A Brief Overview of Porn and the 20th Century - 1978 Words

Porn and technology: Pornography has, more than any other type of media, been on the bleeding edge of technology. Pushing new mediums to their limit, usually in the last way they were ever intended to be used (Gross, 2010). We start off the 20th Century with the Half-tone printing process being only two decades old. This was the first process that allowed images to be inexpensively reproduced. Magazines were the leading pornographic medium, and they were only available by mail. Then, with the advent of film, the Stag films were first produced in Germany and Latin America. With the arrival of do it yourself film equipment in the 1940’s anyone could make a film. The problem was it required a lab to make mass copies, and since porn was†¦show more content†¦This concept was later perfected with webcams and credit cards, giving the user full control over a live person, however interactive porn DVD’s remained popular. Accepting Porn: Since the accidental discovery of the first pornography at Pompii in 1592 porn has had a bad reputation. It is a Victorian word first defined by Webster as â€Å"Licentious painting or literature†. From its very beginning pornography was outlawed and banned from the public. In the beginning of the 20th century one could be jailed for even viewing a stag film. This may of hurt the quality of porn but it the principal of supply and demand stayed intact, and there was always an overwhelming demand. The way that demand has been supplied has changed drastically throughout the 20th century. Porn went from socially unacceptable to a social phenomenon. Public opinion, slowly, overturned government rule. The main reason porn became more acceptable was because masturbation became more socially acceptable (Paul, 2005). In the early 1900’s we see masturbation as an act someone took shame in, because it meant that person didn’t have anyone to have sex with. In modern times masturbation is said to be healthy by health care professionals and although it is not spoken of often, it is accepted. When porn was first discovered by the Victorians within the Roman ruins of Pompii there was a major fear that the lower educated, working class would do nothing all day but sit at home andShow MoreRelatedHow Women Are Portrayed in Media6769 Words   |  28 Pageshow amazing they are and always will be. Sources: Media and Girls. (Media Awareness Network). Sex and Relationships in the Media. (Media Awareness Network). Durik, Amanda and Janet Shibley Hyde. Psychology of Women and Gender in the 21st Century. (University of Wisconsin). Medias Effect on Girls: Body Image and Gender Identity. (National Institute on Media and the Family). The role of media is crucial to the issue of violence against women, both in terms of how media cover (and often