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Pornography
From Spanking Art
Pornography, in a most general sense, is the representation of the human body or human sexual behaviour with the goal of sexual arousal. The term derives from a Greek word meaning "writings about prostitutes". However pornography and prostitution are quite separate phenomena.
Since no one knows how to find out what the "intended goal" of a work is, a rule of thumb is that pornography is usually work that presents a subject such as sexual intercourse (vaginal, oral or anal), masturbation or a person's sexual organs (often, frontal nudity) in a lascivious, non-objective way. It is important to understand that the subject matter alone is an insufficient criterion for pornography; what counts is how it is presented. See for example this close-up photo of a human vulva, this photo of a flaccid and erect human penis or this drawing of the "cowgirl" sex position at Wikipedia. All of these examples are non-pornographic because the subject matter is presented in an objective, non-lascivious way.
Pornography and erotica are two words that describe more or less the same thing, but with different connotations. According to Wikipedia, ""Erotica" tends to define material with a higher emotional content, the development of place, character and story line, or of an overall artistic theme. However, such distinctions are necessarily subjective and may say more about the critic's own tastes on erotic material than the artistic and other attributes of the material itself."
[edit] Media
Pornography may use any of a variety of media — written and spoken text, photos, sculpture, drawings, films, animation, and sound.
Pornographic material on the Web (mainly videos and photographs) can be found e.g. on PornoTube, YouPorn, fukeo, or XTube.
A famous pornographic actor or actress is called a porn star. Works of pornographic literature, especially if old, are sometimes called curiosa.
[edit] Legal status
The legal status of pornography varies widely. Most countries allow at least some form of pornography. Softcore pornography is usually tame enough to be sold in general stores and (in some countries) to be shown on TV. Hardcore pornography, on the other hand, is usually regulated. Child pornography is illegal almost everywhere. However, what falls under the definition of child pornography and what doesn't, varies widely. Most countries also have restrictions on pornography involving (non-consensual) violence or animals.
Since the legal definitions of what constitutes pornography and what doesn't vary from country to country, it is nearly impossible to give clear criteria for it. Even in the U.S., local prosecution of and tolerance for pornography vary from state to state and from city to city.
Although any website is internationally accessible, it seems reasonable to assume that U.S. legal regulations apply for the Spanking Art wiki, and not, say, Saudi Arabic law. This is not because U.S. citizens were the 'target audience' or the biggest english speaking nation (that's India). It's because the wiki is hosted in the United States.
