189-620: Pornography (colloquially known as porn or porno ) is sexual subject material such as a picture, video, text, or audio that is intended for sexual arousal . Made for consumption by adults, pornographic depictions have evolved from cave paintings , some forty millennia ago, to modern virtual reality presentations. A general distinction of adults-only sexual content is made-classifying it as pornography or erotica . The oldest artifacts considered pornographic were discovered in Germany in 2008 and are dated to be at least 35,000 years old. Throughout
378-438: A means to an end , to increase emotional connection , and to alleviate insecurity . Most people engage in sexual activity because of pleasure they derive from the arousal of their sexuality , especially if they can achieve orgasm . Sexual arousal can also be experienced from foreplay and flirting, and from fetish or BDSM activities, or other erotic activities . Most commonly, people engage in sexual activity because of
567-508: A striptease . Pirou's film inspired a genre of risqué French films that showed women disrobing, and other filmmakers realized profits could be made from such films. Sexually explicit films opened producers and distributors to be liable for prosecution. Such films were produced illicitly by amateurs, starting in the 1920s, primarily in France and the United States. Processing the film was risky as
756-494: A child or adolescent is sometimes referred to as the sexualization of the child, and may be considered a milestone or a change of status, as the loss of virginity or innocence. Youth are legally free to have intercourse after they reach the age of consent . A 1999 survey of students indicated that approximately 40% of ninth graders across the United States report having had sexual intercourse. This figure rises with each grade. Males are more sexually active than females at each of
945-455: A connection, and nearly half of Americans and people in several other countries used the Internet on a regular basis. However throughout the 1990s, "getting online" entailed complicated configuration, and dial-up was the only connection type affordable by individual users; the present day mass Internet culture was not possible. In 1989, about 15% of all households in the United States owned
1134-463: A contest that eventually got labeled as the " Pubic Wars ". "We were the first to show full frontal nudity. The first to expose the clitoris completely. I think we made a very serious contribution to the liberalization of laws and attitudes. HBO would not have gone as far as it does if it was not for us breaking the barriers. Much that has happened now in the Western world with respect to sexual advances
1323-512: A dedicated home video game console according to an Entertainment Software Association annual industry report . By 2012, over 2 billion people used the Internet, twice the number using it in 2007. Cloud computing had entered the mainstream by the early 2010s. In January 2013, a majority of U.S. survey respondents reported owning a smartphone . By 2016, half of the world's population was connected and as of 2020, that number has risen to 67%. In
1512-618: A dense integrated circuit doubles approximately every two years. By the early 1980s, along with improvements in computing power , the proliferation of the smaller and less expensive personal computers allowed for immediate access to information and the ability to share and store it. Connectivity between computers within organizations enabled access to greater amounts of information. The world's technological capacity to store information grew from 2.6 (optimally compressed ) exabytes (EB) in 1986 to 15.8 EB in 1993; over 54.5 EB in 2000; and to 295 (optimally compressed) EB in 2007. This
1701-490: A given relationship – are known as switches . The precise definition of roles and self-identification is a common subject of debate within the community. In a 2013 study, researchers stated that BDSM is a sexual act where participants play role games, use restraint, use power exchange, use suppression and pain is sometimes involved depending on individual(s). The study serves to challenge the widespread notion that BDSM could be in some way linked to psychopathology . According to
1890-557: A god and a goddess), but they are more likely to be associated with Inanna , the Mesopotamian goddess of sex and sacred prostitution . Many sexually explicit images, including models of male and female sexual organs were found in the temple of Inanna at Assur . Depictions of sexual intercourse were not part of the general repertory of ancient Egyptian formal art, but rudimentary sketches of heterosexual intercourse have been found on pottery fragments and in graffiti. The final two thirds of
2079-548: A higher need for fulfillment. When this need was satisfied, they felt better about themselves. This was correlated with greater closeness to their partner and higher overall satisfaction in their relationship. Though both sexes engaged in sexual activity for self-determined reasons, there were some differences found between males and females. It was concluded that females had more motivation than males to engage in sexual activity for self-determined reasons. Females also had higher satisfaction and relationship quality than males did from
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#17328686834732268-485: A higher risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs); performers working for pornographic studios undergo regular testing for STIs unlike much of the general public. Comparative studies indicate higher tolerance and consumption of pornography among adults tends to be associated with their greater support for gender equality . Among feminist groups , some seek to abolish pornography believing it to be harmful, while others oppose censorship efforts insisting it
2457-460: A human brain has been estimated to lie between 10^15 and 10^17. While this number is impressive, even in 2007 humanity's general-purpose computers were capable of performing well over 10^18 instructions per second. Estimates suggest that the storage capacity of an individual human brain is about 10^12 bytes. On a per capita basis, this is matched by current digital storage (5x10^21 bytes per 7.2x10^9 people). Genetic code may also be considered part of
2646-517: A medium abound with porn became popular enough that in 1995 Time published a cover story titled "CYBERPORN" with the face of a shocked child as the cover photo. In the Reno v. ACLU (1997) ruling, the US Supreme Court upheld the legality of pornography distribution and consumption by adults over the Internet. The Court noted that government may not reduce the communication between adults to "only what
2835-401: A million and Penthouse about a hundred thousand, many magazines became online publications. As of 2005, the best-selling US adult magazines maintained greater reach compared to most other non-pornographic magazines, and often ranked among top-sellers. Modern-day pornography began to take shape from the mid-1980s when the first desktop computers and public computer networks were released. Since
3024-407: A need. The participants have remarked that they enjoy pleasing their partner in any way they can and many surveyed have felt that this is one of the best things about BDSM. It gives a submissive pleasure to do things in general for their Dominant while a Dominant enjoys making their encounters all about their submissive and enjoy doing things that makes their submissive happy. The findings indicate that
3213-409: A network of networks. The Whole Earth movement of the 1960s advocated the use of new technology. In the 1970s, the home computer was introduced, time-sharing computers , the video game console , the first coin-op video games, and the golden age of arcade video games began with Space Invaders . As digital technology proliferated, and the switch from analog to digital record keeping became
3402-527: A partner. It has been equated with journalism, as both offer a view into the unknown or the hidden aspects. Pornography use is considered a widespread recreational activity in-line with other digitally mediated activities such as use of social media or video games. Motivations for pornography use may include fantasy , habitual use, mood management , or as part of a relationship. People who regard porn as sex education material were identified as more likely not to use condoms in their own sex life , thereby assuming
3591-455: A personal computer. For households with children, nearly 30% owned a computer in 1989, and in 2000, 65% owned one. Cell phones became as ubiquitous as computers by the early 2000s, with movie theaters beginning to show ads telling people to silence their phones. They also became much more advanced than phones of the 1990s, most of which only took calls or at most allowed for the playing of simple games. Text messaging became widely used in
3780-441: A picture, video, text, or audio that is primarily intended to assist sexual arousal in the consumer, and is created and commercialized with "the consent of all persons involved". Arousal is considered the primary objective, the raison d'etre a material must fulfill for it to be treated as pornographic. As some people can feel aroused by an image that is not meant for sexual arousal and conversely cannot feel aroused by material that
3969-529: A pornographic photo is dated back to about 1846, described as to depict "a rather solemn man gingerly inserting his penis into the vagina of an equally solemn and middle-aged woman". At one point of time, it was more expensive to purchase an erotic photograph than to hire a prostitute. The Parisian demimonde included Napoleon III 's minister, Charles de Morny , an early patron who delighted in acquiring and displaying erotic photos at large gatherings. Pornographic film production commenced almost immediately after
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#17328686834734158-525: A pregnancy. To reduce the risk of unintended pregnancies, some people who engage in penile-vaginal sex may use contraception , such as birth control pills , a condom , diaphragms , spermicides , hormonal contraception or sterilization. The effectiveness of the various contraceptive methods in avoiding pregnancy varies considerably, and depends on the method rather than the user. Sexual activity that involves skin-to-skin contact, exposure to an infected person's bodily fluids or mucous membranes carries
4347-455: A profound sense of relaxation, especially in the postcoital period. From a biochemical perspective, sex causes the release of oxytocin and endorphins and boosts the immune system. People engage in sexual activity for any of a multitude of possible reasons. Although the primary evolutionary purpose of sexual activity is reproduction, research on college students suggested that people have sex for four general reasons: physical attraction , as
