Portal:Erotica and pornography

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Welcome to the Erotica and Pornography Portal

Before the Deluge by Cornelis van Haarlem, 1615

Introduction

P:XXX

Pornography (colloquially known as porn or porno) has been defined as sexual subject material "such as a picture, video, or text" that is intended for sexual arousal. Made for the consumption by adults, pornography depictions have evolved from cave paintings, some forty millennia ago, to virtual reality presentations. A general distinction of adult content is made classifying it as pornography or erotica.

The oldest artifacts considered pornographic were discovered in Germany in 2008 CE and are dated to be at least 35,000 years old. Throughout the history of erotic depictions, various people made attempts to suppress them under obscenity laws, censor, or make them illegal. Such grounds and even the definition of pornography have differed in various historical, cultural, and national contexts. The Indian Sanskrit text Kama Sutra (3rd century CE) contained prose, poetry, and illustrations regarding sexual behavior, and the book was celebrated; while the British English text Fanny Hill (1748), considered "the first original English prose pornography," has been one of the most prosecuted and banned books. In the late 19th century, a film by Thomas Edison that depicted a kiss was denounced as obscene in the United States, whereas Eugène Pirou's 1896 film Bedtime for the Bride was received very favorably in France. Starting from the mid-twentieth century on, societal attitudes towards sexuality became more lenient in the Western world where legal definitions of obscenity were made limited. In 1969, Blue Movie became the first film to depict unsimulated sex that received a wide theatrical release in the United States. This was followed by the "Golden Age of Porn" (1969–1984). The introduction of home video and the World Wide Web in the late 20th century led to global growth in the pornography business. Beginning in the 21st century, greater access to the Internet and affordable smartphones made pornography more mainstream. (Full article...)

Erotica is literature or art that deals substantively with subject matter that is erotic, sexually stimulating or sexually arousing. Some critics regard pornography as a type of erotica, but many consider it to be different. Erotic art may use any artistic form to depict erotic content, including painting, sculpture, drama, film or music. Erotic literature and erotic photography have become genres in their own right. Erotica also exists in a number of subgenres including gay, lesbian, women's, bondage, monster and tentacle erotica.

The term erotica is derived from the feminine form of the ancient Greek adjective: ἐρωτικός (erōtikós), from ἔρως (érōs)—words used to indicate lust, and sexual love. (Full article...)

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Selected article

Pornography has existed since the origins of the United States, and has become more readily accessible in the 21st century. Advanced by technological development, it has gone from a hard-to-find "back alley" item, beginning in 1969 with Blue Movie by Andy Warhol, the Golden Age of Porn (1969–1984) and home video, to being more available in the country and later, starting in the 1990s, readily accessible to nearly anyone with a computer or other device connected to the Internet. The U.S. has no current plans to block explicit content from children and adolescents, as many other countries have planned or proceeded to do.

Attempts made to suppress it include: outright bans, prohibitions of its sale, censorship or rating schemes that restrict audience numbers, and claims that it is prostitution and thereby subject to regulations governing prostitution. Legal decisions affecting production and consumption of pornography include those relating to its definition, its relationship with prostitution, the definition of obscenity, rulings about personal possession of pornography, and its standing in relation to freedom of expression rights.

American advocates for pornography often cite the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech; however, under the Miller test established by Miller v. California, anything lacking "serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value" is generally not protected. Several studies have found that the United States has been the largest producer of pornography. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

Selected work of erotic literature

Title page from 1906

Josephine Mutzenbacher or The Story of a Viennese Whore, as Told by Herself (German: Josefine Mutzenbacher oder Die Geschichte einer Wienerischen Dirne von ihr selbst erzählt) is an erotic novel first published anonymously in Vienna, Austria, in 1906. The novel is famous in the German-speaking world, having been in print in both German and English for over 100 years and sold over 3 million copies, becoming an erotic bestseller.

Although no author claimed responsibility for the work, it was originally attributed to either Felix Salten or Arthur Schnitzler by the librarians at the University of Vienna. Today, critics, scholars, academics and the Austrian Government designate Salten as the sole author of the "pornographic classic". In 2022, a stylometric analysis showed that Felix Salten is the most probable author of the novel, the final pages excluded.

