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Pranknet , also known as Prank University , was an anonymous prank calling virtual community that was involved in a string of malicious pranks and instances of telephone harassment, especially during 2009–2011. Their pranks were coordinated through an online chat room, and convinced others to cause damage to hotels and fast food restaurants of more than $ 60,000. The group was founded by a man who later referred to himself as "Dex1x1", later identified as a Canadian named Tariq Malik. The group has been linked to nearly 60 separate incidents.

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149-505: Posing as authority figures , such as fire alarm company representatives and hotel front-desk/corporate managers, Pranknet participants called unsuspecting employees and customers in the United States and tricked them into damaging property, pulling fire alarms, setting off fire sprinklers , breaking out windows, and humiliating acts such as disrobing and the consumption of human urine. Pranknet members could listen in real-time and discuss

298-476: A Hampton Inn in York, Nebraska , and tricked an employee into setting off the fire alarm . As guests made their way to the lobby, a second call was placed to the front desk. "Dex" claimed that, to avoid alleged fines, the fire department should not be called. Instead, the caller gave various bogus instructions to turn the alarm off, including going to a website that only displayed pornography . The next suggestion from

447-486: A Twitter account. In February 2009, "Dex" and a member called "Slayer" called a KFC restaurant in Manchester, New Hampshire . Posing as a manager from the corporate office, he persuaded employees to douse the building with fire suppression chemicals and to then proceed outside, remove all of their clothing and urinate on each other. He claimed the chemicals were caustic and this would render them inert. When "Dex" posted

596-484: A stakeout outside Malik's mother's home. Smoking Gun editor William Bastone emailed "Dex", and during a Skype interview provided URLs on the Smoking Gun website. The URLs were unique; when Malik viewed them, it revealed his IP address and location. The names, biographies and locations of Pranknet's founder "Dex" and a number of prolific members, and their other findings, were published on their website and provided to

745-510: 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

894-516: A subpoena for Markle's Skype activities. The police report classifies the Lexington incident as first-degree wanton endangerment , a Class D felony in Kentucky. Markle was subsequently sentenced to a shock incarceration term of six months. Additionally, an employee at a Holiday Inn Express was persuaded by a Pranknet caller to set off a fire alarm, break windows, and set off sprinklers which flooded

1043-516: A Best Western in Jacksonville, Florida for over 12 hours. In one interaction, a woman called to find out if her husband had arrived and was told first that he had been in an accident, and then that he was having sex with a man in his room and did not wish to be disturbed. On July 15, "Dex" controlled incoming calls to a Hilton Garden Inn in Tulsa, Oklahoma . He told people inquiring about a shuttle to take

1192-531: A February 2009 KFC incident. After Pranknet users were banned from Paltalk, the company was subjected to multiple DDoS attacks. Beginning in 2009, members chatted before, during, and after each prank via the chat system of Beyluxe Messenger, which is owned and operated in Romania, and thus outside of North America . Audiences ranged from 40 to 200 people at any given time. Pranks that created sufficient havoc were posted on YouTube . Updates were also provided through

1341-608: A Free King and His Natural Subjects which advocated his right to rule on the basis of the concept of the divine right of kings , a theological concept that has a basis in multiple religions, but in this case, Christianity, tracing this right to the apostolic succession . Sovereign kings and queens in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth realms are considered the foundations of judicial, legislative and executive authority. The foundation of American legitimate authority rests on

1490-450: A July co-interview with Markle, he boasted: "It's too difficult to find me. I'm a ghost on the Internet. I do pretty much everything I can to keep anything out of my computer that would lead it back to my actual computer. I'm not a stupid individual, like I said." In June 2009, The Smoking Gun launched an investigation that lasted nearly two months and included travel to Windsor, Ontario and

1639-537: A Pranknet caller informed two hotel guests that deadly spiders were about to infest their room. The caller was able to manipulate the couple into breaking their window with the tank lid from their toilet. On July 5, Pranknet members Powell and Markle called an Arby's in Baytown, Texas (where Powell lives) and talked a worker there into triggering the fire suppression system, causing an estimated $ 4,600 in damages. Powell failed in his attempts to get any windows broken. Powell