4536-438: A relationship but want to hide polygamous activity (possibly of opposite sexual orientation) from their partner, may solicit consensual sexual activity with others through personal contacts, online chat rooms , or, advertising in select media. Swinging involves singles or partners in a committed relationship engaging in sexual activities with others as a recreational or social activity. The increasing popularity of swinging
4725-634: A second-century CE treatise on the art of seduction and sensuality by the Roman poet Ovid ; the artifacts of the Moche people in Peru (100 CE to 800 CE); The Decameron , a collection of short stories, some of which are sexual in nature by the 14th-century Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio ; and the fifteenth-century Arabic sex manual The Perfumed Garden . A highly developed culture of visual erotica flourished in Japan during
4914-580: A separate publishing and bookselling business. Historians have identified the 18th century as an age of pornographic opulence. Written by anonymous authors, the titles: The Progress of Nature (1744); The History of the Human Heart: or, the Adventures of a Young Gentleman (1749), which had descriptions of female ejaculation ; and The Child of Nature (1774) have been noted as prominent pornographic fictional works from this period. The book Fanny Hill (1748),
5103-635: A sex act, it may be referred to as group sex . Autoerotic sexual activity can involve use of dildos , vibrators , butt plugs , and other sex toys , though these devices can also be used with a partner. Sexual activity can be classified into the gender and sexual orientation of the participants, as well as by the relationship of the participants. The relationships can be ones of marriage, intimate partners , casual sex partners or anonymous . Sexual activity can be regarded as conventional or as alternative , involving, for example, fetishism or BDSM activities. Fetishism can take many forms, including
5292-473: A sexual relationship when the participants have positive feelings associated with the relationship. These participants do not feel guilty or coerced into the partnership. Researchers have proposed the model of self-determined sexual motivation. The purpose of this model is to connect self-determination and sexual motivation. This model has helped to explain how people are sexually motivated when involved in self-determined dating relationships. This model also links
5481-399: A single MOS chip by the late 1960s. The application of MOS LSI chips to computing was the basis for the first microprocessors , as engineers began recognizing that a complete computer processor could be contained on a single MOS LSI chip. In 1968, Fairchild engineer Federico Faggin improved MOS technology with his development of the silicon-gate MOS chip, which he later used to develop
5670-401: A spiritual outlook as sexual arousal is believed to indicate the embodying of the divine. "pornography is sometimes characterised as the symptom of a degenerate society, but anyone even noddingly familiar with Greek vases or statues on ancient Hindu temples will know that so-called unnatural sex acts, orgies and all manner of complex liaisons have for millennia past been represented in art for
5859-403: A standard until the mid-2000s outside Japan. The World Wide Web became publicly accessible in 1991, which had been available only to government and universities. In 1993 Marc Andreessen and Eric Bina introduced Mosaic , the first web browser capable of displaying inline images and the basis for later browsers such as Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer. Stanford Federal Credit Union
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6048-678: A study, sexual experiences help teenagers understand pleasure and satisfaction. In relation to hedonic and eudaimonic well-being, it stated that teenagers can positively benefit from sexual activity. The cross-sectional study was conducted in 2008 and 2009 at a rural upstate New York community. Teenagers who had their first sexual experience at age 16 revealed a higher well-being than those who were sexually inexperienced or who became sexually active at age 17. Furthermore, teenagers who had their first sexual experience at age 15 or younger, or who had many sexual partners were not negatively affected and did not have associated lower well-being. Sexual activity
6237-525: A subsequent decline in the sale of DVDs and adult magazines. Starting in the 21st century, greater access to the Internet and affordable smartphones made pornography more accessible and culturally mainstream. The total number of pornographic websites in 2012 was estimated to be around 25 million comprising 12% of all the websites. About 75 percent of households in the US gained Internet access by 2012. Data from 2015 suggests an increase in pornography consumption over
6426-598: A time period now called the Golden Age of Porn . In 1979, the British Committee on Obscenity and Film Censorship better known as the Williams Committee, formed to review the laws concerning obscenity reported that pornography could not be harmful and to think anything else is to see pornography "out of proportion". The committee declared that existing variety of laws in the field should be scrapped and so long as it
6615-542: A trade association, the Free Speech Coalition ; a labor union, Adult Performer Advocacy Committee ; and award shows, XBIZ Awards and AVN Awards . From the mid-2010s, unscrupulous pornography such as deepfake pornography and revenge porn have become issues of concern. The word pornography is a conglomerate of two ancient Greek words: πόρνος ( pórnos ) "fornicators", and γράφειν ( gráphein ) "writing, recording, or description". In Greek language,
6804-458: A variety of ways, and may or may not express it in their behaviors. Research indicates that many gay men and lesbians want, and succeed in having, committed and durable relationships. For example, survey data indicate that between 40% and 60% of gay men and between 45% and 80% of lesbians are currently involved in a romantic relationship. It is possible for a person whose sexual identity is mainly heterosexual to engage in sexual acts with people of
6993-706: A wide variety of reasons. Sexual activity usually results in sexual arousal and physiological changes in the aroused person, some of which are pronounced while others are more subtle. Sexual activity may also include conduct and activities which are intended to arouse the sexual interest of another or enhance the sex life of another, such as strategies to find or attract partners ( courtship and display behaviour), or personal interactions between individuals (for instance, foreplay or BDSM ). Sexual activity may follow sexual arousal. Human sexual activity has sociological, cognitive, emotional , behavioural and biological aspects. It involves personal bonding , sharing emotions,
7182-524: A year; while in the next ten months fifteen people were arrested under this law. This was partly due to the efforts of Anthony Comstock , who became a major figure in 1872 and held great power to control sexual related activities of people including the choice of abortion. The Comstock Act of 1873 is the American equivalent of the English Obscene Act. The anti-obscenity bill, drafted by Anthony Comstock,
7371-455: Is an innately physiological function, but like other physical activity, it comes with risks. There are four main types of risks that may arise from sexual activity: unwanted pregnancy , contracting a sexually transmitted infection (STI), physical injury, and psychological injury. Any sexual activity that involves the introduction of semen into a woman's vagina, such as during sexual intercourse, or contact of semen with her vulva, may result in
7560-437: Is benign. A longitudinal study had ascertained that pornography use is not a predictive factor in intimate partner violence . Porn Studies , which began in 2014, is the first international peer-reviewed , academic journal dedicated to critical study of "products and services" deemed pornographic. Pornography is a major influencer of people's perception of sex in the digital age ; numerous pornographic websites rank among
7749-602: Is characterized by the potential for aesthetic attraction, romantic love , or sexual desire towards people without regard for their gender identity or biological sex . Some pansexuals suggest that they are gender-blind ; that gender and sex are insignificant or irrelevant in determining whether they will be sexually attracted to others. As defined in the Oxford English Dictionary , pansexuality "encompasses all kinds of sexuality; not limited or inhibited in sexual choice with regards to gender or practice". Although
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7938-577: Is clearly intended for arousal, the material that can be considered as pornography becomes subjective. Pornography is viewed by historians as a complex cultural formation. Depictions of a sexual nature existed since prehistoric times as seen in Venus figurines and rock art . People across various civilizations created works that depicted explicit sex; these include artifacts, music, poetry, and murals among other things that are often intertwined with religious and supernatural themes. The oldest artifacts, including
8127-503: Is considered "the first original English prose pornography, and the first pornography to use the form of the novel." An erotic literary work by John Cleland , Fanny Hill was first published in England as Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure . The novel has been one of the most prosecuted and banned books in history. The author John Cleland was charged for "corrupting the King's subjects." At around
8316-578: Is credited to Nathaniel Butter in a history of the Fleet newspaper industry. The modern word pornography entered the English language as the more familiar word in 1842 via French " pornographie ," from Greek " pornographos ". The term porn is an abbreviation of pornography. The related term πόρνη ( pórnē ) "prostitute" in Greek , originally meant "bought, purchased" similar to pernanai "to sell", from
8505-445: Is directly due to steps that we took." — Bob Guccione , Penthouse founder in 2004. The tussle between Playboy and Penthouse paled into obscurity when Larry Flynt started Hustler , which became the first magazine to publish labial "pink shots" in 1974. Hustler projected itself as the magazine for the working classes as opposed to the urban centered Playboy and Penthouse. During the same time in 1972, Helen Gurley Brown , editor of