The original novel uses the specific local dialect of Vienna of that time in dialogues and is therefore used as a rare source of this dialect for linguists. It also describes, to some extent, the social and economic conditions of the lower class of that time. The novel has been translated into English, Swedish, Finnish, French, Spanish, Italian, Hungarian, Hebrew, Dutch, and Japanese among others, and been the subject of numerous films, theater productions, parodies, and university courses, as well as two sequels. (Full article...)

List of selected works
The Autobiography of a Flea Fifty Shades of Grey Story of the Eye Story of O Fanny Hill Jin Ping Mei Ada or Ardor: A Family Chronicle Lady Chatterley's Lover The Songs of Bilitis The 120 Days of Sodom Kama Sutra Lolita Tropic of Cancer (novel) Tijuana bible Emmanuelle (novel) Sex (book)

Slideshow of selected contemporary images

Image 1Sculpture of Marilyn Monroe in Haugesund harbour, Norway

Image 1Sculpture of Marilyn Monroe in Haugesund harbour, Norway
Image 2Rocco Siffredi
Image 3Cindy Margolis
Image 4Jessie Andrews
Image 5Figure 12 in Zillmann, Dolf: "Effects of Prolonged Consumption of Pornography", included in the Report of the Surgeon General's Workshop on Pornography and Public Health, United States Public Health Service, Office of the Surgeon General, August 4, 1986
Image 6Silvia Saint, wearing a Bomis tee-shirt (a site previously run by Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia).
Image 7Dean Flynn and Chi Chi LaRue
Image 8Transsexual pornographic actress Erica Andrews
Image 9Playboy Playmate Alison Waite
Image 10Pornographic actress and cosplayer Tanya Tate as She-Ra
Image 11Michael Lucas, Nonie, Rafael Alencar, David Shankbone, and Ernesta Alamirano in Fire Island Pines
Image 12Shy Love at AVN Adult Entertainment Expo 2012
Image 13Sean Michaels - pornographic actor.
Image 14Carmen Luvana, Adult Entertainment Expo 2008
Image 15Daisy Marie posing with a fan at the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo 2008
Image 16Example of Erotic photography
Image 17Playmate of the_Year Corinna Harney
Image 18Penthouse Pet Dani Daniels, wearing Penthouse key necklace
Image 19Michele_Merkin - Glamour photography
Image 20Playmate of the Year and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals spokesperson Pamela Anderson, signing DVDs at the USS Halsey
Image 21World map showing laws of general pornography
Image 22Erotic actress and public health advocate Sharon Mitchell.
Image 23Hentai style of art, originally from Japan
Image 24Audrey Hollander - American porn star
Image 25Pornographic DVDs, Japan, "Kawaii" section
Image 26The COLT Studio Group, San Francisco
Image 27Bondage pornography, showing classic "wrist to ankle" rope hogtie. Other bondage methods depicted are breast bondage, elbow bondage, head to ankle tie, knees tied, and a crotch rope. Model is also wearing a muzzle gag.
Image 28Hentai Manga, Japan
Image 29Playmate of the Year Sara Jean Underwood
Image 30Hugh Hefner with Karissa Shannon, Dasha Astafieva, and Kristina Shannon
Image 31American pornographic actor Ron Jeremy. One of top Porn Stars of All Time.
Image 32Valentina Nappi at the AVN Awards Show, Las Vegas, Nevada on 21 January 2017
Image 33Xaviera Hollander, author and former Sex worker
Image 34Swedish/Tanzanian Playmate of the Year Ida Ljungqvist
Image 35Pornographic actor and director Miles Long (submitted by self)
Image 36Louise Glover
Image 37Playmate of the Year Claire Sinclair
Image 38Jenna Jameson
Image 39Joanna Jet - transsexual pornographic actress and director
Image 40Dana DeArmond
Image 41Rebeca Linares at AVN Adult Entertainment Expo 2009
Image 42Francois Sagat, Folsom Street Fair
Image 43Pornographic film set. Pictured from left to right: Cali Chase, Mikey Butders, and a photographer identified as "Nicole."
Image 44Raylene
Image 45Katsuni - French pornographic actress.
Image 46A Fluffer hands gay porn performers Jake Starr (seated) and Erik Grant (lying) items needed for a scene in the 2008 Lucas Entertainment production Pounding the Pavement.
Image 47Tila Tequila
Image 48Lupe Fuentes
Image 49Karen McDougal
Image 50Pierre Woodman filming in Australia
Image 51Lisa Ann

