Pornography and Eroticism
Pornography in the western world is widely available to adults in its many forms (Hunt, 2005). Pornography refers to material of a sexually explicit nature, is arousing and/or exposes genitalia in visual, written or spoken form (Crooks & Baur, 2014). To fully understand what pornography is and its history one must also have an understanding of eroticism and its history in culture. While there is no hard and fast rule that differentiates porn and erotica, it is said that erotica is more thought provoking and has multiple intentions, whilst pornography has only one exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. (Tarrant, 2016) Erotica is identified as fostering more positive feelings and emotions through artistic expression, is seen to be less violent and its focus is more about mutual sexual practice. Whilst pornography is perceived to be more about an imbalance of power, the objectification of women, aggression, violence and lacks intimacy. In contrast the line between pornography and erotica can be grey. Porn actress Shelly Lubben suggests that one person’s erotica can be another person’s pornography (Davis, B., 2015). In ancient Greek the word Eros – Erotica has the meaning of love and passion, while the word Porne means whore or prostitute. (Tarrant, 2016).
A brief History of Porn and Erotica
The earliest forms of erotic expression and pornography are dated back to the paleolithic era. Sexual representations in this era for example the Venus of Holhe Fels, an ivory artifact dating more than 35,000 years old are evidence of this. In ancient Greek, Roman and Egyptian times the portrayal of sexual material was often depicted in artifacts such as paintings, pottery and sculptures. (Ruzgyte, E. 2015). In India around in 400 CE pornography and erotica, otherwise known as representations of sexuality were seen through books like the karma sutra (Crooks & Baur, 2014). In medieval times sexually explicit material was usually for the viewing by those from high society, however with the industrial revolution ‘pornography’ became more mainstream as a result of the mass circulation of print and visual mediums. (Ruzgyte, E. 2015). Following this, during the 1500 -1700’s, pornography was heavily influenced and controlled by the Church. The Vatican and Pope Paul IV deemed some forms of written pornography as too sexually explicit and these books for example Memoirs of a woman of pleasure by John Cleveland were prohibited. In the French revolution pornography was seen to evoke political revolution through massed produced written and satire depictions often ridiculing the higher class, royalty and the church. During this time, it is also interesting to note the pornographic writings of Marquis De Sade. His erotic works are best known for his depiction of anal sex, rape, incest and other forms of torture linked to sexual arousal and these can be linked to many themes in modern internet and film pornography (Hunt, 2005). The French revolution was also a time when the first form of photographic pornography using daguerreotype was made, which led eventually to the mass production and industrialisation of pornography (Ruzgyte, E. 2015).
The Industrialization of Pornography
As new technologies were discovered and introduced like the motion picture industry it is important to note that with these technologies also came the capitalization of sexually explicit material. Interestingly, the first mainstream adult film Deep Throat attracted people to X rated theatres and generated 600 million dollars, this initiated the modern pornographic film industry.
The invention of the VCR meant that people could watch pornography from the privacy and comfort of their own homes and following this the availably of internet pornography in the 1980’s and the introduction of the world wide web meant that pornography was easily accessed anytime form just about anywhere. (Ruzgyte, E. 2015). The ease of access to internet pornography, via home computer means it can be accessed even by minors. (Weber et al., 2012). Commercial pornography today exists in most societies and worldwide sales of explicit material is said to be over $97 billion (Salmon, 2012). Internet porn empowers individual’s fantasies but is also largely commodified and is a source of financial profits (Jacobs et al., 2007).
The availability of pornography in present times and aggressive sexual behaviour in adolescent males.
While it is normal for adolescents in their development to have a curiosity about sexuality and have exposure to sexually explicit material, the ease of access of pornography and the effects on sexual attitudes has been the topic of many research papers. (Owens et al., 2012). Adolescent’s ideas about sexuality are directly influenced by the content consumed in pornography (Weber et al., 2012).
Pornography can be a powerful teacher of sexual behaviours and attitudes, specifically towards women. At the centre of most pornographic controversy is the topic of aggression and the degrading nature towards women. In a quantitative study of 304 pornographic scenes specifically from film, high levels of aggression were strongly evident. Furthermore, the males were seen to be the aggressors and the females were receiving such behaviours. 94.4% of the aggressive behaviours were directed at women (Bridges et al., 2010). It is evident that pornography consumption of young males predicted later sexual behaviours and established an aggressive sexual script. (Wright et al., 2015)
Often the consensual depiction of aggression can render this behaviour against women almost invisible or consent is not clear and not discussed and thus is assumed to be enjoyed. (Bridges et al., 2010). With the ease of access to pornography for young people and considering the aggressive behaviours depicted in many forms of pornography, adolescents need to be taught how to view this material critically. They also need to be taught how to assess how it aligns with their own values and the well-being of their sexual partners. (Albury, 2014)
According to Jochen Peter and Patti M. Valkenburg, there is a varied response on the effects of adolescents watching pornography and whether it has an impact on their sexual values and beliefs. However, their longitudinal study reveals that adolescent porn watching has a direct effect specifically on more sexually aggressive behaviour. (Peter & Valkenburg, 2016). Another study completed in New Zealand on adolescents who view internet pornography and it’s use for sexual education found that the representation of violence contributes to masculine identity and that masculinity is associated with aggressive behaviour and sexual conquest (Allen, 2006)
Additionally, studies have been completed that evaluated the relationship of aggressive sexually explicit materials and young offending males. This study discusses the application of Bandura’s Learning Theory and applies it to pornography and how it effects the viewers behaviour. When pornography is viewed it creates a “a physiological or psychological response” (Mellor & Duff, 2019, p. 116), because the response from viewing the pornography is a desirable one it gives the message to the viewer that the same feeling will occur in a ‘real life’ scenario. It set precedence for their future sexual interactions. (Mellor & Duff, 2019). The research showed that there was a relationship between sadistic sexual behaviour and the consumption of pornography before the age of 18, however there was no direct relationship to pornography watching and becoming an offender. (Mellor & Duff, 2019).