8694-404: Is fit for children". With the introduction of broadband connections , much of the distribution networks of pornography moved online giving consumers anonymous access to a wide range of pornographic material. To have better control over their content on the Internet some professional pornographers maintain their own websites. Danni's Hard Drive started in 1995 by Danni Ashe is considered one of
8883-454: Is generally influenced by social rules that are culturally specific and vary widely. Sexual ethics, morals, and norms relate to issues including deception/honesty, legality, fidelity and consent. Some activities, known as sex crimes in some locations, are illegal in some jurisdictions, including those conducted between (or among) consenting and competent adults (examples include sodomy law and adult-adult incest ). Some people who are in
9072-515: Is more regulated than softcore porn. Softcore porn was popular between the 1970s and 1990s. Human sexual activity Human sexual activity , human sexual practice or human sexual behaviour is the manner in which humans experience and express their sexuality . People engage in a variety of sexual acts, ranging from activities done alone (e.g., masturbation ) to acts with another person (e.g., sexual intercourse , non-penetrative sex , oral sex , etc.) in varying patterns of frequency, for
9261-576: Is one of the strongest human drives. It is an innate feature of human nature, and may be related to the sex drive . The human mating process encompasses the social and cultural processes whereby one person may meet another to assess suitability, the courtship process and the process of forming an interpersonal relationship . Commonalities, however, can be found between humans and nonhuman animals in mating behavior. The physiological responses during sexual stimulation are fairly similar for both men and women and there are four phases. Sexual dysfunction
9450-477: Is part of the machine. It keeps you happy. It keeps you running." — Andy Warhol Film scholar Linda Williams remarked that prurience "is a key term in any discussion of moving-image sex since the sixties. Often it is the "interest" to which no one wants to own up". In 1968, the Motion Picture Association of America created a new film ratings system in which any film that was not approved by
9639-623: Is processed and transmitted. According to the United Nations Public Administration Network , the Information Age was formed by capitalizing on computer miniaturization advances, which led to modernized information systems and internet communications as the driving force of social evolution . There is ongoing debate concerning whether the Third Industrial Revolution has already ended and if
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#17328686834739828-562: Is prohibited from children, adults should be free to consume pornography as they see fit. The Meese Report in 1986 argued against loosening restrictions on pornography in the US. The report was criticized as biased, inaccurate, and not credible. In 1988, the Supreme Court of California ruled in the People v. Freeman case that "filming sexual activity for sale" does not amount to procuring or prostitution and shall be given protection under
10017-589: Is recognized, and promotion of equity between men and women is crucial for attaining sexual and reproductive health , as stated by the UN International Conference on Population and Development Program of Action: BDSM is a variety of erotic practices or roleplaying involving bondage , dominance and submission , sadomasochism , and other interpersonal dynamics. Given the wide range of practices, some of which may be engaged in by people who do not consider themselves as practicing BDSM, inclusion in
10206-522: Is regarded by some as arising from the upsurge in sexual activity during the sexual revolution of the 1960s. Some people engage in various sexual activities as a business transaction. When this involves having sex with, or performing certain actual sexual acts for another person in exchange for money or something of value, it is called prostitution. Other aspects of the adult industry include phone sex operators, strip clubs , and pornography. Social gender roles can influence sexual behavior as well as
10395-522: Is the inability to react emotionally or physically to sexual stimulation in a way projected of the average healthy person; it can affect different stages in the sexual response cycles, which are desire, excitement and orgasm. In the media, sexual dysfunction is often associated with men, but in actuality, it is more commonly observed in females (43 percent) than males (31 percent). Sexual activity can lower blood pressure and overall stress levels. It serves to release tension, elevate mood, and possibly create
10584-421: Is the informational equivalent to less than one 730- megabyte (MB) CD-ROM per person in 1986 (539 MB per person); roughly four CD-ROM per person in 1993; twelve CD-ROM per person in the year 2000; and almost sixty-one CD-ROM per person in 2007. It is estimated that the world's capacity to store information has reached 5 zettabytes in 2014, the informational equivalent of 4,500 stacks of printed books from
10773-511: The Cosmopolitan magazine, published a centerfold that featured actor Burt Reynolds in nude. His popular pose has been later emulated by many other famous people. The success of Cosmo led to the launch of Playgirl in 1973. At their peak, Playboy sold close to six million copies a month in the US, while Penthouse nearly five million. In the 2010s, as the market for printed versions of pornographic magazines declined, with Playboy selling about
10962-563: The Deltar for water management in the Netherlands, network analyzers for electrical systems, and various machines for aiming military guns and bombs. The construction of problem-specific analog computers continued in the late 1940s and beyond, with FERMIAC for neutron transport, Project Cyclone for various military applications, and the Phillips Machine for economic modeling. Building on
11151-590: The Fourth Industrial Revolution has already begun due to the recent breakthroughs in areas such as artificial intelligence and biotechnologies. This next transition has been theorized to harken the advent of the Imagination Age . The digital revolution converted technology from analog format to digital format. By doing this, it became possible to make copies that were identical to the original. In digital communications, for example, repeating hardware
11340-560: The French Revolution (1789–99). Apart from the sexual component, pornography became a popular medium for protest against the social and political norms of the time. Pornography during this period was used to explore the ideas of sexual freedom for women and men, the various methods of contraception, and to expose the offenses of powerful royals and elites. The working and lower classes in France produced pornographic material en masse with themes of impotency, incest, and orgies that ridiculed
11529-447: The Golden globes and Oscars , are the two prominent award shows of the adult entertainment industry. Free Speech Coalition (FSC) is a trade association and Adult Performer Advocacy Committee (APAC) is a labor union for the adult entertainment industry based in the US. The scholarly study of pornography notably in cultural studies is limited. Porn Studies , which began in 2014, is
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#173286868347311718-524: The Intel 4004 , the first single-chip microprocessor. It was released by Intel in 1971, and laid the foundations for the microcomputer revolution that began in the 1970s. MOS technology also led to the development of semiconductor image sensors suitable for digital cameras . The first such image sensor was the charge-coupled device , developed by Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith at Bell Labs in 1969, based on MOS capacitor technology. The public
11907-563: The Kinsey Institute , the average frequency of sexual intercourse in the US for individuals with partners is 112 times per year (age 18–29), 86 times per year (age 30–39), and 69 times per year (age 40–49). The rate of sexual activity has been declining in the 21st century, a phenomenon that has been described as a sex recession . The age at which adolescents become sexually active varies considerably between different cultures and times. (See Prevalence of virginity .) The first sexual act of
12096-563: The LEO being the first commercially available general-purpose computer. Digital communication became economical for widespread adoption after the invention of the personal computer in the 1970s. Claude Shannon , a Bell Labs mathematician, is credited for having laid out the foundations of digitalization in his pioneering 1948 article, A Mathematical Theory of Communication . In 1948, Bardeen and Brattain patented an insulated-gate transistor (IGFET) with an inversion layer. Their concept, forms
12285-593: The Netherlands became the first countries to completely transition from analog to digital television . In September 2007, a majority of U.S. survey respondents reported having broadband internet at home. According to estimates from the Nielsen Media Research , approximately 45.7 million U.S. households in 2006 (or approximately 40 percent of approximately 114.4 million) owned a dedicated home video game console , and by 2015, 51 percent of U.S. households owned
12474-467: The T-carrier for long-haul pulse-code modulation (PCM) digital voice transmission. The T1 format carried 24 pulse-code modulated, time-division multiplexed speech signals each encoded in 64 kbit/s streams, leaving 8 kbit/s of framing information which facilitated the synchronization and demultiplexing at the receiver. Over the subsequent decades the digitisation of voice became the norm for all but
12663-574: The Turin Erotic Papyrus (Papyrus 55001), an Egyptian papyrus scroll discovered at Deir el-Medina , consists of a series of twelve vignettes showing men and women in various sexual positions . The scroll was probably painted in the Ramesside period (1292–1075 BCE) and its high artistic quality indicates that it was produced for a wealthy audience. No other similar scrolls have yet been discovered. Archaeologist Nikolaos Stampolidis had noted that
12852-488: The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the right of an adult to possess obscene material in private. Subsequently, however, the Supreme Court rejected the claim that under Stanley there is a constitutional right to provide obscene material for private use or to acquire it for private use. The right to possess obscene material does not imply the right to provide or acquire it, because the right to possess it "reflects no more than ...
