Hardcore pornography refers to still photography and/or video footage of 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 displayed in magazines or on the Internet, or films. It can also appear as a cartoon. Since the 1990s it has been distributed widely over the Internet. Hardcore pornography commonly includes explicit depictions of sex acts such as vaginal or anal penetration, cunnilingus, fellatio and ejaculation and/or extreme fetish acts.
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Distribution of hardcore pornography was widely prohibited in many countries until the second half of the 20th century when many countries began to allow some dissemination of softcore material. Supply is now usually regulated by a motion picture rating system as well as by direct regulation of points of sale. Restrictions, as applicable, apply to the screening, or rental, sale, or giving of a movie, in the form of a DVD, video, computer file, etc. Public display and advertising of hardcore pornography is often prohibited, as is its supply to minors.
Most countries have eased the restrictions on the distribution of pornography, either by general or restricted legalization or by failure to enforce prohibitive legislation. Most easing of restrictions has been by way of changes to the criteria of a country's movie classification system. The anti-pornography movement often vigorously opposes legalization. In 1969, Denmark became the first country in the world to legalize pornography.[1] 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 legalized in the UK in 2000.[2][3]
However, today, the availability of all types of pornography on the Internet has made regulation difficult.
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.[4] Since then, many other experiments have been conducted, either supporting or opposing the findings of Kutchinsky.
A study conducted in Denmark in 2003 and later published in Archives of Sexual Behavior found that men and women generally believe that hardcore pornography has a positive influence on their lives.[5] 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.[6]
The Independent reported in 2006 that Nielsen NetRatings found that more than nine million British male adults used Internet porn services.[7] 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.[8]
A 2003 study by Eric Schlosser estimated that revenues from hardcore porn match Hollywood's domestic box office takings.[9] According to that study, hardcore porn videos, internet sites, live sex acts and cable TV 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.[10] 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.[11] 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.[12] 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.[12]
In particular, organizations with ties to the Christian right movement have concerned themselves with porn issues.[13]