Anyone who ever visits the video store has taken a curious look at the porn collection. And then quickly walk on with a red blush, because 'we' don't watch porn. Despite this fleeing behaviour, pornography has an age-old success story.
Before we look at this success story, it is important to define what we mean by pornography. That is not so clear-cut at all. The line between eroticism and pornography is very thin, and also very personal. What one person finds obscene, for another is an artistic expression of the human body. Strictly speaking, pornography only exists in people's minds, where the shocking effect and the taboo surrounding it are judged by everyone.
The word 'pornography' comes from the Greek and literally means:the 'graph of fornication', or loosely translated 'writing about whores'. It is funny to note that nowadays we always associate pornography with images. Books from the Bouquet series in which flowery stories are told about 'the deed' are not pornography in our opinion. Yet in the past it was precisely the written form that was the reason for the flourishing of the visual material. Let's take a quick look at the history of pornography.
Porn out of context
Of course, our past is full of material manifestations that could evoke sexual stimuli. We can go back as far as 50,000 years. Think, for example, of the feminine curves of the Venus of Willendorf, of erotic cave painting, or of the bawdy frescoes found in Pompeii.
Unfortunately, scientists can't quite put their finger on what exactly the original intention of these utterances was. Were they for a fertility ritual? Did they have any religious significance? Did they just think a lot about sex and did they want to give it an outlet? Due to the lack of context, we omit these expressions in this article. Moreover, the then prevailing morality about nudity was so different from ours that classifying these images under 'pornography' may not be justified.
Renaissance
The Renaissance spawned Europe's pioneer of pornography:Pietro Aretino (1492-1556).
During the Renaissance, the humanists developed an endless fascination for classical antiquity. Intellectuals trained in Latin and Greek, and read Cicero and Virgil. For artists, the renewed interest in antiquity was a wonderful excuse to shape pagan myths. Preferably naked (as was customary in classical antiquity) and in erotic scenes. While depicting naked bodies was taboo, depicting naked satyrs, nymphs, gods, and goddesses was not. Even in religious paintings, scenes of the Virgin and Child were eroticized. During this time, Aretino had free rein for a work with a sexual theme.
His controversial book 'I modi', or 'the manners', revolutionized the Western world. It combines 16 sexually explicit sonnets with 16 engravings of couples having sex in different positions. The main characters in his work are not just fictional, by the way. He assigns special roles to prominent courtesans, and well-known clergy of his time.
Aretino's goal with 'I Modi' was twofold:on the one hand, he wanted to portray sex in a fun, lively, and familiar way. On the other hand, with his work he wanted to offer a counterpoint to what he saw as a corrupt papal court. What made Aretino's work so offensive in the eyes of the church was that he actually used sex as a means of demonstrating papal corruption, thereby reaching a wide audience. (The invention of the printing press made it possible to produce books cheaper and less labour-intensive, making them available to a wider audience.)
Through works like 'I Modi' and the works that followed, pornography became deeply involved in political and religious resistance.
French Revolution
In the years leading up to the French Revolution, the amount of pornography steadily grew. The product was well received by the public—precisely because of the taboo atmosphere surrounding it. The main targets were the aristocracy and the clergy. Both groups were labeled impotent, had venereal diseases, and were morally pernicious. It's ironic that the sexually explicit material previously available only to the elite became a weapon in the hands of the people who hated them so much.
No one was immune to these attacks, not even King Louis the 16th and his wife Marie-Antoinette. For example, pamphlets were distributed openly questioning the paternity of her children. Her alleged wild orgies and ascribed lesbian activities were also disseminated to the middle class and working class. This "attack" continued until she was detained in La Conciergerie prison. Then reports circulated accusing her of having an incestuous relationship with her son. The purpose of this is clear:if the king could not control his wife, how could he demand obedience from the people?
Marquis de Sade
After the French Revolution, "political pornography" was gradually replaced by material that more generally pushed the boundaries of socially accepted norms. The stories of Marquis de Sade mark this transitional period in 1790. Rather than making fun of political leaders, de Sade focused more on undermining generally accepted morality.
His work was so shocking that it was not available to the public until well into the 20th century (topics included, for example, incest, infanticide, and rape). His work was not just about expressing deviant sexual desires, he also wanted to demonstrate with his work that one's view of life can be controlled by the desire to dominate and even destroy others. Marquis de Sade is also namesake for the sexuality form 'sadism'.
Victorian era
Interestingly enough, in the prudish Victorian era (1837-1901) porn experienced an enormous heyday. The growth core shifted from France to England, where it was more commercially exploited. At a time characterized by rigid conservative moral values, pornography developed as a genre in its own right whose purpose was only to arouse lust.
Great efforts were made by government agencies to keep the dubious literature and images out of the hands of the public. Women were especially protected. Because they were considered biologically inferior, they were more susceptible to the influence of fleshly lusts. Pornography was no longer feared for its political message, but for perverting the 'innocent'.
While women were protected from anything that could cause the slightest flush of cheeks, pornography boomed among the male population. In 1834 there were 57 porn shops in London alone!
Victorian pornography created moral anarchy wherever it could. At this time homosexuality was openly rejected, but in pornography sexual expressions of all shapes and sizes sprang up. The golden age of tribulation also meant the golden age of pornography.
Porn for the masses
The 20th century is the century of technological progress. And every technological leap was followed closely by pornographers. By tapping into media such as photography, film and the internet, porn became more and more available to the masses. At a gas station, in the video store, or at home behind your computer; porn became a product that was always on hand. As a result, it became intertwined with everyday life.
Today we don't look up to a Sloggi billboard with a scantily clad lady looking sultry into the camera lens, although in other times this might be considered pornographic. This changes our understanding of what pornography actually is. But as pornography becomes more and more extreme, it still pushes the boundaries of generally accepted morality. In that regard, nothing has changed at all five centuries after the emergence of porn.
A quick look into the history of pornography shows that pornography has always played a—if somewhat thankless—role in defying and combating established roles and the social anxiety surrounding it.
See further
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