Readings & Links - The Definition Of Pornography | American Porn | FRONTLINE |PBS
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he general litmus test for "pornography" seems to be whether it excites the viewer or the reader. But if that's the case, then how does one distinguish between pornography and "erotica" or "obscenity"? Here's a helpful excerpt from Pornography in America: A Reference Handbook by Joseph W. Slade (ABC-Clio, 2000)
Reprinted with permission of the publisher.
"Pornography" (or "porn") usually refers to representations designed to arouse and give sexual pleasure to those who read, see, hear, or handle them. Although sexual stimulation would seem to be a splendid goal, it is not always so regarded in a society still characterized as puritanical. Opponents often avoid dealing with the benefits of arousal in favor of attributing unflattering motives to makers of pornography, whereas producers of pornography themselves may cloud matters by insisting that their materials are educational rather than deliberately stimulating. Because arguments over sexual expression mask issues of politics, religion, gender, race, class and (above all) sexuality, irrelevant claims and assertions are not merely typical but seemingly essential to any discussion of pornography. At times, the confusion seems a deliberate means of demonizing enemies, achieving political advantage, or making a profit.
what seems pornographic to one person will not necessarily seem so to another.
In a more general sense, the meaning of the term pornographic constantly shifts along a vast continuum moving between two equally slippery concepts, the erotic and the obscene. An erotic representation is usually considered socially acceptable. Associated with upper-class sensibilities, eroticism is primarily esthetic; erotic materials, say many critics, begin by stimulating physical responses, then transcend them, leaving a mildly sexual glow that one can speak of in polite company. Gloria Steinem, among others, claims that the differences between pornographic and erotic are always obvious. Al Goldstein, among others, maintains that such descriptions are biased by gender, class, and factors such as personal preference: "Eroticism," says Goldstein, "is what turns me on. Pornography is what turns you on."
At the other end of the scale are obscene representations, which are considered to be not socially acceptable. In a legal sense, obscenity denotes criminality, and its cultural connotation is lower-class vulgarity. In the United States, obscene material can be prosecuted because of its nastiness, its demeaning "prurience," or its sheer inhumanness. By contrast, pornography is entirely legal. Sexual expression is free to arouse, but only within limits, and those limits, which are set by concepts of obscenity, erode only over time. "I know it when I see it," Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart once said of obscenity. Because Stewart was virtually blind, his comment illustrates the difficulty of deciding what is obscene rather than pornographic. Stewart's remark is also as close as the American judicial system has come to a definitive statement on the issue. If a representation transgresses against sexual norms (that themselves change), courts may judge it obscene; if it does not push against boundaries, however, it may not arouse. In contrast, when a representation once called obscene becomes so widespread that taboos against it weaken, it moves first into the category of the pornographic, then of the erotic. From the domain of the erotic, the representation (a public kiss, for example) can pass into the realm of the commonplace.
The problem, of course, is that not everyone uses the same measurements. Some Americans believe that sex is a necessary evil, sanctioned only by marriage for purposes of reproduction, and condemn sexual representations under any circumstances. At the other extreme, those who concede that sex can and should be recreational may nonetheless find some types of representation disturbing. A reader comfortable with a sexual scene in a novel, for example, may be repelled by the same scene in a movie or on stage. Others attempt to distinguish between degrees of explicitness -- how much flesh is visible, say, or how vulgar a spoken word, or what kind of sexual act is depicted.
For most Americans, pornography means peep shows, striptease, live sex acts, hardcore videos, adult cable programming, sexual aids and devices, explicit telephone and computer messages, adult magazines, and raunchy fiction. Conservatives might add prime-time television programming, soap operas, Music Television (MTV) and rock music, romance novels, fashion magazines, and all R-rated movies. Conflating sexuality and violence leads some critics to think of sexual representations as inherently aggressive. Others, noticing that most sexual representations contain no violence, condemn only those examples that mix the two. As Walter Kendrick has pointed out, pornography is not a thing but an argument.
