Portal:Erotica and pornography

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random portal

Welcome to the Erotica and pornography Portal

Before the Deluge by Cornelis van Haarlem, 1615

Introduction

P:XXX

Pornography (colloquially known as porn or porno) 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 the history of erotic depictions, various people made attempts to suppress them under obscenity laws, censor, or make them illegal. Such grounds and even the definition of pornography have differed in various historical, cultural, and national contexts. The Indian Sanskrit text Kama Sutra (3rd century CE) contained prose, poetry, and illustrations regarding sexual behavior, and the book was celebrated; while the British English text Fanny Hill (1748), considered "the first original English prose pornography," has been one of the most prosecuted and banned books. In the late 19th century, a film by Thomas Edison that depicted a kiss was denounced as obscene in the United States, whereas Eugène Pirou's 1896 film Bedtime for the Bride was received very favorably in France. Starting from the mid-twentieth century on, societal attitudes towards sexuality became more lenient in the Western world where legal definitions of obscenity were made limited. In 1969, Blue Movie 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 the World Wide Web in the late 20th century led to global growth in the pornography business. Beginning in the 21st century, greater access to the Internet and affordable smartphones made pornography more mainstream. (Full article...)

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

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

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Selected article

Page posing for the camera

Bettie Mae Page (April 22, 1923 – December 11, 2008) was an American model who gained notoriety in the 1950s for her pin-up photos. She was often referred to as the "Queen of Pinups": her long jet-black hair, blue eyes, and trademark bangs have influenced artists for generations. After her death, Playboy founder Hugh Hefner called her "a remarkable lady, an iconic figure in pop culture who influenced sexuality, taste in fashion, someone who had a tremendous impact on our society".

A native of Nashville, Tennessee, Page lived in California in her early adult years before moving to New York City to pursue work as an actress. There, she found work as a pin-up model, and she posed for several photographers throughout the 1950s. Page was "Miss January 1955", one of the earliest Playmates of the Month for Playboy magazine. After years in obscurity, she experienced a resurgence of popularity in the 1980s.

In 1959, Page converted to evangelical Christianity and worked for Billy Graham, studying at Bible colleges in Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon, with the intent of becoming a missionary. The latter part of Page's life was marked by depression, violent mood swings, and several years in a state psychiatric hospital with paranoid schizophrenia. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

Selected work of erotic literature

Tropic of Cancer is an autobiographical novel by Henry Miller that is best known as "notorious for its candid sexuality", with the resulting social controversy considered responsible for the "free speech that we now take for granted in literature." It was first published in 1934 by the Obelisk Press in Paris, France, but this edition was banned in the United States. Its publication in 1961 in the United States by Grove Press led to obscenity trials that tested American laws on pornography in the early 1960s. In 1964, the U.S. Supreme Court declared the book non-obscene. It is regarded as an important work of 20th-century literature. (Full article...)

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

Slideshow of selected contemporary images

Image 1Playmate of the Year and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals spokesperson Pamela Anderson, signing DVDs at the USS Halsey
Image 2Silvia Saint, wearing a Bomis tee-shirt (a site previously run by Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia).
Image 3Tila Tequila
Image 4Jessie Andrews
Image 5Francois Sagat, Folsom Street Fair
Image 6Playboy Playmate Alison Waite
Image 7Karen McDougal
Image 8Playmate of the_Year Corinna Harney
Image 9Penthouse Pet Dani Daniels, wearing Penthouse key necklace
Image 10Cindy Margolis
Image 11American pornographic actor Ron Jeremy. One of top Porn Stars of All Time.
Image 12Dean Flynn and Chi Chi LaRue
Image 13Pornographic actress and cosplayer Tanya Tate as She-Ra
Image 14The COLT Studio Group, San Francisco
Image 15Shy Love at AVN Adult Entertainment Expo 2012
Image 16Dana DeArmond
Image 17Sculpture of Marilyn Monroe in Haugesund harbour, Norway

Image 17Sculpture of Marilyn Monroe in Haugesund harbour, Norway
Image 18Hugh Hefner with Karissa Shannon, Dasha Astafieva, and Kristina Shannon
Image 19Playmate of the Year Claire Sinclair
Image 20Pierre Woodman filming in Australia
Image 21Joanna Jet - transsexual pornographic actress and director
Image 22Rebeca Linares at AVN Adult Entertainment Expo 2009
Image 23A Fluffer hands gay porn performers Jake Starr (seated) and Erik Grant (lying) items needed for a scene in the 2008 Lucas Entertainment production Pounding the Pavement.
Image 24Hentai style of art, originally from Japan
Image 25Carmen Luvana, Adult Entertainment Expo 2008
Image 26Katsuni - French pornographic actress.
Image 27World map showing laws of general pornography
Image 28Valentina Nappi at the AVN Awards Show, Las Vegas, Nevada on 21 January 2017
Image 29Swedish/Tanzanian Playmate of the Year Ida Ljungqvist
Image 30Michele_Merkin - Glamour photography
Image 31Xaviera Hollander, author and former Sex worker
Image 32Lupe Fuentes
Image 33Sean Michaels - pornographic actor.
Image 34Pornographic actor and director Miles Long (submitted by self)
Image 35Erotic actress and public health advocate Sharon Mitchell.
Image 36Example of Erotic photography
Image 37Pornographic DVDs, Japan, "Kawaii" section
Image 38Louise Glover
Image 39Raylene
Image 40Rocco Siffredi
Image 41Hentai Manga, Japan
Image 42Playmate of the Year Sara Jean Underwood
Image 43Transsexual pornographic actress Erica Andrews
Image 44Daisy Marie posing with a fan at the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo 2008
Image 45Lisa Ann
Image 46Audrey Hollander - American porn star
Image 47Jenna Jameson
Image 48Bondage pornography, showing classic "wrist to ankle" rope hogtie. Other bondage methods depicted are breast bondage, elbow bondage, head to ankle tie, knees tied, and a crotch rope. Model is also wearing a muzzle gag.
Image 49Pornographic film set. Pictured from left to right: Cali Chase, Mikey Butders, and a photographer identified as "Nicole."
Image 50Figure 12 in Zillmann, Dolf: "Effects of Prolonged Consumption of Pornography", included in the Report of the Surgeon General's Workshop on Pornography and Public Health, United States Public Health Service, Office of the Surgeon General, August 4, 1986
Image 51Michael Lucas, Nonie, Rafael Alencar, David Shankbone, and Ernesta Alamirano in Fire Island Pines

Slideshow of selected historical images

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

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

... that a pornographic video service once offered NFL quarterback Gardner Minshew a one-million-dollar endorsement deal based on his habit of exercising in nothing but a jockstrap?
... that the pastor John Littlejohn went from selling pornographic literature to sailors as a youth to protecting the Declaration of Independence?
... that the nature documentary The Green Planet, narrated by David Attenborough, has been compared to both horror films and a "plant porno"?
... that zombie pornography emerged in the 1980s during a rise in the Italian sexploitation film industry?
... that in 2001, around 64 percent of all films produced in Malayalam were of the soft-porn variety?
... that Aroha Bridge changed its name from Hook Ups because fans searching for the show often found pornography instead?
... that John Wayne Bobbitt Uncut was the bestselling pornographic film of 1994 and had the most rentals that year in the United States?
... that before being restored as a Broadway theater, the Ritz Theatre was used as a television studio, pornographic theater, vaudeville house, children's theater, and poster warehouse?