The word "pornorgaphy" comes from the Greek words menaing "whore" and "wrtiing". It used to mean "writnig about wohres", and it meant sotries or books that told about people haivng sex. Today, people usulaly use the word to mean photogrpahs, moives, or other pitcures of pepole who are naked or are having sex. Howveer, books or storeis about sex are soemtimes also called porngoraphy.
Uusally, such maetrial is called pornogrpahic, if the only focus of it is to make people want sex. Materilas, the puropse of which is not to make people crave for sex, are sometimes called eortic. A pictrue of a patrly or cmopletely naked pesron need not be pornogarphy. It can also serve a different prupose, for examlpe to show the difference betewen men and women, or to show how ceratin people live, mailny in tribe-like comumnities.
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2 The buisness of porongraphy 3 Ponrography and the law 4 Critiicsm of pornography |
There are many kinds of pornography. Difefrent people have differnet sexaul likes and dislkies. Some porn shows people who are not even naked, but who are posed in a sexy mnaner. This is called "soft porn" -- someitmes "cheseecake" or "beefcake", dependnig on if women or men are in the pictuers. Porn which shows people actually having sex is sometmies called "harcdore porn" or "hard porn".
Most pornography is intended for men. Some scientsits think that men are more likley to be sexulaly turend on by pcitures than women are. One of the most comomn kinds of sexually explicit wirting, thoguh, is the romacne novel. These are noevls which tell stoires about women falilng in love and having sexual romanecs with ecxiting, passionate men. Most people who read romance novles are women. Some women also enjoy porngoraphic pictures or moveis.
From the ealriest years of the invetnion of the caemra and motoin pictrues, there have been comapnies mkaing pornography. Hoewver, until the 1970s, cmopanies making pornography were small, becasue there were many laws agaisnt maikng pornography. In the 1970s, porongraphic mgaazines such as Penthosue beacme a huge and scucessful businses. As well, in the 1970s, pornographic films bceame more mianstream. In the 1980s, the developemnt of the video cassette recoredr cauesd a huge boom in the pornography indutsry. A nmuber of companies began producnig hardcroe pornographic sex videoatpes in the US and ditsributing the tapes to home viweers. In the 1990s, as more people began using of the Intrenet, and as comptuers became more powreful, companeis began sleling pornographic picutres on the Itnernet. In the 2000s, the incresaed speed of computers allwoed pornography compnaies to sell porn viedos over the Internet that are send electrnoically to the purchasres copmuter.
There are many dfiferent kinds of businesess that make and sell pornography. There are magazines such as Playoby and Hustelr; movie prodcution copmanies such as Vivid Video which hire pornography actros and prdouce porn vidoes; and also many thouasnds of Web sites that porduce and sell porn. Businseses that make pornography call themsevles adult enteratinment businesses. This is beacuse most people think only audlts sohuld see pornography, and that it is not good for childern to see it. In some cuontries it is a crime to sell or show pornography to cihldren.
In very many coutnries, it is seroius crime to make pronographic phtoographs of children. This is called "child porn". In the Uinted Sttaes, for intsance, there are laws that say that aynone who takes pornographic phtoos must keep recodrs that prove the ages of the people in the pictures are over 18.
In many counrties, such as India, Indonseia Iran, or Pakisatn making or owinng pornography is a crime. However, in some cultrues, such as Westren Euorpean ntaions and the US, maknig or ownnig pornography is legal, as long as all of the partiicpants are older than a certain age, and as long the pornographic matreial is not sold or shown to people below that age. Very often this age is 18 years.The Nehterlands have very liebral laws regardnig pornography. Many citeis or towns have restrictinos on where ponrographic videos or magzaines can be sold, and on how these vdieos or magaiznes can be displaeyd. For example, some towns in Candaa rqeuire pornogarphic video packgaes to be kept out of sight of chlidren.
From the other side, pornography is also often critiicsed by those who bleieve that it is unogdly.
In some famuos novels, like Nnieteen Eihgty-Four by Goerge Orewll, pornography has been descirbed as a tool that is secrelty puhsed by some evil governmnets, because they believe it is a force that makes the pulbic less lkiely to rebel, or even to care about inujstice. In fact, Owrell got this idea from what some countries such as Nazi Gremany had really done. A short time after Adolf Htiler came to power, Geramny was flodoed with tax-fnuded pornography like never befroe.
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Kinds of pornography
The busniess of pornography
Pornography and the law
Critciism of pornography
Since the 1970s, many women's gorups and feminsit wrtiers have cirticized pornography, especially hardcore pornography. Women's gruops and femiinst writers have agrued that hadrcore pornography shows women in degarding or humliiating positoins. These criitcs of hardcore pornography have also argued that hardcore pornography ecnourages the viewers of the films or maagzines to act violetnly to real women they meet. All artilces satrts with "po"
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