Pornography

:This article is about pornography, material created with the purpose of sexual arousal. For alternate uses, see pornography (disambiguation).

Terminology

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 chronicled 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 18th and 19th centuries published treatises studying prostitution and proposing to regulate it. The term retained this meaning in the Oxford English Dictionary until 1905.

Related Topics:
Prostitute - Ancient Greece - Nicholas Restif - William Acton - 18th - 19th centuries - Oxford English Dictionary - 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

Related Topics:
Erotica - Euphemism

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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.

Related Topics:
Adult industry - Ribaldry - Comedy - Michelangelo - David

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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.

Related Topics:
Nudity - X-rated - Genitalia - Sexual activities - 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?inDoc=/ars/13/03553.htm&Title=13&DocType=ARS, A2, and for Utah http://www.le.state.ut.us/~code/TITLE76/htm/76_06003.htm, 8h).

Related Topics:
Urination - Defecation

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~