To avoid contentiousness, some theorists prefer a neutral term such as sexual materials over the charged word pornography. In any case, only a few things seem clear. First, what seems pornographic to one person will not necessarily seem so to another. Second, pornography is not monolithic: representation occurs in many media, and it adopts many forms and genres. Third, no group, gendered or otherwise, has a monopoly on sexual expression or representation. Fourth, our social, esthetic, political, legal, and economic attitudes toward pornography both affect and draw on complex responses to gender and sexuality. Fifth, pornography, an attempt at communication, conveys a host of messages, many of them contradictory. Some of those messages, in fact, are ancient.
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Not sure of the point you are trying to make with this seed. With recent news relating to books/shows with children in attendance, are you trying to tie into that or are you looking at something else?
I'm looking for fun. Not everything has to be political.
Ahh good. Thanks.
In that case, yep, I like porn. Of course porn to many people means many different things. I'm loving some food porn....
Others have different tastes.
You will have to tell me what that is. It looks like someone carefully butchered a hog to get out the tenderloin, ribs and somehow carved out a rib roast.
And boy does it look good
Pretty sure that we bumped nasties back in the day.
I seem to remember A tweety bird Tattoo.
Who did you bump nasties with?
That is what it looks like, I just like the picture and would love to be involved. I love my smoker and use it every chance I get.
"Fun" is a novel concept in this heated political era; it is pleasurable and a respite from all the anger swirling about.
Thanks for your posts. They are so fresh, uplifting, and well-crafted. It is "fun" to read them.
Mr G likes his, too
Thanks Eat!
love me some crown roasts, basically prettied up prime rib so that it visually looks like a crown .
best one i experiences was when they did something like that with both beef bottom layer , with pork on the upper layers , with the "crown" on top that was later carved into tomahawk steaks when served . meal fit for a king or queen .
Food is only porn if bacon is involved.
Most true statement ever on this site.
mmmmmmmm, melty pig fat......
Mr. Giggles only likes his smoker that much because it gives him the opportunity to shout from the backyard "Mrs. Giggles, get out here! My meat isn't going to rub itself!!!"
LOL!
That's fucking funny (the part in italics) emphasis mine
There are at least two medical ads on California television continual rotation daily now for at least a year which depict men kissing. And, being that I grew up during the age of taboo men kissing, I often wonder how adults are processing the two ads as clearly, children see both of them when they indiscriminately air morning, noon, and over into the night! I have not registered any complaint from the usual suspects on the morals of others they viciously and obstructively oppose. I feel pretty sure in conservative homes; the broadcast of such ads. . . is vulgar, obscene, or pornographic (kiss).
As in too many ultra-conservative homes, everything that doesn't align with their ideology is Anatha.
Rigidity is not a good look.
Is this an ad for HIV meds? Surprisingly, I've seen that same ad in Arkansas. I wonder how long Suckabee will allow it?
Yes, (they) are!
I bet it does grate on Huckabee-Sanders who wants to cover it up and pretend they don't exist.
Remember when they could not show a toilet on tv?
Censors everywhere looking for Commie inuendo?
But Saturday morning cartoons were chock full of adult humor
and double entendre....
Now we got bears shaking their heinies to show us how clean they are
To be honest, I have a 'hard time' listening to a Lume Deodorant ad (she says: "butt crack"). And then there is this:
Good illustrative pic choice, a Donkey being sodomised by an Ass.
I never saw it like that...until now
Used to date a porn starlet. It got old real fast.
maybe she needed a video camera in the room...
Sigh..... I haven't used pornography in a LONG time to get off.... hubby works just fine... BUTT I would never deprive others of theirs (NOT TALKING CHILD PORN - anything that uses & abuses children in such a way is a rack offense in my opinion).
The Genesis of porn:
Everyone likes porn. People who say they dont are mistaken. It is voyeurism.
