Portal:Erotica and pornography

Fernande (1910–1917) French postcard by Jean Agélou

Pornography (colloquially known as porn or porno) has been defined as sexual subject material "such as a picture, video, or text," that is considered sexually arousing. Indicated for the consumption by adults, pornography depictions have evolved from cave paintings, some forty millennia ago, to virtual reality presentations in modern-day. Pornography use is considered a widespread recreational activity among people in-line with other digitally mediated activities such as use of social media or video games. A distinction is often made regarding adult content as whether to classify it as pornography or erotica.

The oldest artifacts that are 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 have regarded them as noxious and 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. Starting 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.

Curiosa are curiosities or rarities, especially unusual or erotic books. In the antiquarian book trade, pornographic works are often listed under "curiosa", "erotica" or "facetiae". (Full article...)

• ... 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 according to Naraporn Chan-o-cha, the wife of the current prime minister of Thailand, Prayut Chan-o-cha, she is responsible for his clothes, make-up, and haircut?
• ... that Money Shot: The Pornhub Story was described by multiple reviewers as unsalacious?
• ... that the founder of the pornography zine S.T.H. once joked that it was "the only gay-sex magazine funded by the U.S. government"?
• ... that according to one source, The Embroidered Couch is "most likely China's earliest vernacular pornographic novel"?
• ... 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 the 1983 pink film Beautiful Mystery was one of the earliest commercially produced gay pornographic films in Japan?
• ... that a pornographic video service once offered NFL quarterback Gardner Minshew a one-million-dollar endorsement deal based on his habit of exercising in nothing but a jockstrap?

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