Pornographic entertainment advertised in a sex shop window

Pornography or porn is the explicit depiction of sexual subject matter, especially with the sole intention of sexually exciting and entertaining the viewer. Generally speaking human sexuality is how people experience and express themselves as sexual beings It is to a certain extent similar to erotica, which is the use of sexually-arousing imagery for mainly artistic purposes. Erotica (from the Greek Eros —"desire" or "curiosa" works of art including literature, photography film sculpture Over the past few decades, an immense industry for the production and consumption of pornography has grown, due to emergence of the VCR, the DVD, and the Internet, as well as the emergence of social attitudes more tolerant of sexual portrayals. PLEASE BEAR IN MIND THAT THIS IS A GENERAL ARTICLE ABOUT VCRs/VIDEOCASSETTE RECORDERS DVD (also known as " Digital Versatile Disc " or " Digital Video Disc " - see Etymology)is The Internet is a global system of interconnected Computer networks Performers in pornography are referred to as pornographic actors (or actresses), or the more commonly known title, "porn star", and are generally seen as qualitatively different from their non-pornographic counterparts. A pornographic actor/actress or a porn star is somebody who appears in Pornographic films or Photographs, live Sex shows or

Pornography may use any of a variety of media—printed literature, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video, or video game. Literature is the Art of written works Literally translated the word means "acquaintance with letters" (from Latin littera letter A photograph (often shortened to photo) is an Image created by Light falling on a light-sensitive surface usually Photographic film or an electronic Drawing is a Visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium Painting (pān'tīng in Art, is the practice of applying Color to a Surface (support base such as e The bouncing ball animation (below consists of these 6 frames Pornographic films are Motion pictures with the purpose of promoting sexual arousal in the viewer often featuring depictions of sexual activity Video is the technology of electronically capturing, Recording, processing storing transmitting and reconstructing a sequence of Still images A video game is a Game that involves interaction with a User interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. However, when sexual acts are performed for a live audience, by definition it is not pornography, as the term applies to the depiction of the act, rather than the act itself. Thus, portrayals such as sex shows and striptease may be considered similar, but not identical, to pornography. A sex show is a form of Pornographic Performance in which customers pay to see live persons appearing performing some type of sexual activity A striptease or Exotic dance is a form of erotic entertainment usually a Dance, in which the performer known as a "stripper" gradually undresses

In most countries pornography is treated as a separate entity, both culturally and legally, from depictions of naked persons in art or photography. See "nudity" for more information. Nudity is the state of wearing no Clothing. The term' "nudity" can also occasionally be used to refer to wearing significantly less clothing than expected

Etymology

The word derives from the Greek πορνογραφία (pornographia), which derives from the Greek words πόρνη (porne, "prostitute"), γράφω (grapho, "to write or record"), and the suffix -ία (-ia, meaning "state of", "property of", or "place of"), thus meaning "a place to record prostitutes". Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly Prostitution is the act of performing Sexual activity in exchange for Money.

History

Oil lamp artifact depicting coitus more ferarum

For more details on this topic, see History of erotic depictions. Doggy style is a sex position in which the receiving partner crouches on all fours with the legs slightly spread while the penetrating partner penetrates The history of erotic

The depiction of sexual acts is as old as civilization (and can be found painted on various ancient buildings), but the concept of pornography as understood today did not exist until the Victorian era. Culture The Victorian fascination with novelty resulted in a deep interest in the relationship between modernity and cultural continuities Previous to that time, though some sex acts were regulated or stipulated in laws, looking at objects or images depicting them was not. In some cases, specific books, engravings or image collections were censored or outlawed, but the trend to compose laws that restricted viewing of sexually explicit things in general was a Victorian construct. When large scale excavations of Pompeii were undertaken in the 1860s, much of the erotic art of the Romans came to light, shocking the Victorians who saw themselves as the intellectual heirs of the Roman Empire. Pompeii is a ruined and partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples and Caserta in the Italian region of Campania, in Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial They did not know what to do with the frank depictions of sexuality, and endeavored to hide them away from everyone but upper class scholars. Generally speaking human sexuality is how people experience and express themselves as sexual beings The moveable objects were locked away in the Secret Museum in Naples, Italy and what could not be removed was covered and cordoned off as to not corrupt the sensibilities of women, children and the working class. The term Secret Museum or Secret Cabinet ( Gabinetto Segreto) principally refers to the collection of Erotic or sexually explicit finds from Pompeii Naples ( Napoli, Neapolitan: Nàpule) is a historic City in southern Italy, the Capital of the Soon after, the world's first law criminalizing pornography was enacted by the Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1857 in the Obscene Publications Act. Since 1857, a series of Obscenity Laws known as the Obscene Publications Acts have governed what can be published in England and Wales The Victorian attitude that pornography was for a select few can be seen in the wording of the Hicklin test stemming from a court case in 1868 where it asks, "whether the tendency of the matter charged as obscenity is to deprave and corrupt those whose minds are open to such immoral influences. The Hicklin test is a Legal concept stemming from the English case R " Despite the fact of their suppression, depictions of erotic imagery were common throughout history. ^[1]