I don't like pornography. Never have.
But to each their own as far as I'm concerned.
Speak for yourself. I've seen some, doesn't appeal to me.
It has its uses
lol
I was sorta kinda facetious but I can see it having its uses for people who have problems in their sex lives and seeing a sex therapist
meh, I don't want to watch it, I want to make it...
I wondered when you would show up. Now all we need is Al and Cobalt and this might be the 2023 version of the innuendo seed
Be in it or be the director, producer, camera man????
All 3 plus the star
Busy man, he be....
Had serious sex with a teen porn star back in the day. (I was also 16).
Back in the day. . . Traci Lord? She got famous for her youthful looks and then it was discovered that she was too young to be making films. The films had to be pulled off shelves and not all distributors, store owners, wanted to remove them from stock! AGENTS GALORE (raids).
Al is here, at your cervix.
my cell phone has video stabilizer and panoramic modes, so I can do all 4. at my age, it might be a few days between takes tho...
I remember that. Oops they didn't card her.
Spent a few years as a bouncer in a couple of titty bars.
Funny how one gets immune to tits after awhile.
She used fake ID.
Looking forward to that! Invite their comments. They are always dripping with sexuality!
I had something but thought better of it
oh just blurt it out...
I forgot already. I think it had something to do with a fluffer
Nasty Boy Productions .
She sure did. Boy, and those videos stayed around 'forever.' Became something of a freedom of speech issue for adult stores.
The tapes were seized in my area.
I got a copy from a vice cop.
Traci Lords was a "gifted" actress.
She certainly did NOT look underage.
Those tapes were seized but the copies percolated throughout the 'system' in the early nineties. She did not 'look' her age, because she was really very photogenic and a producer's dream star. She 'devoured' established men like: John Holmes.
After being exposed as too young for porn, it turns out outside of porn - Traci Lord can really act (with clothes on and a proper script)!
The tapes were seized in my community to prevent them from "percolating".
Butt, in this case, the tapes were distributed anyway by vice cops. It's like when the narcs seize drugs butt then they sell them on the streets. The cops don't always keep things off the streets.
BTW, when I first saw the film I thought another actress must be the one who was underage. Tracy Lords did not appear to be underage.
Agreed. I actually saw one of her tapes back then, before it was taken 'out.' She was quite the. . .adult. Seeing that she skyrocketed to the top of porn to be 'graced' with working with John Holmes-'everybody' mistook her for being older than she was.
Made it! Better fellate than never.
I'm so glad you came.
Better fellate
Holy crap!
It gets better?
Yeah, I remember being very excited when you invited me to dinner and a movie only to find out you meant mutual oral sex while videoing it.
details, details... so was I lying? no. videography is a hobby, live streaming is a business...
You don't have to do LIVE streaming. That would require a HUGE amount of stamina.
However, you can establish a website with the recordings you can make.
Butt, although it may be available, don't apply for a grant from the Small Business Administration.
That would not sound good for a porn site.
You may be able to carve out a porn niche. I don't think there's much "Geezer porn" online (GILFs for example).
You could offer the porn for free and make money by linking to ED meds, lubes and "toys".
And, no, I'm not going to cum out of retirement.
geezer porn sounds very unappealing...
Did Al just call you a geezer?
pffft, I've been called a lot worse. I was married for 26 years...
I was hoping it would sound humorous.
... it was humorous. no offense taken...
doesn't building code require every front door to have an address posted?
The first time I watched "porn" at a bachelor party the film was black and white and the "actors and actresses"
wore sunglasses and socks to hide their identities I guess?
Lots of kissing and flirting and pretending with no genitalia in sight.
"Anti-climatic porn?'
That's some fucking oxymoronic shit.
You know, kissing is something everyone loves (or used to love doing). . . but as Bill Maher ("Real Time with Bill Maher") puts it. . . what is with all the spitting in each other's mouths? Its a chemical reaction, but is it bonding?
