Under the unprotected speech category in the mnemonic, which factor is used to categorize obscenity?

Under the unprotected speech category in the mnemonic, which factor is used to categorize obscenity?

• A. Portrays sex
• B. Appeals to prurient sexual interest
• C. Literary value lacking
• D. Scientific value lacking

Answer: (B)

In evaluating obscenity, the key test asks whether the material, taken as a whole, appeals to prurient sexual interest. That specific factor is the marker used to categorize something as obscene under unprotected speech: if it tends to arouse such interest beyond community standards, with the other elements of the test (patently offensive depiction and lack of serious value) present, it falls outside First Amendment protection. Portraying sex by itself isn’t enough to label something obscene, since many works depict sexual content without meeting the prurient-interest threshold or lacking serious value. The idea of “lacking literary value” only touches on one prong (serious value) and isn’t the core criterion, and “lacking scientific value” isn’t part of the test at all.

In evaluating obscenity, the key test asks whether the material, taken as a whole, appeals to prurient sexual interest. That specific factor is the marker used to categorize something as obscene under unprotected speech: if it tends to arouse such interest beyond community standards, with the other elements of the test (patently offensive depiction and lack of serious value) present, it falls outside First Amendment protection.

Portraying sex by itself isn’t enough to label something obscene, since many works depict sexual content without meeting the prurient-interest threshold or lacking serious value. The idea of “lacking literary value” only touches on one prong (serious value) and isn’t the core criterion, and “lacking scientific value” isn’t part of the test at all.