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1788-538: A cab and they'd be reimbursed. He told some callers the hotel had a swine flu outbreak and told other callers the hotel was in the midst of a hostage situation . Talking hotel front desk clerks through a series of steps using TeamViewer , "Dex" has posed as a corporate headquarters IT supervisor and taken remote control of hotel computers. Pranknet members frequently placed Craigslist ads offering free tickets or items. Inquirers were bombarded with obscene sexual rants and racial epithets. A 12-year-old girl called about

1937-474: A choice which is the reason of struggle between congress and the president as well as with the American courts. The latter's role is limited by the authorities' power to regulate property rights without the due process rights mandatorily applied by the courts. Pornography Pornography (colloquially known as porn or porno ) is sexual subject material such as a picture, video, text, or audio that

2086-520: A clerk to pull a fire alarm; sprinklers were subsequently activated, causing water damage. In July, a Pranknet member called a Hilton in Orlando, Florida , and, claiming there was a gas leak , convinced a family staying there to break windows with the lid for the toilet tank, destroy a mirror, bash in a wall using a lamp, and throw their mattress out the window. The incident cost $ 5,000 in damages. Also in July,

2235-464: 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

2384-527: A free trampoline, and "Dex" told her not to get pregnant by a black man because "they have AIDS ". Markle frequently called women who were selling household items on the site, and after getting the home addresses of victims, told them he was on his way over to rape them and kill their children. "Dex" and other Pranknet members had regularly taunted victims and others, saying they were untraceable. In an interview with The Smoking Gun on June 17, 2009, "Dex" exhibited no worries about being tracked down or caught. In

2533-560: 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

2682-511: A heritable factor. Authority and its attributes have been identified as of particular relevance to children as they regard their parents and teachers. The three attributes of authority have been described as status , specialist skills or knowledge , and social position . Children consider the type of command, the characteristics of the authority figure, and the social context when making authority conclusions. Although children regard these three types of authority attributes, they first assess

2831-485: 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

2980-516: A long duration, not the micro social psychological study of children per se. There is nothing in Weber's published work in the Max Weber Gesamtausgabe that directly deals with children's perceptions in "formations" with traditional legitimate authority, prior to the emergence of modern capitalism . Hofstede Insights details "Power Distance" as: "Power distance is defined as the extent to which

3129-518: 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

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3278-404: 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

3427-421: A nation-state. An argument for political anarchy is made by Michael Huemer in his book The Problem of Political Authority . On the other side, one of the main arguments for the legitimacy of the state is some form of the social contract theory developed by Thomas Hobbes in his 1668 book, Leviathan , or by Jean-Jacques Rousseau in his political writings on the social contract . In sociology , authority

3576-663: A particular business, he calls a phone company and claims they have no dial tone. He then requests that all calls be forwarded to the number he provides. On July 7, "Dex" took over incoming calls of the Olympic Game Farm in Port Angeles, Washington , making obscene sexual comments to customers who called. On July 11, he repeated the stunt with the Fun 4 All amusement park in Chula Vista, California . On July 13 he took over incoming calls to

3725-528: 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

3874-443: 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

4023-432: A political concept. Weber defined domination (authority) as the chance of commands being obeyed by a specifiable group of people. Legitimate authority is that which is recognized as legitimate and justified by both the ruler and the ruled. Legitimated rule results in what Weber called the monopoly over the use of coercive violence in a given territory. In the modern world, such authority is typically delegated to police and

4172-532: 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

4321-540: A prank was made on a Holiday Inn Express hotel in Conway, Arkansas . The caller posed as a representative from the company that installed the hotel's fire sprinkler and claimed the system needed to be reset by pulling the fire alarm . Once the alarm was turned on, the clerk was told that the sprinklers would activate unless windows were broken. The same day, the pranksters called a Comfort Suites in Gadsden, Alabama , persuading

4470-638: 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

4619-583: 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),

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4768-505: A similar nesting of authority. His legitimacy must be acknowledged, not just by citizens, but by those who control other valued resources: his immediate staff, his cabinet, military leaders and in the long run, the administration and political apparatus of the entire society. Authority can be created expressly when public entities act publicly, using the same means to communicate the grant of authority to their agents that they use to communicate this to third parties, apparent authority describes

