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 adult-only sexual content is made by 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

Amateur pornography is a category of pornography that features models, actors or non-professionals performing without pay, or actors for whom this material is not their only paid modeling work. Reality pornography is professionally made pornography that seeks to emulate the style of amateur pornography. Amateur pornography has been called one of the most profitable and long-lasting genres of pornography. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

Selected work of erotic literature

Illustration by Georges Barbier for The Songs of Bilitis

The Songs of Bilitis (/bɪˈliːtɪs/; French: Les Chansons de Bilitis) is a collection of erotic, essentially lesbian, poetry by Pierre Louÿs published in Paris in 1894. Since Louÿs claimed that he had translated the original poetry from Ancient Greek, this work is considered a pseudotranslation. The poems were actually clever fabulations, authored by Louÿs himself, and are still considered important literature.

The poems are in the manner of Sappho; the collection's introduction claims they were found on the walls of a tomb in Cyprus, written by a woman of Ancient Greece called Bilitis (Greek: Βιλιτις), a courtesan and contemporary of Sappho's to whose life Louÿs dedicated a small section of the book. On publication, the volume deceived even expert scholars.

Louÿs claimed the 143 prose poems, excluding 3 epitaphs, were entirely the work of this ancient poet—a place where she poured both her most intimate thoughts and most public actions, from childhood innocence in Pamphylia to the loneliness and chagrin of her later years. (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 120 Days of Sodom Kama Sutra Lolita Tropic of Cancer (novel) Josephine Mutzenbacher Tijuana bible Emmanuelle (novel) Sex (book)

Slideshow of selected contemporary images

Image 1Valentina Nappi at the AVN Awards Show, Las Vegas, Nevada on 21 January 2017
Image 2Pornographic actor and director Miles Long (submitted by self)
Image 3Lisa Ann
Image 4Daisy Marie posing with a fan at the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo 2008
Image 5Pornographic DVDs, Japan, "Kawaii" section
Image 6Penthouse Pet Dani Daniels, wearing Penthouse key necklace
Image 7Audrey Hollander - American porn star
Image 8Tila Tequila
Image 9American pornographic actor Ron Jeremy. One of top Porn Stars of All Time.
Image 10Playmate of the Year Sara Jean Underwood
Image 11Playboy Playmate Alison Waite
Image 12Cindy Margolis
Image 13Silvia Saint, wearing a Bomis tee-shirt (a site previously run by Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia).
Image 14Joanna Jet - transsexual pornographic actress and director
Image 15Sean Michaels - pornographic actor.
Image 16A 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 17Michele_Merkin - Glamour photography
Image 18Michael Lucas, Nonie, Rafael Alencar, David Shankbone, and Ernesta Alamirano in Fire Island Pines
Image 19Figure 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 20Carmen Luvana, Adult Entertainment Expo 2008
Image 21Katsuni - French pornographic actress.
Image 22Pornographic actress and cosplayer Tanya Tate as She-Ra
Image 23Louise Glover
Image 24Shy Love at AVN Adult Entertainment Expo 2012
Image 25World map showing laws of general pornography
Image 26Playmate of the Year and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals spokesperson Pamela Anderson, signing DVDs at the USS Halsey
Image 27Hentai style of art, originally from Japan
Image 28Hugh Hefner with Karissa Shannon, Dasha Astafieva, and Kristina Shannon
Image 29Pierre Woodman filming in Australia
Image 30Jessie Andrews
Image 31Swedish/Tanzanian Playmate of the Year Ida Ljungqvist
Image 32Erotic actress and public health advocate Sharon Mitchell.
Image 33Dana DeArmond
Image 34Bondage 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 35The COLT Studio Group, San Francisco
Image 36Example of Erotic photography
Image 37Lupe Fuentes
Image 38Playmate of the_Year Corinna Harney
Image 39Rebeca Linares at AVN Adult Entertainment Expo 2009
Image 40Francois Sagat, Folsom Street Fair
Image 41Transsexual pornographic actress Erica Andrews
Image 42Rocco Siffredi
Image 43Dean Flynn and Chi Chi LaRue
Image 44Playmate of the Year Claire Sinclair
Image 45Karen McDougal
Image 46Jenna Jameson
Image 47Raylene
Image 48Xaviera Hollander, author and former Sex worker
Image 49Pornographic film set. Pictured from left to right: Cali Chase, Mikey Butders, and a photographer identified as "Nicole."
Image 50Hentai Manga, Japan
Image 51Sculpture of Marilyn Monroe in Haugesund harbour, Norway

Image 51Sculpture of Marilyn Monroe in Haugesund harbour, Norway

Slideshow of selected historical images

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

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

... that zombie pornography emerged in the 1980s during a rise in the Italian sexploitation film industry?
... that Money Shot: The Pornhub Story was described by multiple reviewers as unsalacious?
... that Koh Masaki was one of the first gay pornographic film actors in Japan to openly appear in adult films without obscuring his identity?
... that the pastor John Littlejohn went from selling pornographic literature to sailors as a youth to protecting the Declaration of Independence?
... that a pornographic screenplay about Jesus led to papal and royal condemnations, a firebombing, the writer's ban from the UK, and thousands of letters per week demanding the ban of a non-existent gay Jesus film?
... 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 Philipp Tanzer has been an army medic, artist, firefighter, hairdresser, massage therapist, festival organiser, political candidate and gay porn star?
... that Aroha Bridge changed its name from Hook Ups because fans searching for the show often found pornography instead?