There is 'nasty' and then there is NASTY!
Once knew a lady that could make me pass out with her kisses. Her tongue was ................
Gasp!
Kissing, I have found, is dizzyingly sensual. At 81, that is one thing that I miss. Standing up is another.
It's all those messy mouth chemicals mixing and bathing together into a wash that flows back and forth . . . it all reminds me of a Wildebeest licking baby wildebeest's 'hiney' to stimulate production.
I saw a lesbian flick. It started with the usual cunnilingus and progressed to a rim job.
The "actresses" seemed to be extremely turned on by the anal stimulation.
Personally, I think it stinks.
Consider using copious amounts of soap and water. Remember back in the day when hot soapy water was all we needed to get busy ? Nowadays, the youth can:
Lume Deodorant that stink away!
and why not just Pooph it?
Pooph Odor Eliminator , Dismantles Odors on a Molecular Basis, Urine, Poop, Pee. It's safe for humans!
Thanx for the valuable information.
I don't plan to rim anyone butt, apparently, some people enjoy that shit.
I see what you did there!
Did you smell it too?
Now how would that even be possible? Do explain.
You seem to have a fertile imagination.
Shit is fertilizer.
Yep.
Kissing may be "pornographic" depending upon the location of the kissing.
My favorite location is in the back seat of my Caddy.
What is pornographic to some, is a pleasure to others. To each his own, to have and hold. Touching, sensitive, delicate massages are relaxing, stimulating, and deliciously sensual.
Lots of porn starts with massage and ends with hard core.
Is "girl on girl" pornographic? I enjoy lesbian porn.
How about "girl on girl on midget". OMG, I used the dreaded "M-word."
How about "girl on girl on goat"? (Let's assume it's a consenting goat.)
Porn is whatever turns you on. And since it feels good to be turned on, porn is a good thing.
I don't watch BDSM.
IMO, sex and pain are opposites.
Sick, disturbing, and potentially psychotic behavior. Not recommended during Church services.
Pinhead is the definition of a 'hot' mess, for sure.
Pinhead defines how to keep one's face in place after cuts and scars! Okay, choose: Obscenity or Pornography?
Bill O'Reilly is definitely an obscenity.
Pinhead. Obscene or Porn?
Pinhead is comedy.
I'm thinking people who make BD porn videos are strapped for cash.
Yep.
Sometimes they get strapped twice.
First they get strapped for the "bondage" part of the show.
Then they get strapped for the "discipline" and "sadomasochism" climax.
IMO, sex should be about pleasure not pain.
Here's Ron W. strapping up for his spanking:
addicted to meat's secret boyfriend...
So a guy with no arms goes to a whorehouse.
The Madame answers the door and looks at the poor man.
She asks, "Well, what do you want."
He answers, "I'd like to see one of the girls."
The Madame says, "Look at yourself. You don't have any arms. What are you gonna do?"
The guy says, "I rang the fucking door bell, didn't I?"
No wonder I've never been to Idaho.
I think it means "Mormon" -styled sex videos?
mormon sex is doing it while wearing geezus jammies.
That is standing on one's head while berating another for their religious beliefs, common in Evangelical circles, or so I am advised by one of me "dirty, low down, filthy sauces" (Re-Puritans).
Don't make me google hentai at work
cartoon porn...
thanks
why don't they just call it that?
Not all of it is.
try googling team america sex scene for some marionette porn...
I think I've seen that
I laughed my ass off the first time I saw it...
I like to refer to it as "magic underwear."
Hentai usually depicts gigantic genitals (and boobs).
I wonder, are the Japanese artists are compensating for something?
I am totally in favor of porn (except kiddie porn and snuff films).
There are various genres that I don't watch because I believe in self censorship.
Almost everything is available on the Internet for free.
For example, Xvideos.com has tons of porn for free.
