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Pornography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pornography/) [Television](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/television/) ## Related quotes > [Supreme Court says pornography is anything without artistic merit that causes sexual thoughts, that's their definition, essentially. No artistic merit, causes sexual thoughts. Hmm...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/supreme-court-says-pornography-is-anything-without-artistic-merit-2/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [Pornography is any act that has no artistic merit and causes sexual thoughts...Sounds like almost every commercial on TV to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/pornography-is-any-act-that-has-no-artistic-merit-and-causes-sexual/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [The mass media causes sexual misdirection: It prompts us to need something deeper than what we want. This is why Woody Allen has made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-mass-media-causes-sexual-misdirection-it-prompts-us-to-need/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [I find it ironic that people who are against things that cause sexual thoughts are generally fundamentalist Christians who also believe you should be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-find-it-ironic-that-people-who-are-against-things-that-cause-sexual/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [Kids are dying from causes of sexual activity. You're not going to find a tombstone stating that Frankie died because he was a virgin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/kids-are-dying-from-causes-of-sexual-activity-you-re-not-going-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Waiting for the day women can verbally express their sexual thoughts without being misjudged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/waiting-for-the-day-women-can-verbally-express-their-sexual-thoughts/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“In a recent experiment, scientific researchers exposed a group of teenaged boys to an arcade game, and found that all of them had unclean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peg-tittle/in-a-recent-experiment-scientific-researchers-exposed-a-group-of/) Peg Tittle > [Women say they have sexual thoughts too. They have no idea. It's the difference between shooting a bullet and throwing it. If they knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-miller/women-say-they-have-sexual-thoughts-too-they-have-no-idea-it-s-the/) Larry Miller > [“The one who does not have even a trace of sexual thoughts is referred to as a saiyam parinaami (one who is free of anger-pride-deceit-greed, attachment-abhorrence).  ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/the-one-who-does-not-have-even-a-trace-of-sexual-thoughts-is-referred/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [“Beauty" and sexuality are both commonly misunderstood as some transcendent inevitable fact; falsely interlocking the two makes it seem doubly true that a woman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/beauty-and-sexuality-are-both-commonly-misunderstood-as-some/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [Pornography is writing that seeks primarily, even exclusively, to bring about sexual stimulation. This can be done crudely or delicately. In the former case…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-tynan/pornography-is-writing-that-seeks-primarily-even-exclusively-to-bring/) [Kenneth Tynan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-tynan/) > [What pornographic literature does is precisely to drive a wedge between one's existence as a sexual being - while in ordinary life a healthy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/what-pornographic-literature-does-is-precisely-to-drive-a-wedge/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Political pornography is not unlike the sexual kind: difficult to define, but you know it when you see it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-sajak/political-pornography-is-not-unlike-the-sexual-kind-difficult-to/) [Pat Sajak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-sajak/) > [We often seem to be swimming through such a miasma of sexual violence - in advertising, television programming, heavy metal, rap, films, and worst…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/we-often-seem-to-be-swimming-through-such-a-miasma-of-sexual-violence/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [To me pornography is...spending all your money and not educating the people in America, but spending it instead on weapons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/to-me-pornography-is-spending-all-your-money-and-not-educating-the/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) ## More by Bill Hicks > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [not all drugs are good.. some of them are great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/not-all-drugs-are-good-some-of-them-are-great/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [If you don't think drugs have done good things for us, then take all of your records, tapes and CD's and burn them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/if-you-don-t-think-drugs-have-done-good-things-for-us-then-take-all/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [I don't do drugs anymore... than, say, the average touring funk band.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-don-t-do-drugs-anymore-than-say-the-average-touring-funk-band/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [How many people disapprove of the job the Conservatives are doing? Seventy percent. Of those same people, how many will vote for them again?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/how-many-people-disapprove-of-the-job-the-conservatives-are-doing/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [BTW A 24 week old embryo is not a human being. You're not a human being until you're in my phone book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/btw-a-24-week-old-embryo-is-not-a-human-being-you-re-not-a-human/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [Christianity has a built-in defense system: anything that questions a belief, no matter how logical the argument is, is the work of Satan by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/christianity-has-a-built-in-defense-system-anything-that-questions-a/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [I'm just trying to rid the world of all these fevered egos that are tainting our collective unconscious...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-m-just-trying-to-rid-the-world-of-all-these-fevered-egos-that-are/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [I was told when I grew up I could be anything I wanted: a fireman, a policeman, a doctor – even President, it seemed.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-was-told-when-i-grew-up-i-could-be-anything-i-wanted-a-fireman-a/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [Good comedy helps people know they're not alone. Great comedy provides an answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/good-comedy-helps-people-know-they-re-not-alone-great-comedy-provides/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [People ask me what I think about that woman priest thing. What, a woman priest? Women priests. Great, great. 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You think you just walk out your door, you're immediately gonna be raped by some crack-addicted,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/you-watch-the-news-these-days-it-s-unbelievable-you-think-you-just/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) [Explore all 317 Bill Hicks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. 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