Pornography

From Wikipedia, a free encyclopedia written in simple English for easy reading.

Pornography is art and writing which makes people think about sex. Some people like to call it "erotica" instead, The words "sexually explicit" are also used. It is also called "porn" or "porno" for short.

The word "pornography" comes from the Greek words meaning "whore" and "writing". It used to mean "writing about whores", and it meant stories or books that told about people having sex. Today, people usually use the word to mean photographs, movies, or other pictures of people who are naked or are having sex. However, books or stories about sex are sometimes also called pornography.

Usually, such material is called pornographic, if the only focus of it is to make people want sex. Materials, the purpose of which is not to make people crave for sex, are sometimes called erotic. A picture of a partly or completely naked person need not be pornography. It can also serve a different purpose, for example to show the difference between men and women, or to show how certain people live, mainly in tribe-like communities.

[edit] Kinds of pornography

There are many kinds of pornography. Different people have different sexual likes and dislikes. Some porn shows people who are not even naked, but who are posed in a sexy manner. This is called "soft porn" -- sometimes "cheesecake" or "beefcake", depending on if women or men are in the pictures. Porn which shows people actually having sex is sometimes called "hardcore porn" or "hard porn".

Most pornography is intended for men. Some scientists think that men are more likely to be sexually turned on by pictures than women are. One of the most common kinds of sexually explicit writing, though, is the romance novel. These are novels which tell stories about women falling in love and having sex with exciting men. Most people who read romance novels are women. Some women also enjoy pornographic pictures or movies.

[edit] The business of pornography

There are many different kinds of businesses that make and sell pornography. There are magazines such as Playboy and Hustler; movie companies such as Vivid Video; and also many thousands of Web sites that sell porn.

Businesses that make pornography call themselves adult entertainment businesses. This is because most people think only adults should see pornography, and that it is not good for children to see it. In some countries it is a crime to sell or show pornography to children.

[edit] Pornography and the law

In almost all countries, it is a crime to make pornographic photographs of children. This is called "child porn". In the United States, for instance, there are laws that say that anyone who takes pornographic photos must keep records that prove the ages of the people in the pictures.

In many countries, making or owning pornography is a crime, however, in some cultures it is accepted as a way of life.

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