I've made tons of money selling washable cum protectors for keyboards and monitors.
Just go to
The thought of those & kiddie porn make me seriously ill.
It may be amusing to see who gets "sucked in" to this subject.
Well, I do not have a hangup (though I don't have sexual relations). I read and research 'everything,' because in the scheme of life - it's all Good (to know).
This is rather apropo, literally. I am watching Netflix: "Money Shot: The PORNHUB STORY" yesterday and today (repeat for posting) and its relatively new content on the site just as this article is 'breaking.'
Netflix has certainly stretched the line where they have produced movies and series for their own streaming services.
I started watching one about the White House "Designated Survivor"?
Could not get enough initially and wondered why it was canceled until I saw the last season...
Really? What occurred in "Designated Survivor" (without giving away too much)? I might check it out! In fact, on the strength of your statement, I have 'dailed in' the series just now. First episode beginning. . . Kiefer Sutherland is up.
I am enjoying this Designated Survivor series. Who knew a sitting president faced with a calamity had so much time to play Agatha Christie in solving state mysteries!
Your mother and I are so ashamed of you!
they're too busy watching porn...
I was recently watching New Girl on Netflix as Jessica orders room service.
Now that's some kinky shit butt it's kinda gay.
CAUTION:
Watching pornography may increase your desire for real sex.
That's why it's a good thing for fucking couples.
Incels get busted by their moms. "Andrew Tate! Are you watching porn again, young man?! Get out of the basement and into your room so you can think long and hard about your sins!"
Incels are an online group of pathetic guys who cannot attract women to engage with sexually.
They are "involuntary celibate" and often suicidal.
They desperately need porn because masturbation is the only sex available to them.
What's nuts is that they hate women because they can't get laid.
I suppose they can hire prostitutes or get "massages".
They will marry the first woman who is willing to fuck them.
uh....That's not fair!
As I recall, you were a terribly naughty girl when I first got here.
"Totally innocent" probably hasn't described you since third grade.
Pornography can have a profound impact on some people.
Sex in the shower is good clean fun.
Not to mention that it saves water.
It sounds like a schizophrenic homosexual religious experience.
Sorta like going to a church youth group summer camp.
Actually, the girls at my church camp loved sex.
The only problem was the loud moaning and the mosquitoes.
when I was 14/15 I had a summer job as a dishwasher at a dude ranch up in the mountains behind boulder colorado. they hosted a few religious retreats for teens while I worked there. apparently drug and liquor fueled orgies were a way for them to become closer to god.
... humping for the greater glory.
Do they take advantage of the "loophole" or the "glory hole"?
FYI - the youngest girls in the vegas strip clubs with the straightest and whitest teeth are all mormons.
That is even moreso true of male strippers and street hustlers...
I'm afraid I'm a few decades past locating a woman that would be open to me humping all of her sisters too.
A couple of years ago I built an extension on my existing deck and added a high tech Jacuzzi. I even added a translucent dome for privacy. There is also a shower stocked with various antibacterial body washes. I though it would be a great place to have sex. I was wrong. A couple of women complained that the hot water actually removed their natural lubrication and it was actually an uncomfortable venue for sex.
I decided to fill the Jacuzzi with a water based lube, so, I bought a six-pack of lube.
Each drum of lube has its own pump included. I was able to modify the six pumps to improve the circulation in the Jacuzzi. I even designed a special filtration system using a tankless water heater that completely cleans the lube as it circulates. It provides the perfect environment for good clean fun.
The Jacuzzi has become fucking heaven ! It is the slipperiest place in the fucking world.
Had a Jacuzzi in Denver. The colder it was outside, the better it felt inside.
Wink, wink. Nudge, nudge!
there was a place in east denver that you could rent time in a hot tub...
a friend of mine ended up getting divorced after a bet with a cocktail waitress over how long she could hold her breath...
go figure...
a lot of porn sucks, if done correctly...