Material which, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest and lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value. Matter so classified is not protected by the "free speech" guarantee of the First Amendment. 354 U.S. 476. Guidelines for determining obscenity have changed through the years, but material will be considered "obscene" when a) the subject as a whole appeals to the prurient interest of the average person, using contemporary community standards, b) the work depicts or describes in a patently offensive way sexual conduct proscribed by state statute, and c) the work as a whole lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value; note that the former test of "utterly without redeeming social value" is rejected. See 413 U.S. 15. Evidence of pandering may be used to establish obscenity. 383 U.S. 463, 474.
The issue of how "local" the community must be by whose standards obscenity is to be determined is largely a statutory matter. It has been held that "contemporary community standards" is a sufficient jury instruction without specifying the geographical extent of the community. 418 U. S. 153. See pornography.
