"Bearly Decent", from a hardcore photo shoot circa 1981
is a form of
pornography that features
explicit sexual acts. The term was coined in the second half of the 20th century to distinguish it from
softcore pornography. It usually takes the form of
photographs, often in
magazines, or
films but it may also appear as a
cartoon. Since the 1990s it has been distributed widely over the
Internet.
Legality
On the set of a pornographic film
Hardcore pornography was widely
prohibited in many countries until the second half of the 20th century when many of the world's
liberal democracies, experiencing a change in
sexual norms, began to allow limited access. Supply is usually regulated by a combination of a
classification system and regulation of
points of sale, although today hardcore pornography can be easily downloaded from many Internet sites with little regulation. Public display and
advertising is often prohibited. Supply to
minors is usually prohibited.
Most of the world's liberal democracies have either taken steps to legalize pornography, or they fail increasingly to enforce legislation to prohibit it, resulting in
de facto legalization. There is often vigorous opposition to legalization - see
anti-pornography movement. In the U.S., legal interpretations of pornography in relation to the constitutional right to free speech differ from state to state and from city to city. Hardcore pornography was legalised in the UK in 2000.
Social effects of pornography
Danish criminologist
Berl Kutchinsky's
Studies on Pornography and sex crimes in Denmark (1970), a scientific report ordered by the
Presidential Commission on Obscenity and Pornography, found that the legalizing of pornography in
Denmark had not (as had been expected) resulted in an increase of sex crimes. Since then, many other experiments have been conducted, either supporting or opposing the findings of
Berl Kutchinsky.
A recent study conducted in Denmark by
Martin Hald and
Neil Malamuth,
Self-Perceived Effects of Pornography Consumption(Archives of Sexual Behavior, 2007), found that men and women generally believe that hardcore pornography has a positive influence on their lives. The respondents credited porn with improving their
sex lives, their sexual knowledge and attitudes toward the opposite sex, and even their general quality of life. Other studies have come to strikingly different conclusions than the Denmark study regarding porn's impact on individuals and families.
United Kingdom
The Independent reported in 2006 that Nielsen NetRatings found that more than nine million British male adults used Internet porn services.
[, Sophie Goodchild and Severin Carrell, The Independent, May 28, 2006; accessed August 4, 2008] The study also reported a one-third rise in the number of women visiting X-rated sites, from 1.05 million to 1.38 million. A 2003 study found that one third of all British internet users accessed hardcore porn.
[, Edward Marriott, The Guardian, November 8, 2003] United States
A 2003 study by
Eric Schlosser estimated that revenues from hardcore porn match Hollywood's domestic box office takings.
[, Duncan Campbell, The Guardian, May 2, 2003; accessed August 1, 2008] According to that study, hardcore porn videos, internet sites, live sex acts and cable programming generate US$10 billion, roughly equal to US domestic box office receipts. Recently, several prominent people in the porn industry have said that due to internet and free competition, porn sales are far below those that are reported.
[, Brian Braker, Newsweek, February 8, 2007; access August 4, 2008] Paul Fishbein of trade magazine
Adult Video News said that due to free and amateur Internet competition that rental sales are off 10 percent to 15 percent.
[, Betsey Schiffman, Wired Magazine, July 21, 2008; accessed August 4, 2008]Hardcore porn remains controversial in the United States, and is used as a campaign issue for politicians.
Mitt Romney decried the "cesspool" of pornography, but came under fire from social conservatives, including
Tony Perkins, because he sat on the board of
Marriott International, whose hotels profit from porn movies.
[, Glen Johnson, The Washington Post, July 5, 2007; accessed August 1, 2008] Pay-per-view pornography generates a lot of revenue for hotels. Anti-porn activist
John L. Harmer, who served as California's lieutenant governor under
Ronald Reagan, estimated up to $500 million is generated industrywide.
In particular, organizations with ties to the Christian right movement have concerned themselves with porn issues.[, Matt Barber, The Christian Post, January 31, 2008; accessed August 4, 2008.]See also