13041-577: The Venus of Hohle Fels , which is considered to be borderline pornographic, were discovered in 2008 CE at a cave near Stuttgart in Germany, radiocarbon dating suggests they are at least 35,000 years old, from the Aurignacian period. Vast number of artifacts discovered in ancient Mesopotamia region had explicit depictions of heterosexual sex. Glyptic art from the Sumerian Early Dynastic Period frequently showed scenes of frontal sex in
13230-471: The World Wide Web became popular with the introduction of Netscape navigator in 1994. This development led to newer methods of pornography distribution and consumption. The Internet turned out to be a popular source for pornography and was called the "Triple A-Engine" for offering consumers "anonymity, affordability, and accessibility", while driving the business of pornography. The notion of Internet being
13419-415: 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. Pornography has been vouched to provision a safe outlet for sexual desires that may not be satisfied within relationships and be a facilitator of sexual fulfillment in people who do not have
13608-482: The arithmometer and the enabling technology of the punch card . Charles Babbage proposed a mechanical general-purpose computer called the Analytical Engine , but it was never successfully built, and was largely forgotten by the 20th century and unknown to most of the inventors of modern computers. The Second Industrial Revolution in the last quarter of the 19th century developed useful electrical circuits and
13797-401: The digital technology that would follow decades later to replace analog microform with digital imaging , storage , and transmission media , whereby vast increases in the rapidity of information growth would be made possible through automated , potentially- lossless digital technologies. Accordingly, Moore's law , formulated around 1965, would calculate that the number of transistors in
13986-567: The earth to the sun . The amount of digital data stored appears to be growing approximately exponentially , reminiscent of Moore's law . As such, Kryder's law prescribes that the amount of storage space available appears to be growing approximately exponentially. The world's technological capacity to receive information through one-way broadcast networks was 432 exabytes of (optimally compressed ) information in 1986; 715 (optimally compressed) exabytes in 1993; 1.2 (optimally compressed) zettabytes in 2000; and 1.9 zettabytes in 2007,
14175-604: The first amendment . This ruling effectively legalized the production of X-rated adult content in the Los Angeles county , which by 2005 had emerged as the largest center in the world for the production of pornographic films. Pornographic films appeared throughout the twentieth century. First as stag films (1900–1940s), then as porn loops or short films for peep shows (1960s), followed by as feature films for theatrical release in adult movie theaters (1970s), and as home videos (1980s). Pornographic magazines published during
14364-399: 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
14553-476: The information revolution . Now that sequencing has been computerized, genome can be rendered and manipulated as data. This started with DNA sequencing , invented by Walter Gilbert and Allan Maxam in 1976-1977 and Frederick Sanger in 1977, grew steadily with the Human Genome Project , initially conceived by Gilbert and finally, the practical applications of sequencing, such as gene testing , after
14742-474: The journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution in 2016 reported that: Digital technology has vastly exceeded the cognitive capacity of any single human being and has done so a decade earlier than predicted. In terms of capacity, there are two measures of importance: the number of operations a system can perform and the amount of information that can be stored. The number of synaptic operations per second in
14931-660: The norms of certain societies or cultures. Two examples that are criminal offences in most jurisdictions are sexual assault and sexual activity with a person below the local age of consent . Sexual activity can be classified in a number of ways. The practices may be preceded by or consist solely of foreplay . Acts involving one person ( autoeroticism ) may include sexual fantasy or masturbation . If two people are involved, they may engage in vaginal sex, anal sex , oral sex or manual sex . Penetrative sex between two people may be described as sexual intercourse , but definitions vary. If there are more than two participants in
15120-403: The physiology of the reproductive system , sex drive , sexual intercourse, and sexual behaviour in all its forms. In some cultures, sexual activity is considered acceptable only within marriage , while premarital and extramarital sex are taboo . Some sexual activities are illegal either universally or in some countries or subnational jurisdictions, while some are considered contrary to
15309-419: The planar process developed by Jean Hoerni . In 1963, complementary MOS (CMOS) was developed by Chih-Tang Sah and Frank Wanlass at Fairchild Semiconductor . The self-aligned gate transistor, which further facilitated mass production, was invented in 1966 by Robert Bower at Hughes Aircraft and independently by Robert Kerwin, Donald Klein and John Sarace at Bell Labs. In 1962 AT&T deployed
15498-421: The proto-Indo-European root per- , "to hand over" — alluding to act of selling. The word pornography was originally used by classical scholars as "a bookish, and therefore inoffensive term for writing about prostitutes", but its meaning was quickly expanded to include all forms of "objectionable or obscene material in art and literature". In 1864, Webster's Dictionary published "a licentious painting" as
15687-466: The sexual desire generated by a person to whom they feel sexual attraction ; but they may engage in sexual activity for the physical satisfaction they achieve in the absence of attraction for another, as in the case of casual or social sex . At times, a person may engage in a sexual activity solely for the sexual pleasure of their partner, such as because of an obligation they may have to the partner or because of love, sympathy or pity they may feel for
15876-456: The telegraph . In the 1880s, Herman Hollerith developed electromechanical tabulating and calculating devices using punch cards and unit record equipment , which became widespread in business and government. Meanwhile, various analog computer systems used electrical, mechanical, or hydraulic systems to model problems and calculate answers. These included an 1872 tide-predicting machine , differential analysers , perpetual calendar machines,
16065-443: The top 50 most visited websites worldwide. Called an "erotic engine", pornography has been noted for its key role in the development of various communication and media processing technologies. For being an early adopter of innovations and as a provider of financial capital , the pornography industry has been cited to be a contributing factor in the adoption and popularization of media related technologies. The accurate economic size of
16254-514: The 18th century that the Japanese government began to issue official edicts against them. Even so, Japanese erotica flourished with the works of artists such as Suzuki Harunobu achieving worldwide fame. Japanese censorship laws enacted in 1870 made the production of erotic works difficult. The laws remained in effect until the end of the Pacific War in 1945; nevertheless, pornography flourished through
16443-405: The 1990s, the Internet has made pornography more accessible and culturally visible. Before the 90s, Usenet newsgroups served as the base for what has been called the "amateur revolution" where non-professionals from the late 1980s and early 1990s, with the help of digital cameras and the Internet, created and distributed their own pornographic content independent of mainstream networks. The use of
16632-528: The 1990s, the spread of the Internet caused a sudden leap in access to and ability to share information in businesses and homes globally. A computer that cost $ 3000 in 1997 would cost $ 2000 two years later and $ 1000 the following year, due to the rapid advancement of technology. The world's technological capacity to compute information with human-guided general-purpose computers grew from 3.0 × 10 MIPS in 1986, to 4.4 × 10 MIPS in 1993; to 2.9 × 10 MIPS in 2000; to 6.4 × 10 MIPS in 2007. An article featured in
16821-461: The BDSM community or subculture usually being dependent on self-identification and shared experience. BDSM communities generally welcome anyone with a non-normative streak who identifies with the community; this may include cross-dressers , extreme body modification enthusiasts, animal players , latex or rubber aficionados , and others. B/D (bondage and discipline) is a part of BDSM. Bondage includes
17010-509: The Comstock act. The laws regarding pornography have differed in various historical, cultural, and national contexts. The English Act did not apply to Scotland where the common law continued to apply. Before the English Act, publication of obscene material was treated as a common law misdemeanor, this made effectively prosecuting authors and publishers difficult even in cases where the material
17199-519: The Internet led to a decline in the production of AVs. Other forms of adult entertainment such as hentai , which refers to pornographic manga and anime , and erotic video games have become popular in recent decades. In Europe, the Italian Renaissance work from the 16th century - I Modi ( The Ways ) also known as The Sixteen Pleasures became famous for its engravings that explicitly depicted sex positions . The publication of this book
17388-583: The Scientific Age and the Industrial Age all, ultimately, induced discontinuous and irreversible changes in the economic, social and cultural elements of the daily life of most people. Traditionally, these epochs have taken place over hundreds, or in the case of the Neolithic Revolution, thousands of years, whereas the Information Age swept to all parts of the globe in just a few years, as a result of
17577-617: The Suppression of Vice . The act passed by the British Parliament in 1857 applied to the United Kingdom and Ireland . The act made the sale of obscene material a statutory offense, and gave the authorities the power to seize and destroy any material which they considered as obscene. For centuries before, sexually explicit material was considered a domain that is exclusive to aristocratic classes. When pornographic material flourished in
17766-516: The UK started his publication Penthouse , and published its first American issue in 1969 as a direct competitor to Playboy. In its early days, the images of naked women published in Playboy did not show any pubic hair or genitals. Penthouse became the first magazine to show pubic hair in 1970. Playboy followed the lead and there ensued a competition between the two magazines over publication of more racy pictures,
