IC :
BDSM Dictionary : Pornography: history
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z
This entry is part of the BDSM Dictionary hosted by Informed Consent.
| Contents |
{{Wikipedia|Pornography}}
Pornography (from Greek πορνογρα&p hi;ια "pornographia" — literally "writing about or drawings of harlots") (short form Porn) is the representation of the human body or human sexual behaviour with the goal of sexual arousal. It has similarities with erotica.Introduction
Pornography may use any of a variety of media — written and spoken text, photos, sculpture, drawings, moving images (including animation) and sound. Pornographic films combine moving images, spoken erotic text and/or other erotic sounds, while magazines often combine photos and written text. Novels and short stories provide written text, sometimes with illustrations. In addition to media, a live performance may also be called pornographic.
In its original meaning, "pornography" was literally "writing about prostitutes", from the classical Greek roots "πορνη" and "γραφειν". It derived from a Greek term for men who chronicalled the well-known "pornai", or skilled prostitutes of ancient Greece. In more modern times, the term was adopted by social scientists to describe the work of men like Nicholas Restif and William Acton, who in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries published treatises studying prostitution and proposing to regulate it. The term retained this meaning in the Oxford English Dictionary until 1905.
The term then came to mean writing about anything sexual, especially in a base manner, when the creation, presentation, or consumption of the material was for sexual stimulation. The term now refers to sexually related material of all kinds, both written and graphical. The term "pornography" often has negative connotations of low artistic merit, as compared to the more esteemed erotica. Euphemisms such as adult film, adult video and adult bookstore are generally preferred within the industry producing these works (namely the Adult industry). Pornography can also be contrasted with ribaldry, which uses sexual titillation in the service of comedy. Having said that, the definition of pornography is highly subjective, with generally accepted works of art such as Michelangelo's "David" being considered pornographic by some people.
A distinction is sometimes made between softcore pornography and hardcore pornography. The former generally refers to materials that feature nudity and sexually suggestive scenes, while hardcore or X-rated pornography contains close-ups of aroused genitalia and sexual activities including penetration. Within the industry itself, informal classification breaks down even further. The distinctions may seem trivial to many people, but the precarious legal definition and differing standards at different outlets cause producers to shoot and edit different cuts of films and to first screen those differing versions for their legal teams. The internal rating decision is primarily made by considering the exposure of an erect penis, inclusion and duration of close-up shots of genitals and penetration, types of penetration, and the presence or lack of an external ejaculation.
In some jurisdictions the depiction of urination or defecation contributes to the conclusion that a particular image is pornographic (see e.g. Arizona Criminal Code http://www.azleg.state.az.us/ars/13/03551.htm, 9f, 11, in combination with http://www.azleg.state.az.us/FormatDocument.asp?... A2, and for Utah http://www.le.state.ut.us/~code/TITLE76/htm/76_0... 8h).History
Pornography has possibly a very long history. Specific evidence suggests that depictions of sexuality and human progress go hand in hand and that pornographers today remain on the cutting edge. Sexual artwork is among the oldest known to exist; explict photographs date to the beginning of photography and among the earliest films are works depicting nudity and explicit sex. But does depiction imply intent to arouse?
Nude human beings and sexual activities are depicted in some paleolithic art (e.g. Venus Figurines), however it is not certain that the purpose was sexual arousal, the images may have had instead a spiritual significance. There are numerous pornographic paintings on the walls of ruined Roman buildings in Pompeii. One notable example is a brothel in which the various sexual services are advertised in murals above each door. In Pompeii you can also see phalli and testicles engraved in the sidewalks, pointing the way to the prostitution and entertainment district, to aid visitors in finding their way.
Pornographic comic books known as Tijuana bibles began appearing in the U.S. in the 1920s.