Sub-genres

Main article: List of pornographic sub-genres

In general, softcore refers to pornography that does not depict penetration (usually genitals are not shown), and hardcore refers to pornography that depicts penetration explicitly. The following are common sub- Genres of Pornography. This list may not be comprehensive as there are many genres of pornography Softcore (or soft porn) is a form of Pornography, either video or nude Glamour photography, that is less explicit than hardcore material Sexual penetration is the Penetration of a Bodily orifice, such as the Vagina, Anus or Mouth, with a body part or another object A sex organ, or primary sexual characteristic, as narrowly defined is any of the anatomical parts of the body which are involved in sexual reproduction and constitute Hardcore pornography is a form of Pornography that features explicit sexual acts.

Pornography is of different forms depending on physical characteristics of the participants, fetish, sexual orientation etc. Reality and voyeur pornography, animated videos, legally prohibited acts also depicted. The bouncing ball animation (below consists of these 6 frames Some popular genres of pornography:

• Amateur pornography
• Fetish pornography
• Homosexual pornography (gay pornography; lesbian pornography)
• Orgy pornography
• Race-oriented pornography (e. Amateur pornography is a category of Pornography that features models or actors performing without pay or for whom this material is their first or only paid modeling work Sexual fetishism, or erotic fetishism, is the Sexual attraction to materials and objects not conventionally viewed as being sexual in nature Homosexuality refers to sexual behavior with or attraction to people of the same sex or to a Homosexual orientation. Gay pornography is the representation of sex between men with the primary goal of Sexual arousal in its audience Depictions of Lesbianism have been relatively common in Erotic art and Pornography throughout history Group sex is Sexual behaviour involving more than two participants at the same time Pornography based on the ethnicity of performers or interracial pornography is Pornography that depicts sexual activity between performers of g. Asian, black, Latino, interracial)
• Voyeur pornography (e. Asian or Asiatic is a Demonym for people from Asia. However the use of the term varies by country and person often referring to people from a particular Black is the Color of objects that do not emit or Reflect Light in any part of the Visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of Pornography based on the ethnicity of performers or interracial pornography is Pornography that depicts sexual activity between performers of Voyeurism is the sexual interest in spying on people engaged in intimate behaviors such as undressing sexual activity or urinating g. hidden camera pornography, "upskirt" pornography)

Economics

Main article: Porn industry

Actors, producer, director, cameramen, lighting and makeup are a few of the jobs represented in the photograph of the making of a pornographic film. Sex industry is the internationalisation of commercial enterprises which supply Sex workers in various capacities Pornographic films are Motion pictures with the purpose of promoting sexual arousal in the viewer often featuring depictions of sexual activity

Revenues of the adult industry in the United States have been difficult to determine. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the In 1970, a Federal study estimated that the total retail value of all the hard-core porn in the United States was no more than $10 million^[2]

In 1998, Forrester Research published a report on the online "adult content" industry estimating $750 million to $1 billion in annual revenue. Forrester Research is an independent technology and Market research company that provides its clients with advice about technology's impact on business and consumers As an unsourced aside, the Forrester study speculated on an industry-wide aggregate figure of $8-10 billion, which was repeated out of context in many news stories,^[3] after being published in Eric Schlosser's book on the American underground economy. Eric Schlosser (born August 17, 1959) is an award-winning American journalist and Author known for investigative or Muckraking ^[4] Studies in 2001 put the total (including video, pay-per-view, Internet and magazines) between $2. 6 billion and $3. 9 billion. ^[5]

A significant amount of pornographic video is shot in the San Fernando Valley, which has been a pioneering region for producing adult films since the 1970s, and has since become home for various models, actors/actresses, production companies, and other assorted businesses involved in the production and distribution of porn. The San Fernando Valley or The Valley is an urbanized Valley located in the north-western section of the city of Los Angeles California, United States