17955-404: The United States; their first survey showed that 8.2% of all U.S. households owned a personal computer in 1984, and that households with children under the age of 18 were nearly twice as likely to own one at 15.3% (middle and upper middle class households were the most likely to own one, at 22.9%). By 1989, 15% of all U.S. households owned a computer, and nearly 30% of households with children under
18144-578: The Victorian era that included fetish and taboo themes such as sadomasochism and 'cross-generational sex' are: My Secret Life (1888–1894) and Forbidden Fruit (1898). On accusations of obscenity many of these works had been outlawed until the 1960s. The world's first law that criminalized pornography was the English Obscene Publications Act 1857 , enacted at the urging of the Society for
18333-504: The Victorian-era England, the affluent classes believed they are sensible enough to deal with it, unlike the lower working classes whom they thought would get distracted by such material and cease to be productive. Beliefs that masturbation would make people ill, insane, or become blind also flourished. The obscenity act gave government officials the power to interfere in the private lives of people unlike any other law before. Some of
18522-454: The age of 18 owned one. By the late 1980s, many businesses were dependent on computers and digital technology. Motorola created the first mobile phone, Motorola DynaTac , in 1983. However, this device used analog communication - digital cell phones were not sold commercially until 1991 when the 2G network started to be opened in Finland to accommodate the unexpected demand for cell phones that
18711-426: The age, gender, marital status or other factors of the participants, or otherwise contrary to social norms or generally accepted sexual morals . In evolutionary psychology and behavioral ecology , human mating strategies are a set of behaviors used by individuals to attract, select, and retain mates . Mating strategies overlap with reproductive strategies, which encompass a broader set of behaviors involving
18900-471: The association was released with an "X" rating. When pornographers began to release their productions with the rating X, the association adopted NC-17 rating for adults only films, leaving the X rating to pornography. Later the invented gimmick rating "XXX" became a standard for pornographic material. In 1970, the United States President's Commission on Obscenity and Pornography , set up to study
19089-594: The authority of the Church-State, aristocrats, priests, monks, and other royalty. One of the most important authors of socially radical pornography was the French aristocrat Marquis de Sade (1740–1814), whose name helped derive the words "sadism" and "sadist". He advocated libertine sexuality and published writings that were critical of authorities, many of which contained pornographic content. His work Justine (1791) interlaced orgiastic scenes along with extensive debates on
19278-460: The autoerotic case due to the isolation and lack of assistance in the event of a problem. Sexual activity that is consensual is sexual activity in which both or all participants agree to take part and are of the age that they can consent. If sexual activity takes place under force or duress, it is considered rape or another form of sexual assault . In different cultures and countries, various sexual activities may be lawful or illegal in regards to
19467-470: The basis of CMOS and DRAM technology today. In 1957 at Bell Labs, Frosch and Derick were able to manufacture planar silicon dioxide transistors, later a team at Bell Labs demonstrated a working MOSFET. The first integrated circuit milestone was achieved by Jack Kilby in 1958. Other important technological developments included the invention of the monolithic integrated circuit chip by Robert Noyce at Fairchild Semiconductor in 1959, made possible by
19656-488: The complexity of the Z1 and Z2 , German inventor Konrad Zuse used electromechanical systems to complete in 1941 the Z3 , the world's first working programmable, fully automatic digital computer. Also during World War II, Allied engineers constructed electromechanical bombes to break German Enigma machine encoding. The base-10 electromechanical Harvard Mark I was completed in 1944, and
19845-523: The contraceptive pill and other highly effective forms of contraception in the mid- and late 20th century has increased people's ability to segregate these three functions, which still overlap a great deal and in complex patterns. For example: A fertile couple may have intercourse while using contraception to experience sexual pleasure (recreational) and also as a means of emotional intimacy (relational), thus deepening their bonding, making their relationship more stable and more capable of sustaining children in
20034-437: The definition of sexual practice, abstinent or autoerotic (including masturbation ). Additionally, different religious and political movements have tried to influence or control changes in sexual practices including courting and marriage, though in most countries changes occur at a slow rate. Homosexuality is the romantic or sexual attraction to the same sex. People with a homosexual orientation can express their sexuality in
20223-489: The desire for certain body parts ( partialism ) such as breasts , navels , or feet . The object of desire can be shoes , boots , lingerie , clothing , leather or rubber items. Some non-conventional autoerotic practices can be dangerous. These include autoerotic asphyxiation and self-bondage . The potential for injury or even death that exists while engaging in the partnered versions of these fetishes (choking and bondage , respectively) becomes drastically increased in
20412-822: The discovery by Myriad Genetics of the BRCA1 breast cancer gene mutation. Sequence data in Genbank has grown from the 606 genome sequences registered in December 1982 to the 231 million genomes in August 2021. An additional 13 trillion incomplete sequences are registered in the Whole Genome Shotgun submission database as of August 2021. The information contained in these registered sequences has doubled every 18 months. During rare times in human history, there have been periods of innovation that have transformed human life. The Neolithic Age ,
20601-698: The earliest online pornographic websites, coded by Ashe – a former stripper and nude model, the website was reported by CNN to had generated revenues of $ 6.5 million by 2000. According to some leading pornography providers on the Internet, customer subscription rates for a website would be about one in a thousand people who visit the site for a monthly fees averaging around $ 20. Ashe said in an interview that her website employs 45 people and she expects to earn $ 8 million in 2001 alone. The total number of pornographic websites in 2000 were estimated to be more than 60,000. The development of streaming sites, peer-to-peer file sharing (P2P) networks, and tube sites led to
20790-513: The early modern era. From at least the 17th century, erotic artworks became part of the mainstream social culture. Depictions of sexual intercourse were often presented on pictures that were meant to provide sex education for medical professionals, courtesans, and married couples. Makura-e (pillow pictures) were made for entertainment as well as for the guidance of married couples. The ninth-century Japanese art form " Shunga " that depicted sexual acts on woodblock prints and paintings became so popular by
20979-486: The effects of pornography, reported that there was "no evidence to date that exposure to explicit sexual materials plays a significant role in the causation of delinquent or criminal behavior among youths or adults". The report further recommended against placing any restriction on the access of pornography by adults and suggested that legislation "should not seek to interfere with the right of adults who wish to do so to read, obtain, or view explicit sexual materials". Regarding
21168-583: The expression of deleterious recessive mutations . The avoidance of inbreeding as a constraint on human sexual activity is apparent in the near universal cultural inhibitions in human societies of sexual activity between closely related individuals. Human outcrossing sexual activity provides the adaptive benefit of the masking of expression of deleterious recessive mutations. Alex Comfort and others propose three potential social aspects of sexual intercourse in humans, which are not mutually exclusive: reproductive, relational, and recreational. The development of
21357-446: The findings, one who participates in BDSM may have greater strength socially and mentally as well as greater independence than those who do not practice BDSM. It suggests that people who participate in BDSM play have higher subjective well-being, and that this might be due to the fact that BDSM play requires extensive communication. Before any act occurs, the partners must discuss their agreement of their relationship. They discuss how long
21546-463: The first country that legalized pornography, including child pornography , which was later prohibited in 1980. The 1969 legislation, instead of resulting in a decline in pornography production, led to an explosion of investment in, and commercial production of pornography in Denmark, which made the country's name synonymous with sex and pornography. The total retail turnover of pornography in Denmark for
21735-593: The first international peer-reviewed , academic journal that is exclusively dedicated to the critical study of the "products and services" identified to constitute pornography. Adult content is generally classified as either pornography or erotica . Considerations of distinctness between pornography and erotica is mostly subjective. Pornographic content is categorized as softcore or hardcore. Softcore pornography contains depictions of nudity but without explicit depiction of sexual activity. Hardcore pornography includes explicit depiction of sexual activity. Hardcore porn
21924-408: The following year. In 2002, a majority of U.S. survey respondents reported having a mobile phone . In late 2005 the population of the Internet reached 1 billion, and 3 billion people worldwide used cell phones by the end of the decade. HDTV became the standard television broadcasting format in many countries by the end of the decade. In September and December 2006 respectively, Luxembourg and
22113-420: The future (deferred reproductive). This same couple may emphasize different aspects of intercourse on different occasions, being playful during one episode of intercourse (recreational), experiencing deep emotional connection on another occasion (relational), and later, after discontinuing contraception, seeking to achieve pregnancy (reproductive, or more likely reproductive and relational). Human sexual activity
22302-454: The grade levels surveyed. Sexual activity of young adolescents differs in ethnicity as well. A higher percentage of African American and Hispanic adolescents are more sexually active than white adolescents. Research on sexual frequency has also been conducted solely on female adolescents who engage in sexual activity. Female adolescents tended to engage in more sexual activity due to positive mood. In female teenagers, engaging in sexual activity