Slideshow of selected historical images

Image 1The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife, an erotic woodcut made circa 1820 by Hokusai.
Image 2Shunga, Japan (ca 1750)
Image 3Lakshmana Temple, Khajuraho, India, taken by User:Ggia
Image 4The Venus of Willendorf prehistoric sculpture
Image 5Silenus and maenad. Tondo of an Attic red-figure kylix, ca. 480 BC. From Vulci, ancient Greece
Image 6Miniature from 15th century Persian book
Image 7Roman oil lamp portraying intercourse
Image 8Nights of Horror, panel by Joe Shuster (public domain)
Image 9Kama Sutra illustration (19th century?)
Image 10Illustration from La Grande Danse macabre des vifs, Martin van Maële (1905)
Image 11Erotic scene. Rim of an Attic red-figure kylix, c. 510 BC., ancient Greece
Image 12Lakshmana Temple, Khajuraho
Image 13Nineteenth century nude photograph.
Image 14Hadrian engaging in anal sex with Antinous in Egypt, portrayed by Édouard-Henri Avril.
Image 15A rape scene by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (ca.1797-1861).
Image 16Classical Greek Bas Relief showing "Cowgirl" position
Image 17Hokusai, Untamed Lion, From the series Picture Book Patterns of Couples (Ehon tsui no hinagata), c. 1812
Image 18Erotic art, 18th century India
Image 19Hokusai, Untitled (Plate No. 4) From the series Picture Book Patterns of Couples (Ehon tsui no hinagata), c. 1812
Image 20Erotic detail from the Vishwanath temple at the Khajuraho Group of Monuments
Image 21Cunnilingus portrayed at Pompeii - Source: John R. Clarke: Ars Erotica. Darmstadt: Primus 2009
Image 22Katsushika Hokusai, "The Adonis Plant (Fukujusô)" Woodblock, ca. 1815, Japan Shunga
Image 23Illustration from Juliette by the Marquis de Sade.
Image 24Erotic art, India, 18th century
Image 25Kama Sutra illustration (19th century?)
Image 26Traditional pederastic courtship scene on an Athenian black-figure amphora from the 5th century B.C.
Image 27Kama Sutra illustration (19th century?)
Image 28Johann Nepomuk Geiger, watercolor, 1840
Image 29Two Lovers, by Reza Abbasi.
Image 30A Mercury Priapus figure from Pompeii, ancient Rome
Image 31Indian Princess, by Richard Borrmeister [de] (1888?)
Image 32Erotic engraving supposedly after Agostino Carracci (1557–1602)

Did you know (auto-generated) - load new batch

... that the 1980s were the "age of hole-discovery" in yaoi erotica?
... that Aroha Bridge changed its name from Hook Ups because fans searching for the show often found pornography instead?
... that Claudia Riner was falsely accused of distributing lesbian erotica in the Kentucky House of Representatives?
... that Christian radio station KIXL near Austin, Texas, pulled an anti-pornography program off-air in mid-transmission because of its graphic descriptions of gay sex?
... that before being restored as a Broadway theater, the Ritz Theatre was used as a television studio, pornographic theater, vaudeville house, children's theater, and poster warehouse?
... that John Wayne Bobbitt Uncut was the bestselling pornographic film of 1994 and had the most rentals that year in the United States?
... that some viewers of an Arizona TV station saw hardcore pornography instead of the Super Bowl?
... that Koh Masaki was one of the first gay pornographic film actors in Japan to openly appear in adult films without obscuring his identity?