The porn industry has been considered influential in deciding format wars in media; including being a factor in VHS v. A format war describes competition between mutually incompatible proprietary formats typically for Data storage devices and Recording formats for Electronic Betamax (the videotape format war)^[6][7] and a factor in the Blu-ray vs. ---- Betamax is a home Videocassette tape recording format developed by Sony, and released on May 10, 1975. The videotape format war was a period of intense competition or " Format war " of incompatible models of Video cassette recorders (VCR in the late 1970s and HD DVD format war. not insert the publicly disclosed HD DVD key into this article for the time being ^[6][7][8]

Non-Commercial Pornography

As well as the porn industry, there is a large amount of non-commercial pornography. This should be distinguished from commercial pornography falsely marketed as featuring "amateurs". The Alt Sex Stories Text Repository focuses on prose stories collected from Usenet. Usenet, a Portmanteau of "user" and "network" is a world-wide distributed Internet discussion system Various Usenet groups are focussed on non-commercial pornographic photographs.

Technology

Mass-distributed pornography is as old as the printing press. Almost as soon as photography was invented, it was being used to produce pornographic images. Some claim that pornography has been a driving force in the development of technologies from the printing press, through photography (still and motion), to video, satellite TV, DVD, and the Internet. A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a medium (such as paper or cloth thereby transferring an image Photography (fә'tɒgrәfi or fә'tɑːgrәfi (from Greek φωτο and γραφία is the process and Art of recording pictures by means of capturing Video is the technology of electronically capturing, Recording, processing storing transmitting and reconstructing a sequence of Still images Satellite television is Television delivered by the means of Communications satellites as compared to conventional Terrestrial television and Cable DVD (also known as " Digital Versatile Disc " or " Digital Video Disc " - see Etymology)is The Internet is a global system of interconnected Computer networks With the invent of tiny cameras and wireless equipments voyeur pornography is gaining ground. A camera is a device used to capture images either as still Photographs or as sequences of moving images ( Movies or Videos. The following are common sub- Genres of Pornography. This list may not be comprehensive as there are many genres of pornography Mobile cameras are used to capture pornographic photos or videos, and forwarded as MMS. Multimedia Messaging Service, MMS for short is a Cellular telephone standard for sending messages that include multimedia objects (images audio video rich

Computer-generated images and manipulations

Digital manipulation requires the use of source photographs, but some pornography is produced without human actors at all. The idea of completely computer-generated pornography was conceived very early as one of the most obvious areas of application for computer graphics and 3D rendering. Computer animation Computer-generated imagery (also known as CGI) is the application of the field of Computer graphics or more specifically 3D computer graphics

Until the late 1990s, digitally manipulated pornography could not be produced cost-effectively. In the early 2000s, it became a growing segment, as the modelling and animation software matured and the rendering capabilities of computers improved. As of 2004, computer-generated pornography depicting situations involving children and sex with fictional characters, such as Lara Croft, is already produced on a limited scale. Lara Croft is a Fictional character and the protagonist of Eidos Interactive 's Tomb Raider video game series The October 2004 issue of Playboy featured topless pictures of the title character from the BloodRayne video game. Playboy is an American Men's magazine, founded in Chicago Illinois, by Hugh Hefner and his associates which has grown into Playboy For the film of the same name see BloodRayne (film. BloodRayne, is a horror -themed third-person action ^[9]

Production and distribution by region

Main article: Pornography by region

The production and distribution of pornography are economic activities of some importance. The production and distribution of Pornographic movies are economic activities of some importance Filmmaking is the process of making a Film, from an initial story idea or commission through scriptwriting shooting editing and finally distribution to an audience Distribution (or place) is one of the four elements of Marketing mix. The exact size of the economy of pornography and the influence that it has in political circles are matters of controversy.