In the second half of the 20th century, pornography in the United States evolved from "men's magazines" such as "Playboy" and "Modern Man" of the 1950s. These magazines featured nude or semi-nude women, sometimes apparently engaging in the act of masturbation, although their genitals or pubic hair were not actually displayed. By the late 1960s, however, these magazines, which now included "Penthouse", began to evolve into more explicit displays, eventually, by the 1990s, featuring sexual penetration, lesbianism and homosexuality, group sex, and fetishes. The first explicitly pornographic film with a plot that received a general theatrical release in the U.S. is generally considered to be "Mona" (also known as "Mona the Virgin Nymph"), a 59-minute 1970 feature by Bill Osco and Howard Ziehm, who went on to create the relatively high-budget hardcore/softcore (depending on the release) cult film "Flesh Gordon".Technology and pornography
Pornography has been a driving force behind the adoption of many technologies. Mass-distributed pornography is as old as the printing press. Almost as soon as photography was invented, it was being used to produce pornographic photographs.
The movie camera has also been used for pornography throughout its history, and with the arrival of the home video cassette recorder the pornographic movie industry grew massively, people being able not only to view pornography in the privacy of their own home without having to go out to a theater, but also to make their own pornography.
Pornographic computer games have also existed almost since the start of the industry - some of the earliest were Mystique's Atari 2600 video games, including Custer's Revenge, Beat 'Em And Eat 'Em and Gigolo. The Japanese company Hacker International], which also published games under the name Super PIG, produced several pornographic titles for the Nintendo Famicom - three of these, renamed to Bubble Bath Babes, Hot Slots and Peek-A-Boo Poker, were distributed in the USA by Panesian. However, such games were for a while no longer produced very often for current consoles, largely due to the increased costs and potential legal problems associated with developing a game without the approval of the console manufacturer. With the release of BMX XXX, pornographic video games have again begun to be produced. Leisure Suit Larry and Playboy: The Mansion] titles for game consoles feature pornography. However, pornographic games are now released mostly for personal computers, with Japanese pornographic (often called hentai games or merely H games outside of Japan) games of various genres being the largest category.
Photo manipulation and computer generated pornography
A lot of pornography is digitally manipulated in sophisticated image editors such as Adobe Photoshop. This practice ranges from applying mild changes to photographs to improve the appearance of the models, such as removing skin defects, improving brightness and contrast of the photo, to extensive editing to produce images of non-existent creatures such as catgirls, or celebrities who may not have themselves ever consented to be filmed for pornography.
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. However, until the late 1990s it could not be produced cost-effectively. In early 2000s it became a growing segment, as the modelling and animation software matured and rendering capabilities of computers improved. The strongest advantage of computer generated pornography is the ability to realistically render sexual fantasies that are impossible or illegal to film in reality. 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. The October 2004 issue of Playboy featured topless pictures of the title character from the BloodRayne videogame. http://money.cnn.com/2004/08/25/commentary/game_...
The Internet
With the arrival of the Internet, the availability of pornography increased greatly. Many of the most successful internet entrepreneurs are those who operate pornographic internet sites. As well as conventional photographic or video pornography, some sites offer "interactive" video-game-like entertainment. Due to the international character of the Internet, it provides a means for consumers of pornography that is illegal in their country (or at least illegal without a physical proof of age) to acquire such material from sources in another country where it is legal or not prosecuted.
The spread of pornography on the Internet has had a resultant backlash in some sectors of society. For example, even factually-presented information on a pornographic subject can be subject to censorship in the world's largest online encyclopeida, Wikipedia. http://www.wikitruth.info/index.php?title=The_Sa...
The almost-zero cost of copying and shipping of digital data boosted the formation of private circles of people swapping pornography. This type of exchange is especially popular for material that is illegal, most notably child pornography and bestiality. With the advent of peer to peer file sharing applications such as Kazaa, pornography swapping has reached new heights. Free pornography became available en masse from other users and is no longer restricted to private groups. Large amounts of free pornography on the Internet is also distributed for marketing purposes to encourage subscriptions to paid content.
Since the late 90's, 'porn FROM the masses FOR the masses' seems to become another new trend. Cheap digital cameras, increasingly powerful and userfriendly software, and easy access to pornographic source material have made it possible for individuals to produce and share house-made or house-altered porn for next to no cost. This is most notable in the evolution of 3D rendered porn and the 'enhancement' of existing material (photographs/videos) by blending celebrities into them.