22491-611: The groundwork for the advent of civilization. The Scientific Age began in the period between Galileo 's 1543 proof that the planets orbit the Sun and Newton 's publication of the laws of motion and gravity in Principia in 1697. This age of discovery continued through the 18th century, accelerated by widespread use of the moveable type printing press by Johannes Gutenberg . The Industrial Age began in Great Britain in 1760 and continued into
22680-600: The ills of property and traditional hierarchy in society. When large-scale archaeological excavations were undertaken in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii during the 18th century, much of the erotic art in Pompeii and Herculaneum came to light, shocking the authorities who endeavored to hide them away from the general public. In 1821, the moveable objects were locked away in the Secret Museum in Naples , and what could not be removed
22869-426: The information equivalent of 174 newspapers per person per day. The world's effective capacity to exchange information through two-way Telecommunications networks was 281 petabytes of (optimally compressed) information in 1986; 471 petabytes in 1993; 2.2 (optimally compressed) exabytes in 2000; and 65 (optimally compressed) exabytes in 2007, the information equivalent of six newspapers per person per day. In
23058-481: The invention of the motion picture in 1895. A pioneer of the motion picture camera, Thomas Edison , released various films, including The Kiss that were denounced as obscene in late 19th century America. Two of the earliest pioneers of pornographic films were Eugène Pirou and Albert Kirchner . Kirchner directed the earliest surviving pornographic film for Pirou under the trade name "Léar". The 1896 film, Le Coucher de la Mariée , showed Louise Willy performing
23247-440: The last mile (where analogue continued to be the norm right into the late 1990s). Following the development of MOS integrated circuit chips in the early 1960s, MOS chips reached higher transistor density and lower manufacturing costs than bipolar integrated circuits by 1964. MOS chips further increased in complexity at a rate predicted by Moore's law , leading to large-scale integration (LSI) with hundreds of transistors on
23436-700: The late 1980s, less than 1% of the world's technologically stored information was in digital format, while it was 94% in 2007, with more than 99% by 2014. It is estimated that the world's capacity to store information has increased from 2.6 (optimally compressed) exabytes in 1986, to some 5,000 exabytes in 2014 (5 zettabytes ). Library expansion was calculated in 1945 by Fremont Rider to double in capacity every 16 years where sufficient space made available. He advocated replacing bulky, decaying printed works with miniaturized microform analog photographs , which could be duplicated on-demand for library patrons and other institutions. Rider did not foresee, however,
23625-515: The late 1990s worldwide, except for in the United States of America where text messaging didn't become commonplace till the early 2000s. The digital revolution became truly global in this time as well - after revolutionizing society in the developed world in the 1990s, the digital revolution spread to the masses in the developing world in the 2000s. By 2000, a majority of U.S. households had at least one personal computer and internet access
23814-482: The law's 'solicitude to protect the privacies of the life within [the home]'". In 1969, Blue Movie by Andy Warhol became the first feature film to depict explicit sexual intercourse that received a wide public theatrical release in the United States. Blue Movie was real . But it wasn't done as pornography—it was done as an exercise, an experiment. But I really do think movies should arouse you, should get you excited about people, should be prurient. Prurience
24003-519: The main adaptive function of human sexual activity is reproduction, human sexual activity also includes the adaptive constraint of avoiding close inbreeding , since inbreeding can have deleterious effects on progeny. Charles Darwin, who was married to his first cousin Emma Wedgwood, considered that the ill health that plagued his family was a consequence of inbreeding. In general, inbreeding between individuals who are closely genetically related leads to
24192-508: The male genitalia and in 91 ways the female genitalia. Lysistrata (411 BCE) is a sex-war comedy play performed in ancient Greece . In India, Hinduism embraced an inquisitive attitude towards sex as an art and a spiritual ideal. Some ancient Hindu temples incorporated various aspects of sexuality into their art work. The temples at Khajuraho and Konark are particularly renowned for their sculptures, which had detailed representations of human sexual activity. These depictions were viewed with
24381-464: The meaning for pornography , and the Oxford English Dictionary : "obscene painting" (1842), "description of obscene matters, obscene publication" (1977 or earlier). Definitions for the term "pornography" are varied, with people from both pro- and anti-pornography groups defining it either favorably or unfavorably, thus making any definition very stipulative . Nevertheless, academic researchers have defined pornography as sexual subject material such as
24570-737: The meeting of the genitalia between same-sex partners – tribadism (generally vulva -to-vulva rubbing) and frot (generally penis -to-penis rubbing). People who have a romantic or sexual attraction to both sexes are referred to as bisexual. People who have a distinct but not exclusive preference for one sex/gender over the other may also identify themselves as bisexual. Like gay and lesbian individuals, bisexual people who pretend to be heterosexual are often referred to as being closeted . Pansexuality (also referred to as omnisexuality) may or may not be subsumed under bisexuality, with some sources stating that bisexuality encompasses sexual or romantic attraction to all gender identities . Pansexuality
24759-409: The mid-19th century. The invention of machines such as the mechanical textile weaver by Edmund Cartwrite, the rotating shaft steam engine by James Watt and the cotton gin by Eli Whitney , along with processes for mass manufacturing, came to serve the needs of a growing global population. The Industrial Age harnessed steam and waterpower to reduce the dependence on animal and human physical labor as
24948-472: The mid-20th century. It is characterized by a rapid shift from traditional industries, as established during the Industrial Revolution , to an economy centered on information technology . The onset of the Information Age has been linked to the development of the transistor in 1947 and the optical amplifier in 1957. These technological advances have had a significant impact on the way information
25137-547: The mid-twentieth century have been noted for playing an important role in the sexual revolution and the liberalization of laws and attitudes towards sexual representation in the Western world . Hugh Hefner , in 1953 published the first US issue of the Playboy , a magazine which as Hefner described is a "handbook for the urban male". The magazine contained images of nude women along with articles and interviews covering politics and culture. Twelve years later, in 1965, Bob Guccione in
25326-416: 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 by Andy Warhol 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
25515-491: The mid-twentieth century. Starting from 1957 to 1997, the US Supreme Court made numerous judgments that redefined obscenity. The nineteenth-century legislation eventually outlawed the publication, retail and trafficking of certain writings and images that were deemed pornographic. Although laws ordered the destruction of shop and warehouse stock meant for sale, the private possession and viewing of (some forms of) pornography
25704-506: The missionary position. In Mesopotamian votive plaques from the early second millennium ( c. 2000 – c. 1500 BCE ), a man is usually shown penetrating a woman from behind while she bends over drinking beer through a straw. Middle Assyrian lead votive figurines often portrayed a man standing and penetrating a woman as she rests on an altar. Scholars have traditionally interpreted all these depictions as scenes of hieros gamos (an ancient sacred marriage between
25893-589: The new standard in business, a relatively new job description was popularized, the data entry clerk . Culled from the ranks of secretaries and typists from earlier decades, the data entry clerk's job was to convert analog data (customer records, invoices, etc.) into digital data. In developed nations, computers achieved semi-ubiquity during the 1980s as they made their way into schools, homes, business, and industry. Automated teller machines , industrial robots , CGI in film and television, electronic music , bulletin board systems , and video games all fueled what became
26082-568: The notion that sexually explicit content is improper, the Commission found it "inappropriate to adjust the level of adult communication to that considered suitable for children". The Supreme Court supported this view. In 1971, Sweden removed its obscenity clause. Further relaxation of legislations during the early 1970s in the US, West Germany and other countries led to rise in pornography production. The 1970s had been described by Linda Williams as 'the "Classical" Era of Theatrically Exhibited Porn',
26271-621: The opposite sex. People who engage exclusively in same-sex sexual practices may not identify themselves as gay or lesbian. In sex-segregated environments, individuals may seek relationships with others of their own gender (known as situational homosexuality ). In other cases, some people may experiment or explore their sexuality with same (or different) sex sexual activity before defining their sexual identity . Despite stereotypes and common misconceptions, there are no forms of sexual acts exclusive to same-sex sexual behavior that cannot also be found in opposite-sex sexual behavior, except those involving
26460-635: The partner. A person may engage in sexual activity for purely monetary considerations, or to obtain some advantage from either the partner or the activity. A man and woman may engage in sexual intercourse with the objective of conception . Some people engage in hate sex which occurs between two people who strongly dislike or annoy each other. It is related to the idea that opposition between two people can heighten sexual tension , attraction and interest. Research has found that people also engage in sexual activity for reasons associated with self-determination theory . The self-determination theory can be applied to
26649-400: The passive, receiving, or obedient role are known as submissives or bottoms . These terms are sometimes shortened so that a dominant person may be referred to as a "Dom" (a woman may choose to use the feminine "Domme") and a submissive may be referred to as a "sub". Individuals who can change between Top/Dominant and bottom/submissive roles – whether from relationship to relationship or within