Pornography in Japan: Rates of pornography use in Japan have climbed in the 20th century. Japanese pornography has some unique features which separate it from Pornography in other cultures especially Western Pornography. Despite this, no correlation has been found between pornography use and rape or other sex crimes. Rape, also referred to as Sexual assault, is an Assault by a person involving Sexual intercourse with or Sexual penetration of another person During this period, rates of sexual assault have dropped. Japan has the lowest levels of reported rape and the highest levels of arrests and convictions in any developed nation in the world. ^[10]

Legal status

See List of pornography laws by region for detailed list

The legal status of pornography varies widely from country to country. Pornography laws differ widely from region to region Below is a brief summary of pornography restrictions sorted by country Australia See also Censorship in Most countries allow at least some form of pornography. In some countries, softcore pornography is considered tame enough to be sold in general stores or to be shown on TV. Hardcore pornography, on the other hand, is usually regulated. The production and sale, and to a slightly lesser degree the possession, of child pornography is illegal in almost all countries, and most countries have restrictions on pornography involving violence or animals. Child pornography refers to material depicting Children being in a state of undress engaged in erotic poses or sexual activity Rape pornography is a genre of Pornography involving the depiction of Rape. Zoophilia, from the Greek ζῷον ( zṓion, "animal" and φιλία ( philia, "friendship" or "love" is a Paraphilia

Most countries attempt to restrict minors' access to hardcore materials, limiting availability to adult bookstores, mail-order, via television channels that parents can restrict, among other means. sex shop, erotic shop is a shop that sells products such as Sex toys Pornography, erotic Lingerie, erotic books and Safer sex There is usually an age minimum for entrance to pornographic stores, or the materials are displayed partly covered or not displayed at all. More generally, disseminating pornography to a minor is often illegal. Many of these efforts have been rendered practically irrelevant by widely available Internet pornography. Internet pornography is Pornography that is distributed by means of various sectors of the Internet, primarily via Websites Peer-to-peer

In the United States, a person receiving unwanted commercial mail he or she deems pornographic (or otherwise offensive) may obtain a Prohibitory Order, either against all mail from a particular sender, or against all sexually explicit mail, by applying to the United States Postal Service. Direct marketing is a sub-discipline and type of Marketing. There are two main definitional characteristics which distinguish it from other types of marketing A Prohibitory Order is a legal instrument issued by the United States Postal Service, against a mailer on request of a recipient

There are recurring urban legends of snuff movies, in which murders are filmed for pornographic purposes. An urban legend or urban myth is a form of modern Folklore consisting of stories thought to be factual by those circulating them For the 2005 film see Snuff-Movie (film. A snuff film or snuff movie is a theoretical genre that depicts the death or Murder Despite extensive work to ascertain the truth of these rumors, law enforcement officials have been unable to find any such works.

The Internet has also caused problems with the enforcement of age limits regarding performers and subjects. In most countries, males and females under the age of 18 are not allowed to appear in porn films, but in several European countries the age limit is 16, and in Denmark it is legal for women as young as 16 to appear topless in mainstream newspapers and magazines. This material often ends up on the Internet and can be viewed by people in countries where it constitutes child pornography, creating challenges for lawmakers wishing to restrict access to such material.

Some people, including pornography producer Larry Flynt and the writer Salman Rushdie,^[11] have argued that pornography is vital to freedom and that a free and civilized society should be judged by its willingness to accept pornography. Larry Claxton Flynt Jr (born November 1, 1942) is an American Publisher and the head of Larry Flynt Publications (LFP Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie Kt (born 19 June 1947 is an Indian - British novelist and essayist

The UK Government is planning to outlaw possession of what it terms "extreme pornography" after a campaign following the highly publicised murder of Jane Longhurst. Jane Longhurst died at the hands of Graham Coutts on 14 March 2003.

Effect on sex crimes

Main article: Public health effects of pornography

A lower per capita crime rate and historically high availability of pornography in many developed European countries (e. Research concerning the public health effects of pornography is inconclusive the availability of pornographic material and the incidence of sex crime have been variously argued to be in g. Netherlands, Sweden) has some researchers to conclude that there is an inverse relationship between the two, such that an increased availability of pornography in a society equates to a decrease in sexual crime. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. ^[12] Some researchers speculate that wide availability of pornography may reduce crimes by giving potential offenders a socially accepted way of regulating their own sexuality. Moreover, there is some evidence that states within the U. S. that have lower rates of internet access have a greater incidence of rape. ^[13]

Japan, which is noted for its large output of rape fantasy pornography, has the lowest reported sex crime rate in the industrialized world. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Rape pornography is a genre of Pornography involving the depiction of Rape. is a process of social and economic change whereby a human group is transformed from a Pre-industrial society into an industrial one However, some argue that reported sex crime rates are low in Japan because the culture (a culture that greatly emphasizes a woman's "honor") is such that victims of sex crime are less likely to report it (e. g. chikan^[14]). In psychiatry the clinical term frotteurism (no longer called frottage) refers to a specific Paraphilia which involves the non-consensual rubbing against another However, a 1995 study comparing crime statistics since 1972 when pornography changed from totally prohibited to freely available with no age restrictions found that:^[15]