4917-419: A simple urine test could determine if the guest was infected. The urine was to be brought to the front desk in a simple drinking glass. Switching roles, Markle then called the front desk alleging to be an employee of Martinelli's Cider . He told the clerk that a representative from the company would like to come downstairs with a sample of their new drink. The guest from the previous call then arrived and handed

5066-403: 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

5215-531: 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

5364-600: 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

5513-543: 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,

5662-417: A wrench to destroy hidden cameras supposedly left by a previous guest. The man, told that there was a "midget" trapped in an adjoining room, was then tricked into destroying a sheetrock wall behind his room door, almost making his way through to the next room. As one of the prankster's returned calls was heard by police and other guests who received prank calls soon called the front desk, the hotel did not hold

5811-476: 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,

5960-438: 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

6109-581: 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

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6258-409: Is commonly understood as the legitimate power of a person or group over other people. In a civil state , authority may be practiced by legislative , executive , and judicial branches of government , each of which has authority and is an authority. The term "authority" has many nuances and distinctions within various academic fields ranging from sociology to political science . In

6407-509: 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

6556-581: 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

6705-447: 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

6854-408: 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

7003-492: 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

7152-483: Is no longer possible. After police arrived to answer a 911 call placed by the motel manager, they declined to press charges against the victim but noted that other similar phone calls had been received at the motel. On December 5, 2010, two Pranknet members identified by The Smoking Gun collaborated to humiliate an Iraq War veteran, 22, at a Motel 6 in Amarillo, Texas. One, posing as the hotel receptionist, informed him that

7301-472: Is part of the machine. It keeps you happy. It keeps you running." 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 the association

7450-565: 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

7599-403: Is the legitimate or socially approved power which one person or a group possesses and practices over another. The element of legitimacy is vital to the notion of authority and is the main means by which authority is distinguished from the more general concept of power . Power can be exerted by the use of force or violence . Authority, by contrast, depends on the acceptance by subordinates of

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7748-602: Is 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

7897-512: 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

8046-634: The Best Western hotel in Shillington, Pennsylvania . Using the pretense of a ruptured gas line, the caller persuaded each guest to break a window and then throw the television out. "Dex" and his friend repeated the same stunt on February 19 with a Best Western in Santee, California . On April 30, a Pranknet member called "Rollin in the A" called Prejean's Restaurant in Lafayette, Louisiana posing as an official from

8195-563: 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

8344-447: 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,

8493-576: 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

8642-491: 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 ...

8791-580: 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

8940-473: 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

9089-465: 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

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9238-813: The consent of the governed . This understanding of political authority and the exercise of political powers in the American context traces back to the writings of the Founding Fathers , including the arguments put forward in The Federalist Papers by James Madison , Alexander Hamilton and the first chief justice of the United States John Jay , and was referenced in the unanimous United States Declaration of Independence : We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal , that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and

9387-608: 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

9536-399: 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

9685-424: 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

9834-443: 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

9983-533: The 16th president of the United States Abraham Lincoln would reiterate this fundamental source of legitimacy. "Our government rests in public opinion," Lincoln said in 1856. In his 1854 speech at Peoria, Illinois , Lincoln espoused the proposition “that each man should do precisely as he pleases with all which is exclusively his own," a principle existing "at the foundation of the sense of justice." This sense of personal ownership and stewardship

10132-516: 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

10281-407: 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

10430-512: 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

10579-564: The FBI in August 2009. A 2016 article by the BBC noted Bastone's outing of Pranknet's members and also referred to Pranknet as "long gone". According to crime reporting website The Smoking Gun, key members included: A former member, Jericho Batsford, left the group in 2009 after the incident in Conway, Arkansas , and contacted local FBI agents. She told them she knew Dex's identity to be that of Malik and that he