26838-403: The past few decades which is attributed to the growth of Internet pornography . Technological advancements such as digital cameras , laptops , smartphones, and Wi-Fi have democratized the production and consumption of pornography. Subscription-based service providers such as OnlyFans , founded in 2016, are becoming popular as the platforms for pornography trade in the digital era. Apart from
27027-406: The people suspected for masturbation were forced to wear chastity devices. "Cures" and "treatment" for masturbation involved such measures like giving electric shock and applying carbolic acid to the clitoris. The law was criticized for being established on still yet unproven claims that sexual material is noxious for people or public health. In 1865, the US postal service was seen as a "vehicle" for
27216-500: The play will last, the intensity, their actions, what each participant needs or desires, and what, if any, sexual activities may be included. All acts must be consensual and pleasurable to both parties. In a 2015 study, interviewed BDSM participants have mentioned that the activities have helped to create higher levels of connection, intimacy, trust and communication between partners. The study suggests that Dominants and submissives exchange control for each other's pleasure and to satisfy
27405-548: The pleasure and inspiration of the viewer everywhere. The desire to ponder images of love-making is clearly innate in the human – perhaps particularly the male – psyche." — Tom Hodgkinson Kama , the word used to connote sexual desire, was explored in Indian literary works such as the Kama Sutra , which dealt with the practical as well as the psychological aspects of human courtship and sexual intercourse. The Sanskrit text Kama sutra
27594-518: The popular erotic literary works from the twentieth century include the novels: Story of the Eye (1928), Tropic of Cancer (1934), Tropic of Capricorn (1938), the French Histoire d'O ( Story of O ) (1954); and the short stories: Delta of Venus (1977), and Little Birds (1979). After the invention of photography , the birth of erotic photography followed. The oldest surviving image of
27783-402: The popular medium of choice. Humans have manufactured tools for counting and calculating since ancient times, such as the abacus , astrolabe , equatorium , and mechanical timekeeping devices. More complicated devices started appearing in the 1600s, including the slide rule and mechanical calculators . By the early 1800s, the Industrial Revolution had produced mass-market calculators like
27972-585: The porn industry in the early twenty-first century is unknown. In 2015, estimates of the worldwide market value stood at US$ 97 billion, with the US revenue valued at $ 10 to $ 12 billion. The US revenue was estimated to have reached at least US$ 3.3 billion in 2020. Pornography in Japan was estimated to be worth over $ 20 billion in 2018. The legality of Pornography varies across Countries. The US pornography industry employs numerous performers along with production and support staff, and has its own industry-specific publications: XBIZ and AVN ;
28161-420: The positive outcomes, (satisfying the need for autonomy, competence, and relatedness) gained from sexual motivations. According to the completed research associated with this model, it was found that people of both sexes who engaged in sexual activity for self-determined motivation had more positive psychological well-being. While engaging in sexual activity for self-determined reasons, the participants also had
28350-456: The professional pornographers, content creators on such platforms include others like; a physics teacher, a race car driver , a woman undergoing cancer treatment. In 2022, the total pornographic content accessible online was estimated to be over 10,000 terabytes . AVN and XBIZ are the industry-specific organizations based in the US that provide information about the adult entertainment business. XBIZ Awards and AVN Awards , analogous to
28539-537: The pubic area but sometimes are found on coarse hair elsewhere on the body (for example, eyebrows, eyelashes, beard, mustache, chest, armpits, etc.). Pubic lice infestations (pthiriasis) are spread through direct contact with someone who is infested with the louse. Some STIs like HIV/AIDS can also be contracted by using IV drug needles after their use by an infected person, as well as through childbirth or breastfeeding . Factors such as biological and psychological factors, diseases, mental conditions, boredom with
28728-503: The publication of written and visual material, which was essentially pornographic began. Heptaméron written in French by Marguerite de Navarre and published posthumously in 1558 is one of the earliest examples of salacious texts from this era. Beginning with the Age of Enlightenment and advances in printing technology, the production of erotic material became popular enough that an underground marketplace for such works developed in England with
28917-739: The purpose of encouraging people to have sex only within marriage. Sodomy laws have been used to discourage same-sex sexual practices, but they may also affect opposite-sex sexual practices. Laws also ban adults from committing sexual abuse , committing sexual acts with anyone under an age of consent , performing sexual activities in public, and engaging in sexual activities for money (prostitution). Though these laws cover both same-sex and opposite-sex sexual activities, they may differ in regard to punishment, and may be more frequently (or exclusively) enforced on those who engage in same-sex sexual activities. Different-sex sexual practices may be monogamous , serially monogamous, or polyamorous , and, depending on
29106-1287: The rapidly advancing speed of information exchange. Between 7,000 and 10,000 years ago during the Neolithic period, humans began to domesticate animals, began to farm grains and to replace stone tools with ones made of metal. These innovations allowed nomadic hunter-gatherers to settle down. Villages formed along the Yangtze River in China in 6,500 B.C., the Nile River region of Africa and in Mesopotamia ( Iraq ) in 6,000 B.C. Cities emerged between 6,000 B.C. and 3,500 B.C. The development of written communication ( cuneiform in Sumeria and hieroglyphs in Egypt in 3,500 B.C. and writing in Egypt in 2,560 B.C. and in Minoa and China around 1,450 B.C.) enabled ideas to be preserved for extended periods to spread extensively. In all, Neolithic developments, augmented by writing as an information tool, laid
29295-679: The reaction of individuals and communities to certain incidents; the World Health Organization states that, "Sexual violence is also more likely to occur where beliefs in male sexual entitlement are strong, where gender roles are more rigid, and in countries experiencing high rates of other types of violence." Some societies, such as those where the concepts of family honor and female chastity are very strong, may practice violent control of female sexuality, through practices such as honor killings and female genital mutilation . The relation between gender equality and sexual expression
29484-451: The relationship, and widowhood have been found to contribute to a decrease in sexual interest and activity in old age, but older age does not eliminate the ability to enjoy sexual activity. Heterosexuality is the romantic or sexual attraction to the opposite sex. Heterosexual practices are institutionally privileged in most countries. In some countries, mostly those where religion has a strong influence on social policy , marriage laws serve
29673-474: The restraint of the body or mind. D/s means "Dominant and submissive". A Dominant is one who takes control of a person who wishes to surrender control and a submissive is one who surrenders control to a person who wishes to take control. S/M (sadism and masochism) is the other part of BDSM. A sadist is an individual who takes pleasure in the pain or humiliation of others and a masochist is an individual who takes pleasure from their own pain or humiliation. Unlike
29862-484: The risk of contracting a sexually transmitted infection. People may not be able to detect that their sexual partner has one or more STIs, for example if they are asymptomatic (show no symptoms). The risk of STIs can be reduced by safe sex practices, such as using condoms. Both partners may opt to be tested for STIs before engaging in sex. The exchange of body fluids is not necessary to contract an infestation of crab lice. Crab lice typically are found attached to hair in
30051-473: The sale of "erotic, grotesque, nonsense" (ero-guro-nansensu) periodicals, particularly in the Taishō era (1912–1926). From the 1960s, pink films , which portrayed sexual themes became popular in Japan. In 1981 the first Japanese Adult video (AV) was released. The Japanese pornography industry peaked in the early 2000s when about 30,000 AVs were made a year. From the mid-2010s, increased availability of free porn on
30240-407: The sale of sexual material nevertheless continued through "under the counter" means. Magazines specialising in a genre called "saucy and spicy" became popular during this time (1896 to 1955), titles of few popular magazines include; Wink: A Whirl of Girls , Flirt: A FRESH Magazine , and Snappy . Cover stories in these magazines featured segments such as "perky pin-ups" and "high-heel cuties". Some of
30429-404: The same sex. Gay and lesbian people who pretend to be heterosexual are often referred to as being closeted (hiding their sexuality in "the closet"). "Closet case" is a derogatory term used to refer to people who hide their sexuality. Making that orientation public can be called " coming out of the closet " in the case of voluntary disclosure or " outing " in the case of disclosure by others against
30618-649: The same time, erotic graphic art that began to be extensively produced in Paris came to be known in the Anglosphere as "French postcards". Enlightenment-era France had been noted by historians as the center of origin for modern-era pornography. The works of French pornography, which often concentrated on the education of an ingénue into libertine , dominated the sale of sexually explicit content. The French sought to interlace narratives of sexual pleasure with philosophical and anti-establishment basis. Political pornography began with
30807-487: The sexual activity. Overall, research concluded that psychological well-being, sexual motivation, and sexual satisfaction were all positively correlated when dating couples partook in sexual activity for self-determined reasons. The frequency of sexual activity might range from zero to 15 or 20 times a week. Frequency of intercourse tends to decline with age. Some post- menopausal women experience decline in frequency of sexual intercourse, while others do not. According to
30996-455: The society of ancient Greece held lenient attitudes towards sexual representation in the fields of art and literature. The Greek poet Sappho 's Ode to Aphrodite (600 BCE) is considered an earliest example of lesbian poetry. Red-figure pottery invented in Greece (530 BCE) often portrayed images that displayed eroticism . The fifth-century BC comic Aristophanes elaborated 106 ways of describing