"sex crimes in every category, from rape to public indecency, sexual offenses from both ends of the criminal spectrum, significantly decreased in incidence. Most significantly, despite the wide increase in availability of pornography to children, not only was there a decrease in sex crimes with juveniles as victims but the number of juvenile offenders also decreased significantly. We hypothesized that the increase in pornography, without age restriction and in comics, if it had any detrimental effect, would most negatively influence younger individuals. Just the opposite occurred. The number of victims decreased particularly among the females younger than 13. In 1972, 8. 3% of the victims were younger than 13. In 1995 the percentage of victims younger than 13 years of age dropped to 4. 0%; a reduction of greater than 50%. In 1972, 33. 3 % of the offenders were between 14-19 years of age; by 1995 that percentage had decreased to 9. 6%. . "

However, a review of controlled studies has found that extensive, extremely prolonged viewing of the type of pornographic material commonly sold at adult bookstores was positively correlated with leniency in the sentencing of a person convicted of rape in a mock trial setting, decreased satisfaction of participants with their sex lives and partners, and an increased self-reported willingness to commit rape or other forced sexual acts. ^[16]

Anti-pornography movement

A French caricature on "the great epidemic of pornography". A caricature is either a Portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness or in literature a description

Main article: Anti-pornography movement

Opposition to pornography comes generally, though not exclusively, from several sources: law, religion and feminism. The term anti-pornography movement is used to describe those who argue that Pornography has a variety of harmful effects such as encouragement of Human trafficking Law is a system of rules enforced through a set of Institutions used as an instrument to underpin civil obedience politics economics and society A religion is a set of Tenets and practices often centered upon specific Supernatural and moral claims about Reality, the Cosmos Feminism is a discourse that involves various movements theories, and Philosophies which are concerned with the issue of Gender difference, advocate Some critics from the latter two camps have expressed belief in the existence of "pornography addiction. Pornography addiction is a form of Sexual addiction described by its proponents as a condition characterized by the overuse or abuse of Pornography. "

Effect on sexual aggression

In the 70's and 80's, feminists such as Dr. Catharine MacKinnon and Andrea Dworkin criticized pornography as essentially dehumanizing women and as likely to encourage violence against them. Catharine Alice MacKinnon (born October 7, 1946) is an American feminist, Scholar, Lawyer, Teacher and Andrea Rita Dworkin (September 26 1946 &ndash April 9 2005 was an American radical feminist and writer best known for her criticism of Pornography, which she believed It has been suggested that there was an alliance, tacit or explicit, between anti-porn feminists and fundamentalist Christians to help censor the use of or production of pornography. The term anti-pornography movement is used to describe those who argue that Pornography has a variety of harmful effects such as encouragement of Human trafficking Evangelicalism is a theological movement tradition and system of beliefs most closely associated with Protestant Christianity, which identifies with the Gospel ^[17]

According to researchers N. M. Malamuth, T. Addison and M. Koss, "high pornography use is not necessarily indicative of high risk for sexual aggression," but go on to say, "if a person has relatively aggressive sexual inclinations resulting from various personal and/or cultural factors, some pornography exposure may activate and reinforce associated coercive tendencies and behaviors". ^[18]

Feminist objections

Feminist critics of pornography, such as Andrea Dworkin and Catharine MacKinnon, generally consider it demeaning to women. Feminism is a discourse that involves various movements theories, and Philosophies which are concerned with the issue of Gender difference, advocate Andrea Rita Dworkin (September 26 1946 &ndash April 9 2005 was an American radical feminist and writer best known for her criticism of Pornography, which she believed Catharine Alice MacKinnon (born October 7, 1946) is an American feminist, Scholar, Lawyer, Teacher and They believe that most pornography eroticizes the domination, humiliation, and coercion of women, reinforces sexual and cultural attitudes that are complicit in rape and sexual harassment, and contributes to the male-centered objectification of women. Male dominance, or maledom, refers to BDSM activities where the dominant partner is male This article is about consensual erotic humiliation for abusive sexual humiliation see the main article Humiliation Erotic humiliation is the Coercion (co-er-shion is the practice of compelling a person or manipulating them to behave in an involuntary way (whether through action or inaction by use of threats Rape, also referred to as Sexual assault, is an Assault by a person involving Sexual intercourse with or Sexual penetration of another person Objectification is the process by which Abstract concepts are treated as if they were concrete things or physical objects Some feminists distinguish between pornography and erotica, which they say does not have the same negative effects of pornography. Erotica (from the Greek Eros —"desire" or "curiosa" works of art including literature, photography film sculpture However, many Third-wave feminists and postmodern feminists disagree with this critique of porn, claiming that appearing in or using pornography can be explained as each individual woman's choice, and is not guided by socialization in a capitalist patriarchy. Third-wave feminism is a term identified with several diverse strains of feminist activity and study beginning in the early 1990s Postmodern feminism is an approach to Feminist theory that incorporates postmodern and post-structuralist theory.