10728-522: 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

10877-622: 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

11026-516: 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,

11175-579: 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

11324-506: 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

11473-534: The appointments, the budgeting process and has the right and capacity to review regulatory rules on a case-by-case basis. Since the time of the Reagan administration the president was informed with a cost–benefit analysis of the regulation. The creation of a regulatory agency requires an Act of Congress which specifies its jurisdiction, the related authority and delegated powers. Regulatory authorities can be qualified as independent agencies or executive branch agencies,

11622-482: The audio to YouTube he described it as "Epic KFC Prank Call (greatest ever)...dex successfully convinces the 3 female employees to undress fully nude outside and urinate on each other." Many months later "Dex", posing this time as an insurance adjuster , called the same KFC and had the victims describe their experiences while Pranknet members listened. On February 10, "Dex" and a member called "DTA_Mike", posing as hotel front desk employees, called two separate guests at

11771-596: 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

11920-416: The basic foundation and formation of political, civil and/or ecclesiastical institutions or representatives. In recent years, however, authority in political contexts has been challenged or questioned. There have been several contributions to the debate of political authority . Among others, Hannah Arendt , Carl Joachim Friedrich , Thomas Hobbes , Alexandre Kojève and Carl Schmitt have provided some of

12069-513: The building. Damages were estimated at $ 50,000. The Smoking Gun reported that Pranknet leader "Dex" was responsible for an October 21 hoax in which he phoned ESPN reporter Elizabeth Moreau , tricking her into breaking windows in her room at the Hilton Garden Inn in Gainesville, Florida . He then initiated a conference call with a front desk employee at the hotel, where he then claimed he

12218-427: The caller was to break the front windows of the hotel. A truck driver staying at the hotel volunteered, and under direction from "Dex", the man drove his semi-trailer truck into the front door. Later that night, "Dex" tweeted : "I just pulled off the most epic prank. I had a hotel guest back his truck into the hotel front window (in the lobby), and break the window." The post was deleted in late July. On June 6, 2009,

12367-478: The child, and will believe themselves that they have a duty to obey them and internalize their values. While the study of children in modern capitalist societies does look at the psychological aspects of children's understanding of legitimate authority at the level of symbolic interaction it is also true that is an extrapolated assumption based on one interpretation of a broad Comparative Historical Sociological (CHS) analysis of legitimate authority in many societies over

12516-424: The clerk his urine. Markle then coaxed the woman to try it. He asked how it tasted. "Horrible", she said. "That does not taste like cider. I'm not going to take another sip, that's horrible." Markle replied: "Well, I need to inform you of something, ma'am. I want you to understand that you just drank that man's urine." In its investigation, the cyber crimes division of the police department of Lufkin, Texas , requested

12665-569: The court system. Weber divided legitimate authority into three types: A constitution may define the extent of the power of rational-legal authority. Modern societies depend on legal-rational authority. Government officials are the best example of this form of authority, which is prevalent all over the world. History has witnessed several social movements or revolutions against a system of traditional or legal-rational authority started by charismatic authorities. According to Weber, what distinguishes authority from coercion , force and power on

12814-703: 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

12963-515: 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

13112-400: The exercise of governance , the terms authority and power are inaccurate synonyms. The term authority identifies the political legitimacy , which grants and justifies rulers' right to exercise the power of government; and the term power identifies the ability to accomplish an authorized goal, either by compliance or by obedience ; hence, authority is the power to make decisions and

13261-470: The exercise of governmental authority. In the United States , for instance, there is a prevailing belief that the political system as instituted by the Founding Fathers should accord the populace as much freedom as reasonable; that government should limit its authority accordingly, known as limited government . Political anarchism is a philosophy which rejects the legitimacy of political authority and adherence to any form of sovereign rule or autonomy of

13410-468: 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

13559-401: The formation of the city-state of Geneva , and experimental treatises involving the topic of authority in relation to education include Emile, or On Education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau . As David Laitin defines, authority is a key concept to be defined in determining the range and role of political theory, science and inquiry. The relevance of a grounded understanding of authority includes

13708-411: The governmental agents of the executive branch, as outlined by George A. Krause, is that they are not as close to the popular will as elected representatives are. The claims of authority can extend to national or individual sovereignty , which is broadly or provisionally understood as a claim to political authority that is legitimated . Historical applications of authority in political terms include