Pornography shows many depictions of the degradation of women and thus contributes to this behaviour being seen as acceptable in young people, an example of this degrading behaviour towards women is the placement of a males ‘çum’ on the female’s face. The use of pornography, even if non-violent can also develop a desensitisation to sexual content and a move towards more extreme hardcore forms of sexually explicit material, for example degrading pornography. (Binnie & Reavey, 2019)
Throughout history humankind has appreciated and enjoyed many forms of erotica, through art, theatre and in text. Whilst erotica can be sexually arousing it can to also be thought provoking and have many intentions. With the industrialisation of erotic material and the introduction of motion picture, VHS and the rise of the internet eroticism has moved towards mainstream pornography, an industry that is largely capitalised on. As pornography is now widely available to view from just about anywhere, there has been an increase use in pornography especially in male adolescents. With this brings concerns about the prevalence of sexually aggressive, degrading and violent behaviours in young males and the risks to women. Furthermore, there is conversation surrounding sexual education that includes how to critically view pornography in relation to real life experiences and how the education can play an important role for healthy sexual attitudes, values and beliefs.
Images by The Forbidden Erotica of Thomas Rowlandson
1756-1827 https://www.kurtvonmeier.com/thomas-rowlandson
References
Albury, K. (2014). Pornandsex education, pornassex education. Porn Studies, 1(1-2), 172-181. https://doi.org/10.1080/23268743.2013.863654
Allen, L. (2006). “Looking at the Real Thing”: Young men, pornography, and sexuality education. Discourse: Studies In The Cultural Politics Of Education, 27(1), 69-83. https://doi.org/10.1080/01596300500510302
Bridges, A., Wosnitzer, R., Scharrer, E., Sun, C., & Liberman, R. (2010). Aggression and Sexual Behavior in Best-Selling Pornography Videos: A Content Analysis Update. Violence Against Women, 16(10), 1065-1085. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801210382866
Binnie, J., & Reavey, P. (2019). Development and implications of pornography use: a narrative review. Sexual And Relationship Therapy, 35(2), 178-194. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681994.2019.1635250
Davis, B. (2015). Erotica vs. pornography. In The International Encyclopedia of Human Sexuality (eds A. Bolin and P. Whelehan). https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118896877.wbiehs133
Crooks, R., & Baur, K. (2014). Our Sexuality (12th ed.). Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Hunt, L. (2005). The Invention of pornography. ACLS History E-Book Project.
Jacobs, K., Janssen, M., & Pasquinelli, M. (2007). C'lickme. Institute of Network Cultures.
Mellor, E., & Duff, S. (2019). The use of pornography and the relationship between pornography exposure and sexual offending in males: A systematic review. Aggression And Violent Behavior, 46, 116-126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2019.02.003
Owens, E., Behun, R., Manning, J., & Reid, R. (2012). The Impact of Internet Pornography on Adolescents: A Review of the Research. Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity, 19(1-2), 99-122. https://doi.org/10.1080/10720162.2012.660431
Peter, J., & Valkenburg, P. (2016). Adolescents and Pornography: A Review of 20 Years of Research. The Journal Of Sex Research, 53(4-5), 509-531. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2016.1143441
Ruzgyte, E. (2015). Pornography, history of. In The International Encyclopedia of Human Sexuality (eds A. Bolin and P. Whelehan). https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118896877.wbiehs367
Salmon, C. (2012). The Pop Culture of Sex: An Evolutionary Window on the Worlds of Pornography and Romance. Review Of General Psychology, 16(2), 152-160. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027910
Tarrant, S. (2016). The pornography industry. [s.n.].
Weber, M., Quiring, O., & Daschmann, G. (2012). Peers, Parents and Pornography: Exploring Adolescents’ Exposure to Sexually Explicit Material and Its Developmental Correlates. Sexuality & Culture, 16(4), 408-427. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-012-9132-7
Wright, P., Tokunaga, R., & Kraus, A. (2015). A Meta-Analysis of Pornography Consumption and Actual Acts of Sexual Aggression in General Population Studies. Journal Of Communication, 66(1), 183-205. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcom.12201\