Pornography by and for women

Some recent pornography has been produced under the rubric of "by and for women". According to Tristan Taormino, "Feminist porn both responds to dominant images with alternative ones and creates its own iconography. Tristan Taormino (born May 9, 1971) is an award-winning Author, Columnist, editor Pornographic film director (and occasional actress Sex-positive feminism, also known as pro-sex feminism, sex-radical feminism, or sexually liberal feminism, is a movement that began in the early 1980s "^[19]

Legal objections

In the United States, distribution of "obscene" materials is a Federal crime,^[20] The determination of what is obscene is up to a jury in a trial, which must apply the Miller test; however, due to the prominence of pornography in most communities most pornographic materials are not considered obscene by the Miller Test. The Miller test is the United States Supreme Court 's test for determining whether speech or expression can be labeled Obscene, in which case it is not protected In explaining its decision to reject claims that obscenity should be treated as speech protected by the First Amendment, in Miller v. California, the US Supreme Court found that

The dissenting Justices sound the alarm of repression. Miller v California, was an important United States Supreme Court case involving what constitutes unprotected Obscenity for First Amendment But, in our view, to equate the free and robust exchange of ideas and political debate with commercial exploitation of obscene material demeans the grand conception of the First Amendment and its high purposes in the historic struggle for freedom. It is a "misuse of the great guarantees of free speech and free press . . . . " Breard v. Alexandria, 341 U. S. , at 645.

and in Paris Adult Theatre I v. Slaton that

In particular, we hold that there are legitimate state interests at stake in stemming the tide of commercialized obscenity, even assuming it is feasible to enforce effective safeguards against exposure to juveniles and to passersby. 7 [413 U. S. 49, 58] Rights and interests "other than those of the advocates are involved. " Breard v. Alexandria, 341 U. S. 622, 642 (1951). These include the interest of the public in the quality of life and the total community environment, the tone of commerce in the great city centers, and, possibly, the public safety itself. . . As Mr. Chief Justice Warren stated, there is a "right of the Nation and of the States to maintain a decent society . . . ," [413 U. S. 49, 60] Jacobellis v. Ohio, 378 U. S. 184, 199 (1964) (dissenting opinion). . . The sum of experience, including that of the past two decades, affords an ample basis for legislatures to conclude that a sensitive, key relationship of human existence, central to family life, community welfare, and the development of human personality, can be debased and distorted by crass commercial exploitation of sex.

Partly because Denmark decriminalized pornography in 1967 with few adverse effects and partly because of the 1968 United States Supreme Court decision which held that people could view whatever they wished in the privacy of their own homes, in 1968 Congress created the President's Commission on Obscenity and Pornography to investigate the effects of obscenity and pornography on the people of the United States with each member personally appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson. The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe Year 1967 ( MCMLXVII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A 1968 United States Supreme Court decision which held that people could view whatever they wished in the privacy of their own homes caused the United States Congress In what became the most detailed and comprehensive investigation into pornography to date, the commission in its final report found that pornography could not be shown to do harm to individuals or to society, and recommended the repeal of obscenity and pornography legislation as it related to adults. Released during the presidency of Richard Nixon the report generated a brief bout of controversy but was ultimately ignored by the administration.

Attorney General for Ronald Reagan, Edwin Meese, also courted controversy when he appointed the "Meese Commission" to investigate pornography in the United States; their report, released in July 1986, was highly critical of pornography and itself became a target of widespread criticism. Edwin "Ed" Meese III (born December 2, 1931 in Oakland California) served as the seventy-fifth Attorney General of the United That year, Meese Commission officials contacted convenience store chains and succeeded in demanding that widespread men's magazines such as Playboy and Penthouse be removed from shelves,^[21]a ban which spread nationally^[22] until being quashed with a First Amendment admonishment against prior restraint by the D. Playboy is an American Men's magazine, founded in Chicago Illinois, by Hugh Hefner and his associates which has grown into Playboy Penthouse, a Men 's Magazine founded by Bob Guccione, combines urban lifestyle articles and Soft-core pornographic pictorials C. Federal Court in Meese v. Playboy (639 F. Supp. 581).