13857-417: The guest's full name and claiming to be so angry with the service that he would leave a pillowcase full of feces at the front desk. The receptionist locked the door and called police, so the veteran returned to his room, where his conversation with police officers the receptionist had summoned became audible to the pranksters' followers. They finished by calling other visitors at the hotel describing aspects of

14006-413: The health department. This target was selected because the restaurant provided live video streaming of its dining area on their own website. The victim at this restaurant was told that Prejean's pork was tainted with the swine flu . "Rollin in the A" also told the manager to close the restaurant immediately and tell the customers (75 of them) that they may have eaten tainted food. On May 27, "Dex" called

14155-584: The hotel directly, the prankster pretended to be a Fire Department employee reading instructions from a computer checklist to prevent an explosion from a gas leak. These instructions included to "break the red glass vial in the sprinkler", leading to $ 115,000 in water damage in seven guest rooms and a conference room. The guest was also persuaded to rip a mirror from his wall to find the (non-existent) shutoff valve. Beginning in July 2009, "Dex" began hijacking phone numbers of U.S. businesses and had them forwarded to his Skype account. Claiming to be an authority from

14304-511: The identity of "Dex". Pranknet initially operated through a chat room at Pranknet.org, and participants used Skype to make their calls. As of 2009, Skype used encryption and obfuscation of its communication services and provided an uncontrolled registration system for users without proof of identity, making it difficult to trace and identify users. After Skype began an internal investigation, Pranknet left Skype and briefly used Paltalk for its chats and calls. However, Paltalk banned Pranknet after

14453-601: 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

14602-483: 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

14751-485: 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

14900-451: The legitimacy of the authority figure in question using the nature of the commands they give. For example, a teacher that does not appear to have legitimate power from the child's perspective (perhaps because she or he cannot control the class well) will not be obeyed. Regarding parenting, authoritative parents who are warm and high in behavioral control but low in psychological control are more likely to be seen as having legitimate authority by

15049-514: The legitimacy to make such legal decisions and order their execution. Ancient understandings of authority trace back to Rome and draw later from Catholic ( Thomistic ) thought and other traditional understandings. In more modern terms, forms of authority include transitional authority (exhibited in, for example, Cambodia ), public authority in the form of popular power, and, in more administrative terms, bureaucratic or managerial techniques. In terms of bureaucratic governance, one limitation of

15198-623: The less powerful members of institutions and organisations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally", which can be interpreted as respect for authority. Generally, ex-communist countries, poor countries, and non-Protestant countries have the highest power distance (respect for inequality in the distribution of power). According to Hofstede Insights 2021 country comparison, all countries with power distance below 50 are Western Protestant democracies, except for Austria. Such studies are attempts to apply ideas found in Weber that he himself did not postulate directly and they assume

15347-512: 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

15496-414: The man accountable for the damages, but did ask him to leave. The pranksters called back on March 11, 2011, persuading a guest to "disable" a sprinkler head by smashing it with a toilet lid to prevent a 'toxic gas' from entering the room. According to TSG, "Motel 6 is a preferred target because Pranknet members can call directly into rooms without having to know a guest's name" As of November 1, 2011, this

15645-535: 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

15794-550: 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

15943-416: 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

16092-493: 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

16241-509: 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

16390-421: The most influential texts. In European political philosophy , the jurisdiction of political authority, the location of sovereignty , the balancing of notions of freedom and authority, and the requirements of political obligations have been core questions from the time of Plato and Aristotle to the present. Most democratic societies are engaged in an ongoing discussion regarding the legitimate extent of

16539-459: The nation-state as a basic unit of "countries" rather than look at all of the various political economic "formations" in which Weber himself was most directly interested. The political authority in the British context can be traced to James VI and I of Scotland who wrote two political treatises called Basilikon Doron and The True Law of Free Monarchies: Or, The Reciprocal and Mutual Duty Between

16688-570: 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',

16837-405: The one hand, and leadership , persuasion and influence on the other hand, is legitimacy. Superiors, he states, feel that they have a right to issue commands; subordinates perceive an obligation to obey (see also Milgram experiment ). Social scientists agree that authority is but one of several resources available to incumbents in formal positions. For example, a Head of State is dependent upon