31185-444: The subject's wishes (or without their knowledge). Among some communities (called "men on the DL" or " down-low "), same-sex sexual behavior is sometimes viewed as solely for physical pleasure. Men who have sex with men , as well as women who have sex with women , or men on the "down-low" may engage in sex acts with members of the same sex while continuing sexual and romantic relationships with
31374-406: The surveyed submissives and Dominants found BDSM makes play more pleasurable and fun. The participants have also mentioned improvements in their personal growth, romantic relationships, sense of community and self, the dominant's confidence, and their coping with everyday things by giving them a psychological release. Digital age The Information Age is a historical period that began in
31563-420: The term pornography connotes depiction of sexual activity; no date is known for the first use of the term pornography , the earliest attested, most related word found is πορνογράφος ( pornographos ) i.e. "someone writing about harlots" in the 3rd century CE work Deipnosophists by Athenaeus . The oldest published reference to the word pornography as in 'new pornographie,' is dated back to 1638 and
31752-681: The term " masochism " was derived. The Sins of the Cities of the Plain (1881) is one of the first sole male homosexual literary work published in English, this work is said to have inspired another gay literary work Teleny, or The Reverse of the Medal (1893), whose authorship has often been attributed to Oscar Wilde . The Romance of Lust , written anonymously and published in four volumes during 1873–1876, contained graphical descriptions of themes detailing incest, homosexuality, and orgies. Other publications from
31941-450: The timing of reproduction and the trade-off between quantity and quality of offspring (see life history theory ). Relative to other animals, human mating strategies are unique in their relationship with cultural variables such as the institution of marriage . Humans may seek out individuals with the intention of forming a long-term intimate relationship , marriage, casual relationship , or friendship . The human desire for companionship
32130-426: The transmission of materials that were deemed obscene by the American lawmakers. An act relating to the postal services was passed, which made people pay a fine of $ 500 for knowingly mailing any "obscene book, pamphlet, picture print, or other publication". From 1865 to up until the first three months of 1872, a total number of nine people were held for various charges of obscenity, with one person sentenced to prison for
32319-439: The usual "power neutral" relationships and play styles commonly followed by couples, activities and relationships within a BDSM context are often characterized by the participants' taking on complementary, but unequal roles; thus, the idea of informed consent of both the partners becomes essential. Participants who exert dominance (sexual or otherwise) over their partners are known as Dominants or Tops , while participants who take
32508-704: The works published in the Victorian era are considered bold and graphic even by today's lenient standards. The English novel The Adventures, Intrigues, and Amours, of a Lady's Maid! written by anonymous "Herself" (c. 1838) professed the notion that homosexual acts are more pleasurable for women than heterosexuality which is linked to painful and uncomfortable experiences. Some of the popular publications from this era include: The Pearl (magazine of erotic tales and poems published from 1879 to 1881); Gamiani, or Two Nights of Excess (1870) by Alfred de Musset; and Venus in Furs (1870) by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, from whose name
32697-578: The year 1969 was estimated at $ 50 million. Much of the pornographic material produced in Denmark was smuggled into other countries around the world. In the United States, pornography is protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution unless it constitutes obscenity or child pornography that is produced with real children. Nevertheless, in Stanley v. Georgia (1969),
32886-473: The zeitgeist of the 1980s. Millions of people purchased home computers, making household names of early personal computer manufacturers such as Apple , Commodore, and Tandy. To this day the Commodore 64 is often cited as the best selling computer of all time, having sold 17 million units (by some accounts) between 1982 and 1994. In 1984, the U.S. Census Bureau began collecting data on computer and Internet use in
33075-489: Was able to amplify the digital signal and pass it on with no loss of information in the signal. Of equal importance to the revolution was the ability to easily move the digital information between media, and to access or distribute it remotely. One turning point of the revolution was the change from analog to digitally recorded music. During the 1980s the digital format of optical compact discs gradually replaced analog formats, such as vinyl records and cassette tapes , as
33264-554: Was also invented in the late 1980s. Disney's CAPS system (created 1988) was used for a scene in 1989's The Little Mermaid and for all their animation films between 1990's The Rescuers Down Under and 2004's Home on the Range . Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web in 1989. The first public digital HDTV broadcast was of the 1990 World Cup that June; it was played in 10 theaters in Spain and Italy. However, HDTV did not become
33453-434: Was becoming apparent in the late 1980s. Compute! magazine predicted that CD-ROM would be the centerpiece of the revolution, with multiple household devices reading the discs. The first true digital camera was created in 1988, and the first were marketed in December 1989 in Japan and in 1990 in the United States. By the early 2000s, digital cameras had eclipsed traditional film in popularity. Digital ink and paint
33642-524: 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
33831-557: Was clearly intended as pornography. However, neither the English, nor the United States Act defined what constituted "obscene", leaving this for the courts to determine. For implementing the Comstock act, the US courts used the British Hicklin test to define obscenity, the definition of which was first proposed in 1868, ten years after the passing of the English obscene act. The definition became cemented in 1896 and continued until
34020-449: Was compiled by the sage Vatsyayana into its final form sometime during the second half of the third century CE. This text, which included prose, poetry, as well as illustrations regarding erotic love and sexual behavior, is one of the most celebrated Indian erotic works. Koka shastra is another medieval Indian work that explored kama. Other examples of early art and literature of sexual nature include: Ars Amatoria (Art of Love) ,
34209-499: Was considered the beginning of print pornography in Rome . The second edition of this book was published in 1527, titled Aretino Postures , which combined erotic images with text - a first in the Western culture . The Vatican called for the complete destruction of all the copies of the book and imprisonment of its author Marcantonio Raimondi . With the development of printing press in Europe,
34398-596: Was debated for less than an hour in the US Congress before being passed into law. Apart from the power to seize and destroy any material alleged to be obscene, the law made it possible for the authorities to make arrests over any perceived act of obscenity, which included possession of contraceptives by married couples. Reportedly in the US, 15 tons of books and 4 million pictures were destroyed, and about 15 people were driven to suicide with 4,000 arrests. At least 55 people whom Comstock identified as abortionists got indicted under
34587-454: Was directly positively correlated with being older, greater sexual activity in the previous week or prior day, and more positive mood the previous day or the same day as the sexual activity occurred. Decreased sexual activity was associated with prior or same day negative mood or menstruation. Although opinions differ, researchers suggest that sexual activity is an essential part of humans, and that teenagers need to experience sex. According to
34776-567: Was either covered or cordoned off from public view. During the Victorian era (1837–1901), the invention of the rotary printing press made publication of books easier, many works of lascivious nature were published during this period often under pen names or anonymity. In 1837, the Holywell Street (known as "Booksellers' Row") in London had more than 50 shops that sold pornographic material. Many of
34965-495: Was first introduced to the concepts that led to the Internet when a message was sent over the ARPANET in 1969. Packet switched networks such as ARPANET, Mark I , CYCLADES , Merit Network , Tymnet , and Telenet , were developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s using a variety of protocols . The ARPANET in particular led to the development of protocols for internetworking , in which multiple separate networks could be joined into
35154-518: Was not made an offense until the twentieth century. Historians have explored the role of pornography in determining social norms . The Victorian attitude that pornography was only for a select few is seen in the wording of the Hicklin test , stemming from a court case in 1868, where it asked: "whether the tendency of the matter charged as obscenity is to deprave and corrupt those whose minds are open to such immoral influences". Although officially prohibited,
35343-456: Was the first financial institution to offer online internet banking services to all of its members in October 1994. In 1996 OP Financial Group , also a cooperative bank , became the second online bank in the world and the first in Europe. The Internet expanded quickly, and by 1996, it was part of mass culture and many businesses listed websites in their ads. By 1999, almost every country had
35532-458: Was their distribution, which was strictly private. In the Western world , during the 1960s, social attitudes towards sex and pornography slowly changed. In 1967, Denmark repealed the obscenity laws on literature; this led to a decline in the sale of pornographic and erotic literature. Hoping for a similar effect, in the summer of 1969, legislators in Denmark abolished censorship on picture pornography, thereby effectively becoming, from July 1, 1969,
35721-527: Was to some degree improved with inspiration from Charles Babbage's designs. In 1947, the first working transistor , the germanium -based point-contact transistor , was invented by John Bardeen and Walter Houser Brattain while working under William Shockley at Bell Labs . This led the way to more advanced digital computers . From the late 1940s, universities, military, and businesses developed computer systems to digitally replicate and automate previously manually performed mathematical calculations, with
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