In the United States in 2005, Attorney General Gonzales made obscenity and pornography a top prosecutorial priority of the Department of Justice. For animal rights group see Justice Department (JD The United States Department of Justice ( DOJ) is a Cabinet department ^[23]

Religious objections

Some religious groups often discourage their members from viewing or reading pornography, and support legislation restricting its publication. These positions derive from broader religious views about sexuality. In some religious traditions, for example, sexual intercourse is limited to the express function of procreation. Thus, sexual pleasure or sex-oriented entertainment, as well as lack of modesty, are considered immoral. Other religions do not find sexual pleasure immoral, but see sex as a sacred, godly, highly-pleasurable activity that is only to be enjoyed with one's spouse. These traditions do not condemn sexual pleasure in and of itself, but they impose limitations on the circumstances under which sexual pleasure may be properly experienced. Pornography in this view is seen as the secularization of something sacred, and a violation of spouses' intimate relationship.

Though the Torah (Jewish written law) has a great many prohibitions of about sexual behaviors, pornography is not specifically mentioned. However, the Tzniut requires Jewish women to be covered from ankle to wrist (thereby forbidding pornographic modeling or acting for women). Tzniut or Tznius (also Tzeniut) ( Hebrew: צניעות " Modesty " is a term used within Judaism and has its greatest influence The halakhah states that sexually arousing images are to be avoided. Halakha ( הלכה; alternative transliterations include Halocho and Halacha) is the collective body of Jewish Religious law ^[24]

The Qur'an 24:31 states "And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and keep covered their private parts, and that they should not show-off their beauty except what is apparent, and let them cast their shawls over their cleavage. And let them not show-off their beauty except to their husbands. . . "^[25]

There is no simple direct subject_negated-verb_object prohibition of erotic media anywhere in the Bible. Extrapolation is required.

Paragraph 2354 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church states:

Pornography. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, or CCC, is an official exposition of the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church and the twenty-two . . offends against chastity because it perverts the conjugal act, the intimate giving of spouses to each another. Chastity is Sexual behavior of a man or woman acceptable to the ethical norms and guidelines of a culture civilization or Religion. The meaning of intimacy varies from relationship to relationship and within a given relationship It does grave injury to the dignity of its participants. This brief article is about how the term dignity is used The article presents dignity as it is used by international organizations governments bioethicists academics and . . since each one becomes an object of base pleasure and illicit profit for others. For other uses of Object see Object. In Philosophy, an object is a thing an Entity, or a Being. It immerses all who are involved in the illusion of a fantasy world. An illusion is a distortion of the senses revealing how the Brain normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation Fantasy is a Genre that uses magic and other Supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, and/or setting It is a grave offence.

In addition to expressing concerns about violating sexual morality, some religions take an anti-pornography stance claiming that viewing pornography is addictive, leading to self-destructive behavior. Proponents of this view compare pornography addiction to alcoholism, both in asserting the seriousness of the problem and in developing treatment methods. Pornography addiction is a form of Sexual addiction described by its proponents as a condition characterized by the overuse or abuse of Pornography. Alcoholism is a term with multiple and sometimes conflicting definitions

See also

Forms

• Adult theater
• Carnography
• Cartoon Pornography
• Erotic art
• Erotica
• Women's erotica
• Glamour photography
• Internet pornography
• Non-nude pornography
• Pornographic film

Lists

• List of authors of erotic works
• List of gay pornographic magazines
• List of men's magazines
• List of porn stars
• List of pornographic book publishers
• List of pornographic movie studios
• List of pornographic magazines
• List of pornography laws by region
• List of pornographic sub-genres

People and groups

• Anti-pornography movement
• Pornographic actor
• Pro-sex feminism
• Sex worker

Other

• Lust
• Pornography addiction
• Pornography by region
• Porn creep
• Secret Museum, Naples
• Sex in advertising
• Adult documentary