16986-409: 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

17135-408: 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

17284-551: 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

17433-519: 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

17582-585: 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 ;

17731-469: The prank until the police were called again half an hour later. With voice electronically altered and posing as the mother of a boy making prank calls, one of the pranksters managed to convince police to put the victim back on the phone, who unknowingly recounted his experience to the pranksters. On January 9, 2011, a Holiday Inn in Omaha, Nebraska , was targeted. Taking advantage of the ability to call guests of

17880-447: The prior occupant of his room had been diagnosed with " H1N1 flu virus", and transferred him to the other, posing as a physician, who over the course of half an hour directed him to induce vomiting, then to consume some of his own urine to "kill the incubation period", and finally to collect a stool sample in a pillowcase, which he was to bring to the front desk. A prankster then called the hotel's actual front desk, identifying himself by

18029-462: 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

18178-508: The progress together in a private chat room . In 2009, a wave of the pranks across the United States prompted internal alerts by Choice Hotels , as well as advisories by the Sheriff's office of Orange County, Florida , and others. At that time, law enforcement officials from a number of jurisdictions and the Federal Bureau of Investigation began investigating the various incidents as well as

18327-504: 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

18476-593: The pursuit of Happiness .--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed , --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Later, speeches by

18625-750: The right of those above them to give them orders or directives . The definition of authority in contemporary social science remains a matter of debate. Max Weber in his essay " Politics as a Vocation " (1919) divided legitimate authority into three types . Others, like Howard Bloom , suggest a parallel between authority and respect/reverence for ancestors . Max Weber , in his sociological and philosophical work, identified and distinguished three types of legitimate domination ( Herrschaft in German, which generally means 'domination' or 'rule'), that have sometimes been rendered in English translation as types of authority, because English-speakers do not see domination as

18774-475: 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

18923-408: 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

19072-653: 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

19221-496: The situation when a principal has placed restrictions on an agent that are not known to a third party, and restrictions on government agents are accomplished in the open, through laws and regulations. In this setting, all parties concerned is assumed or supposed to know the laws and regulations of government. Recently the concept of authority has also been discussed as a guiding principle in human-machine interaction design. Genetic research indicates that obedience to authority may be

19370-458: 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

19519-423: 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

19668-684: 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

19817-428: 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

19966-706: 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

20115-579: 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),

20264-440: 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

20413-488: Was Moreau's boyfriend and that the damage was a result of them fighting, as well as making a number of vulgar statements. As a result of the hoax, a Gainesville Police detective was assigned to the case. In November 2010, an elderly man staying at a Motel 6 in Spartanburg, South Carolina , was tricked by a Pranknet member posing as a hotel administrator into destroying his television set and smashing mirrors in his room with

20562-524: 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

20711-560: 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

20860-453: 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) ,

21009-502: 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,

21158-598: 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

21307-570: 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

21456-400: Was integral to the practice of self-government as Lincoln saw it by a Republican nation and its people. This was because, as Lincoln also declared, "No man is good enough to govern another man, without that other's consent." The U.S. president is called to give account to the legislature for the conduct of the whole government, including that of regulatory agencies. The president influences

21605-520: Was later arrested and charged with criminal mischief for the incident. On July 20, Markle tricked a desk clerk at the Homewood Suites in Lexington, Kentucky , into drinking another person's urine . The prank started with a call to a guest. The guest was told it was the front desk calling and that a prior guest had tested positive for Hepatitis C . The guest was then told there was a doctor on site and

21754-521: 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,

21903-504: 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 the effects of pornography, reported that there

22052-665: Was responsible for many incidents. In response to her defection, Pranknet members have constantly harassed her home and her workplace via Skype and Beyluxe. Malik told members to be patient, that she would not answer the phone and let them get to her, and to instead "get her later on down the road, when she least expects it." Batsford had participated in some phone pranks, but left when she witnessed members encouraging children to make bomb threats. Officials in at least four U.S. States and six U.S. cities stated that they were considering charges against "Dex" and his possible extradition from Canada to face trial. Authority Authority

22201-461: 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,

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