According to Google, 68 million searches including some variation of the word "porn" occur every day.Legal status
The legal status of pornography varies widely. Most countries allow at least some form of pornography and soft core pornography is usually tame enough to be sold in general stores and (in some countries) to be shown on TV. Hardcore pornography, on the other hand, is usually regulated. Child pornography is illegal almost everywhere and most countries have restrictions on pornography involving violence or animals.
Some people, including pornography producer Larry Flynt and the famous writer Salman Rushdie, have argued that pornography is vital to freedom and that a free and civilized society should be judged by its willingness to accept pornography.
Most countries attempt to restrict minors' access to hard core materials, so that it is only available in adult bookstores, via mail-order, in some countries over special satellite TV channels, and sometimes in gas stations. There may be an age limit for entrance, or the materials are displayed partly covered, and/or customers can not browse the materials. More generally, disseminating pornography to a minor is often illegal. Many of these efforts have been rendered moot by the wide availability of Internet pornography.
There are recurring urban legends of snuff movies, in which murders are filmed for pornographic purposes. Extensive work by law enforcement officials to ascertain the truth of these rumors have been unable to find any such works.
The potential ability to create realistic images using computer graphics or digital manipulation led to some debates on its legality. For instance, the Supreme Court of the United States struck down in 2002 the Child Pornography Prevention Act of 1996 that prohibited, among other things, simulated child pornography. The court ruled that it violated the First Amendment to ban material depicting fictional illegal conduct when no such conduct had been involved in production. However, in the UK, the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994] reached entirely the opposite conclusion, that if an image creates a convincing enough impression that it sexually depicts a child, it becomes an indecent pseudo-photograph of a child and is equally prosecutable under the law as an actual photograph.
The Internet has also caused problems with the enforcement of age limits regarding performers. In most countries, women and men 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 the UK 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 viewed by people in countries where this constitutes child pornography, creating challenges for lawmakers wishing to restrict access to such material.Anti-pornography movement
Criticisms of pornography come from two directions: conservative and religious forces, and feminism. Religious conservatives decry pornography because they see it as immoral; sex is reserved for married couples, and pornography is thought to lead to an overall increase in what they consider to be immoral behavior in society. Lust caused or directed through pornography may be interpreted as an indication of disatisfaction with a spouse and is demurred by many religious teachings (Christianity, Islam). Critics with a basis in feminism generally criticize pornography as degrading to its subjects, and an example of a male-centered objectification of women.
Critics from both groups have sometimes expressed belief in the existence of "pornography addiction". While almost any human behavior can be taken to the level of an addiction, many charge that the concept of "pornography addiction" is frequently raised not because it is scientifically sound but because it creates links between pornography and deviant behavior in the public mind.Pornographic conventions
Pornographic work contains a number of conventions. Although pornography targeted at heterosexual males often includes interaction between females, interaction between males is taboo. In hardcore materials, a male generally ejaculates outside his partner's body, in full view. Penises are almost always shown fully erect. The choice of position is naturally geared to giving the viewer the fullest view of the woman, making the reverse cowgirl position , and the man holding the woman in a "dog-and-lamp-post" position among the most popular. Fallatio scenes usually involve the woman looking into the camera or at man, for similar reasons. Especially in American porn, women tend to be unrealistically vocal and loud during hardcore scenes.
In the "cheaper" magazines the copy accompanying the text is often derogatory to the female subjects: references to "sluts", "slags" and "whores" abound.Sub-genres of pornography
This list is far from comprehensive, as there are many, many different kinds of pornography available.
In general soft-core refers to pornography that does not depict penetration or extreme fetish acts, and hard-core refers to pornography that depicts penetration and/or extreme fetish acts.
Magazines
Publishers
Erotic authors
(This entry in the BDSM Dictionary incorporates text from the Pornography article in Wipipedia.)
This entry is published under the terms of the GFDL. People with profiles on Informed Consent can improve this entry: see the BDSM Dictionary help page for details.
