Excerpts from internet.cypherpunks: 8-Mar-96 Re: U.S. State Dept critici.. by JFA T. QC, Canada@citene & later Declan B. McCullagh.
There is no such thing as "self-censorship". Either you stick to your values, and then it is *not* censorship, or then you do not, and then, it is neither.
Self-censorship does happen, and it's a growing problem in the arts community. (I'm not a commercial artist, so this is my understanding from other panelists and speakers at a conference I spoke at last month.)
Making art more palatable or less "extreme" to curry favor with corporate patrons, or to get that NEA grant, or to get that faculty position is self-censorship, and it does happen.
There is a photographer by the name of Jock Sturgis who is famous for his photographs of naturalists and their children on the beaches of California and France. Sturgis' home was raided by the FBI and all of his photographs, equipment, & records were seized under suspicion of producing child pornography The photo equipment, records, and photographs were returned but not after making Sturgis' life a living hell... Sturgis' work which has critical acclaim throughout art circles and has published two books profiling naturalists, has been quoted to saying that before taking a picture he usually asks himself about how this picture is percived, something the he never thought twice before the FBI raid. Mr. Avon should think twice before commenting on self censorship does not exist, for that could be the difference from having the door kicked in by the black ninja turtles with the FBI or toning down your work. --