Media

References

Further reading

Advocacy

• Susie Bright. Susannah "Susie" Bright (also known as Susie Sexpert) (born March 25, 1958, Arlington, Virginia) is a writer speaker teacher "Susie Sexpert's Lesbian Sex World and Susie Bright's Sexual Reality: A Virtual Sex World Reader", San Francisco, CA: Cleis Press, 1990 and 1992. Challenges any easy equation between feminism and anti-pornography positions.
• Betty Dodson. Betty Dodson PhD (born August 24 1929) is an American sex educator, Author, and Artist. "Feminism and Free speech: Pornography. " Feminists for Free Expression 1993. 8 May 2002^[1]
• Kate Ellis. Caught Looking: Feminism, Pornography, and Censorship. New York: Caught Looking Incorporated, 1986.
• Susan Griffin. Susan Griffin is the eco-feminist author of The Book of the Courtesans A Catalogue of Their Virtues (2001 Woman and Nature The Roaring Inside Her (1978 Pornography and Silence: Culture's Revenge Against Nature. New York: Harper, 1981.
• Matthew Gever. "Pornography Helps Women, Society"^[2], UCLA Bruin, 1998-12-03.
• Jason Russell. "The Canadian Past-Time" "Stand Like A Rock"
• Michele Gregory. "Pro-Sex Feminism: Redefining Pornography (or, a study in alliteration: the pro pornography position paper)^[3]
• Andrea Juno and V. Vale. Angry Women, Re/Search # 12. San Francisco, CA: Re/Search Publications, 1991. Performance artists and literary theorists who challenge Dworkin and MacKinnon's claim to speak on behalf of all women.
• Michael Kimmel. Michael Scott Kimmel (*1951 is an American sociologist. His focus is Pro-feminism. "Men Confront Pornography". New York: Meridian--Random House, 1990. A variety of essays that try to assess ways that pornography may take advantage of men.
• Wendy McElroy defends the availability of pornography, and condemns feminist anti-pornography campaigns. Wendy McElroy (born 1951 is a Canadian Individualist anarchist and Individualist feminist. ^[4]
  • "A Feminist Overview of Pornography, Ending in a Defense Thereof"^[5]
  • "A Feminist Defense of Pornography"^[6]
• Annalee Newitz. "Obscene Feminists: Why Women Are Leading the Battle Against Censorship" San Francisco Bay Guardian Online 8 May 2002. 9 May 2002^[7]
• Nadine Strossen:
  • "Defending Pornography: Free Speech, Sex and the Fight for Women's Rights" (ISBN 0-8147-8149-7)
  • "Nadine Strossen: Pornography Must Be Tolerated"^[8]
• Scott Tucker. Nadine Strossen (born August 18, 1950) is the current president of the American Civil Liberties Union. "Gender, Fucking, and Utopia: An Essay in Response to John Stoltenberg's Refusing to Be a Man"^[9] in Social Text 27 (1991): 3-34. Critique of Stoltenberg and Dworkin's positions on pornography and power.
• Carole Vance, Editor. "Pleasure and Danger: Exploring Female Sexuality". Boston: Routledge, 1984. Collection of papers from 1982 conference; visible and divisive split between anti-pornography activists and lesbian S&M theorists.

External links

Commentary

• Lukeisback.com Essays on the pornography industry, mostly USA-orientated
• "The Impact of Pornography on Men" by Antonella Gambotto-Burke
• American Porn Interactive web site companion to a Frontline documentary exploring the pornography industry within the United States.
• Rushdie Turns India's Air Blue Discussion of the debate over pornography within Indian society.
• "Who wants to live in a Porn Nation?" Discussion of pornography on college campuses

Government

• Kutchinsky, Berl, Professor of Criminology: The first law that legalized pornography (Denmark)
• Oppenheimer, Mark, Video of submission to South African parliament on virtual child pornography, Part 1 at YouTube, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

History

• xyclopedia: the history of pornography and sexual expression
• Perkins, Michael. Berl Kutchinsky (1935 - 1995 was a Danish Professor of Criminology at the University of Copenhagen. YouTube is a video sharing website where users can upload view and share Video clips YouTube was created in February 2005 by three former PayPal employees (1992) The Secret Record: A History of Erotic Literature

Sociology

• Beck, Marianna Ph. D. , "The Roots of Western Pornography", part 2, history of pornography in the West.
• Diamond, M. and Uchiyama, A. (1999), Pornography, Rape and Sex Crimes in Japan, International Journal of Law and Psychiatry 22(1): 1-22.
• Pornography and Censorship in: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy