Pornography in the United States
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'''Pornography in the United States''' is a legal term at the [[Federal government of the United States|federal]] level, except the generic terms "[[hardcore pornography]]"{{Ref_label|A|a|none}} and "[[Child pornography#United States|child pornography]]",<ref>''Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law''. 1996, ISBN 0-87779-604-1.</ref>{{Ref_label|B|b|none}} do not exist after the 1973 ''[[Miller v. California]]'' case.<ref>Mary Minow, [http://www.llrx.com/features/obscenitylaws.htm "I Know It When I See It: Constitutional, Federal and State Legal Definitions of Child Pornography, Obscenity and 'Harmful to Minors' of Interest to California Libraries"], [[October 1]], [[2002]]. Accessed [[29 June]] [[2008]].</ref><ref>Ray C. Rist. ''The Pornography Controversy: Changing Moral Standards in American Life''. 1973, ISBN 0-87855-587-0.</ref>{{Ref_label|C|c|none}} The case, despite demonstrating that hardcore pornography enjoys no [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution|First Constitutional Amendment]] protection, recognized that individual communities had different values and opinions on pornography. Since then the [[U.S. state|states]] can pass their own laws on it.<ref>United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary. ''Nomination of Robert H. Bork to be Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States''. 1989.</ref>{{Ref_label|D|d|none}} The [[United States Supreme Court]] added a legal significance to the term "[[obscenity]]" which is defined by the [[Miller test]].<ref>[http://censorware.net/essays/obscene_jt.html Censorware.net ''Legal definition of obscenity/pornography'' by James S. Tyre]</ref><ref>[http://www.nap.edu/netsafekids/pp_li.html Legal Issues], NetSafekids, National Academy of Sciences. Accessed [[29 June]] [[2008]].</ref> As in the case, "pornographic material which is obscene forms a sub-group of all 'obscene' expression, but not the whole, at least as the word 'obscene' is now used in our language".<ref>[http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?friend=oyez&navby=case&court=us&vol=413&invol=15 Miller v. California (413 U.S. 15)], Caselaw.lp.FindLaw.com.</ref> Relying on the [[1930]] [[Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act]] and under the terms "obscene" and "[[wiktionary:immoral|immoral]]", the [[U.S. Customs and Border Protection]] prohibits the importation of any pornographic material ({{UnitedStatesCode|19|1305a}} "Immoral articles; importation prohibited").<ref>Edward G. Hinkelman, Myron Manley, James L. Nolan, Karla C. Shippey, Wendy Bidwell, Alexandra Woznick. ''Importers Manual USA'', 2005. ISBN 1-885073-93-3.</ref>
The lawful definition of pornography in the U.S. evolved through decades, from 1960s. In this period, recognizing ambiguities, it was chosen to use the term "[[Human sexuality|sexually]] explicit content" as one of the pornography's [[euphemism]]s,<ref>''Youth, Pornography and the Internet'', National Academy Press, 2002. ISBN 0-309-08274-9</ref> but later it was determined that a distinction between pornographic and sexually explicit content is completely artificial.<ref>United States. Congress. House. Committee on the Judiciary. Subcommittee on Crime. ''Child Protection and Obscenity Enforcement Act of 1988''. 1989</ref>{{Ref_label|E|e|none}} In ''Miller v. California'' the Supreme Court used the definition of pornography made by ''[[Webster's Third New International Dictionary]]'' of 1969 ("a depiction (as in a writing or painting) of [[wiktionary:licentiousness|licentiousness]] or [[wiktionary:lewdness|lewdness]]: a portrayal of [[erotic]] behavior designed to cause sexual excitement").<ref>[http://www.moralityinmedia.org/index.htm?obscenityEnforcement/obscporn.htm MoralityinMedia.org Definitions of Pornography, Obscenity, and Indecency]</ref> ''[[Black's Law Dictionary]]'' followed the Miller test and defined pornography as material that taken as a whole the average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find appealing to the [[wiktionary:prurient|prurient]] interest. The definition "graphic sexually explicit subordination of women, whether in pictures or in words", worded by [[feminist]]s in [[Antipornography Civil Rights Ordinance]] has been twice struck down, in 1983 and 1985 (in the [[Minneapolis City Council]] by the mayor and in [[Indianapolis]] by a federal appeals court in ''American Booksellers Association v. Hudnut'', respectively). Currently [[California]] and [[New York]] are the only states with case laws (''[[People v. Freeman]]'' (1988) and ''People v. Paulino'' (2005)<ref>Mark Fass, [http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1122929108666 "Judge Sees No Link Between Prostitution, Paying for Sex to Make Films"], ''[[New York Law Journal]]'', [[August 2]], [[2005]].</ref> respectively) that tend to support pornographic movies not being subject to the mostly illegal [[prostitution in the United States|prostitution]]-related charges, such as pandering against the producer.{{Ref_label|F|f|none}} ''Heinle's Newbury House Dictionary of [[American English]]'' (2003) defined pornography as "obscene writings, pictures, or films intended to arouse sexual desire".
==Overview==
American pornography refers mainly to the [[internet]], [[Pornographic film|adult movies]], publications (with mainstream journals ''[[Playboy]]'', ''[[Penthouse magazine|Penthouse]]'', and ''[[Hustler (magazine)|Hustler]]''), and [[pay-per-view]] broadcasting. The so-called portable porn market is in its initial stage in the U.S.<ref>Mike Musgrove, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/14/AR2005111401456_pf.html "Mini-Porn Could Be Mega-Business"], ''[[Washington Post]]'', [[November 15]], [[2005]], p. D01. Accessed [[29 June]] [[2008]].</ref> Cellphone companies are reluctant to become partners with the adult entertainment for fear of being stigmatized by community standards.<ref>Rob Lever, [http://iafrica.com/loveandsex/features/558204.htm "Porn industry goes high tech"], iafrica.com, [[15 February]] [[2006]] (via the [[Internet Archive]]). Accessed [[29 June]] [[2008]].</ref>
The 1979 Revision of the Federal Criminal Code stated that "in [[Los Angeles]] alone, the porno business does $100 million a year in gross retain volume" while "the average porno magazine sells for between $6 and $10 each". According to the 1986 Attorney General's Commission on Pornography, American adult entertainment industry has grown considerably over the past thirty years by continually changing and expanding to appeal to new markets, though the production is considered to be low-profile and clandestine.<ref>Louis Fisher. ''American Constitutional Law''. 1995, ISBN 0-07-021223-6</ref> The total income of modern country's adult entertainment is often rated at $10–13 billion, of which $4–6 billion are legal. The figure is often credited to a study by [[Forrester Research]] and was lowered in 1998.<ref>Dan Ackman, [http://www.forbes.com/2001/05/25/0524porn.html "How Big Is Porn?"], Forbes.com, [[25 May [[2001]]. Accessed [[29 June]] [[2008]].</ref> Other sources, quoted by [[Forbes]] (Adams Media Research, Veronis Suhler Communications Industry Report, and IVD), even taking into consideration all possible means (video networks and pay-per-view movies on cable and satellite, [[web site]]s, in-room hotel movies, phone sex, sex toys, and magazines) mention the $2.6–3.9 billion figure (without the cellphone component). ''USA Today'' claimed in 2003 that websites such as [http://www.danni.com/ Danni's Hard Drive] and [http://www.cybererotica.com/ Cybererotica.com] generated $2 billion in revenue in that year, which was allegedly about 10% of the overall domestic porn market at the time.<ref>Jon Swartz, [http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/technology/2004-03-09-onlineporn_x.htm "Online porn often leads high-tech way"], USATODAY.com, [[9 March]] [[2004]]. Accessed [[29 June]] [[2008]].</ref> The adult movies income (from sale and rent) was once estimated by [[AVN (magazine)|AVN Publications]] at $4.3 billion but the figure obtaining is unclear. According to the 2001 Forbes data the annual income distribution is like this:
{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto"
|-
| Adult Video || $500 million to $1.8 billion
|-
| Internet || $1 billion
|-
| Magazines || $1 billion
|-
| Pay-per-view || $128 million
|-
| Cellphones || $30 million<ref name="cell">Gary Strauss, [http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/services/2005-12-12-pornography-cellphones_x.htm "Cellphone technology rings in pornography in USA"], USATODAY.com, [[12 December]] [[2005]]. Accessed [[29 June]] [[2008]].</ref>
|-
|}
''The Online Journalism Review'', published by the [[USC Annenberg School for Communication|Annenberg School of Communication]] at the [[University of Southern California]], weighed in with an analysis that favored ''Forbes''' number. The financial extent of adult films, distributed in hotels, is hard to estimate—hotels keep statistics to themselves or do not keep them at all.<ref>Matt Bradley, [http://www.usatoday.com/travel/hotels/2006-09-06-hotel-pornography_x.htm "Groups protest porn on hotel TVs"], USATODAY.com, [[6 September]] [[2006]]. Accessed [[29 June]] [[2008]].</ref> A [[CBS News]] investigation in November 2003 claimed that 50% of guests at the [[Hilton Hotels|Hilton]], [[Marriott International|Marriott]], [[Hyatt]], [[Sheraton Hotels and Resorts|Sheraton]], and [[Holiday Inn]] hotel chains purchased adult movies, contributing to 70% of in-room profits. The income of cellphone porn is low, when compared with other countries. The absence of [[V-chip]]-style parental controls largely has kept American consumers from using cellphones to access explicit content. Porn star [[Ron Jeremy]] licensed his name to "RJ Mobile", which offers adult content in [[United Kingdom|Britain]] and [[The Netherlands]].<ref name="cell" />
==Formal issues==
{{portal|Pornography}}
[[Image:US Chief Justice Warren Burger - 1971 official portrait.jpg|thumb|150px|[[Chief Justice of the United States|Chief Justice]] [[Warren E. Burger]] led the majority of the case opinions in Miller v. California.]]
:''Further information: [[Censorship in the United States#Pornography|United States pornography censorship]], [[Anti-pornography movement#U.S. Government Commissions on pornography|U.S. Government Commissions on pornography]]''
{{see also|Legal status of Internet pornography|Public interest}}
{{cquote|''I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced... [b]ut I know it when I see it...'' Justice [[Potter Stewart]], ''[[Jacobellis v. Ohio]]'', 1964}}
The term "pornography" (from [[Greek language|Greek]] πόρνη (pórnē), a prostitute) first comes from an 1857 British [[medical dictionary]], which defined it as "a description of prostitutes or of prostitution, as a matter of public hygiene",<ref>Walter Kendrick. ''The Secret Museum: Pornography in Modern Culture''. 1997. ISBN 0-520-20729-7</ref> therefore pornography by itself was not a widely used term in nineteenth-century America<ref>[http://www2.Law.Columbia.edu/law_culture/LHworkshop2005/final%20selectee%20papers/ObsPros&consequences-long.doc www2.Law.Columbia.edu Pornography’s Past: Sexual Publishing]</ref> and the term did not appear in any version of ''[[American Dictionary of the English Language]]'' in its early editions. The dictionary introduced the entry in 1864, defining it primarily as a "treatment of, or a treatise on, the subject of prostitutes or prostitution". Early charges used the term "obscenity" as well as after ''Miller v. California'', though the term "pornography" remained as a reference entry:
{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto"
!width="200"|Source
!width="420"|Definition
|-
| ''[[Merriam-Webster's Dictionary]] of Law'' || "Material that depicts erotic behavior and is intended to cause sexual excitement"
|-
| ''[http://dictionary.law.com/ The People's Law Dictionary]'' || "Pictures and/or writings of sexual activity intended solely to excite lascivious feelings of a particularly blatant and aberrational kind, such as acts involving children, animals, orgies, and all types of sexual intercourse"
|-
| ''[http://law.enotes.com/wests-law-encyclopedia/ West's Encyclopedia of American Law]'' || "The representation in books, magazines, photographs, films, and other media of scenes of sexual behavior that are erotic or lewd and are designed to arouse sexual interest"; "the depiction of sexual behavior that is intended to arouse sexual excitement in its audience"
|-
|}
The upcoming censorship of pornographic materials in the United States became based on the First and partially [[Ninth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Ninth]]<ref>Paul Abramson, Steven D. Pinkerton, Mark Huppin. ''Sexual Rights in America: The Ninth Amendment and the Pursuit of Happiness''. 2003, ISBN 0-8147-0692-4</ref> and [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Fourteenth]] Amendments to [[United States Constitution|Constitution]]. It also includes the so-called [[harm principle]], as well as in [[Canada]] and the [[United Kingdom]].<ref>[http://www.slais.ubc.ca/courses/libr500/fall1999/www_presentations/c_hogg/argue.htm General arguments for and against the censorship of pornography]</ref> The [[Moral absolutism|absolutist]] interpretation of the First Amendment as applied to pornography has never been sustained by the Supreme Court.<ref>[[William A. Donohue]]. ''The Politics of the American Civil Liberties Union'', 1985. ISBN 0-87855-983-3</ref> In the ''Investigation of Literature Allegedly Containing Objectionable Material'', issued by the [[U.S. Congress]] Select Committee on Current Pornographic Materials in 1953, it was noted that "perhaps the greatest impediments to the prompt and effective enforcement of existing laws intended to control pornographic materials are the difficulties of establishing a precise interpretation of the word". During the Warren Court (1953-1969), the first notable court to face the cases of such kind, justices Potter Stewart, [[Byron White]], and [[Arthur Goldberg]] shared the opinion that only hardcore pornography was not protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments.<ref>Michal R. Belknap. ''The Supreme Court Under Earl Warren, 1953-1969''. 2005, ISBN 1-57003-563-6</ref> This position was contested notably by [[United States Solicitor General|U.S. Solicitor General]] [[James Lee Rankin]] (in office 1956-1961),<ref>Linda Williams. ''Hard Core: Power, Pleasure, and the "Frenzy of the Visible"''. 1999, ISBN 0-520-21943-0</ref> but in Jacobellis v. Ohio Stewart concluded that criminal obscenity laws are constitutionally limited under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to hardcore pornography.<ref>[http://www.aegis.com/law/SCt/Decisions/1964/378US184.html Aegis.com Jacobellis v. Ohio, 378 U.S. 184 (1964)]</ref> Concurring in the 1957 ''[[Roth v. United States]]'' Justice [[John Marshall Harlan II]] wrote: "[E]ven assuming that pornography cannot be deemed ever to cause in an immediate sense, criminal...conduct, other interests within the proper cognizance of the State may be protected by the prohibition placed on such materials."
The 1967 [[Public Law]] 90-100 found the traffic in pornography to be "a matter of national concern", as well as in obscenity.<ref>United States. Commission on Obscenity and Pornography. Report. 1970</ref> In this period the Court considered pornography to have two major dimensions. The first can be defined as dealing with sexual representations that are offensive to public morality or taste, which concerned the Court notably in the 1966 ''[[Ginzburg v. United States]]'' case. The second centers on the effect of pornography on specific individuals or classes, which is the focus of most public discussions and prior Court pornography decisions. This dimension was mentioned only twice in the array of decisions made in 1966. A frustration was expressed notably by Justice [[Hugo Black]] in the 1966 ''[[Mishkin v. New York]]'': "I wish once more to express my objections to saddling this Court with the irksome and inevitably unpopular and unwholesome task of finally deciding by a case-by-case, sight-by-sight personal judgment of the members of this Court what pornography (whatever that means) is too hard core for people to see or read."<ref>[http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/speech/adultent/topic.aspx?topic=pornography FirstAmendmentCenter.org Adult Entertainment in Speech]</ref> In the 1974 ''[[Hamling v. United States]]'' decision the Supreme Court said that just because pornographic materials are for sale and purchased around the country, "does not make them witnesses of virtue... Mere availability of similar materials by itself means nothing more than that other persons are engaged in similar activities."<ref>[http://www.moralityinmedia.org/index.htm?obscenityEnforcement/cliches2.htm MoralityinMedia.org Myths about Pornography and Obscenity Law]</ref> The 1976 ''[[American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language]]'' defined that pornography consists of "written, graphic, or other forms of communication intended to excite lascivious feelings". Since determining what is pornography and what is "soft core" and "hard core" are subjective questions to judges, juries, and law enforcement officials, it is difficult to define, since the law cases cannot print examples for the courts to follow.<ref>''The People's Law Dictionary''</ref> The [[Rehnquist Court]] further enhanced the power of community controls on pornography.<ref>Robert Singh. ''Contemporary American Politics and Society: Issues and Controversies''. 2003, ISBN 0-7619-4096-0</ref> Current Chief Justice [[John Roberts]] told at the confirmation hearing on his nomination: "...it's my understanding under the Supreme Court's doctrine that pornographic expression is not protected to the same extent at least as political and core speech, and the difficulty that the Court has addressed in these different areas of course is always defining what is or is not pornography..."<ref>United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary. ''Confirmation Hearing on the Nomination of John G. Roberts, Jr. to be Chief Justice of the United States''. 2005, ISBN 0-16-075256-6</ref>
In May 2005 [[U.S. Attorney General]] [[Alberto Gonzales]] established an Obscenity Prosecution Task Force.<ref>[http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1125318960389 Law.com ''U.S. Attorney's Porn Fight Gets Bad Reviews'' by Julie Kay, ''Daily Business Review'' August 30, 2005]</ref> The task force, according to a [[U.S. Department of Justice|Department of Justice]] news release on May 5, was "dedicated to the investigation and prosecution of the distributors of hard-core pornography that meets the test for obscenity, as defined by the United States Supreme Court." Under President [[George W. Bush|Bush]]'s and Gonzales' rationales the [[FBI]] Adult Obscenity Squad<ref>[http://jacksonville.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel06/sexualexploitation091206.htm Jacksonville.FBI.gov Press Release - Department of Justice]</ref> was recruited in August 2005 to gather evidence against "manufacturers and purveyors" of adult pornography.<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/19/AR2005091901570.html?nav=hcmodule WashingtonPost.com ''Recruits Sought for Porn Squad'' by Barton Gellman]</ref>
===Child pornography===
{{main|Child pornography}}
The 1970 [[Lockhart Commission]] recommended eliminating all criminal penalties for pornography except for pornographic depictions of minors, or sale of pornography to minors.<ref name="breakthrough">[http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/obscenity.htm Law.umkc.edu The First Amendment and Obscenity and Public Nudity]</ref> However prior to 1977, only two states had laws which prohibited the use of children in the production or distribution of pornographic materials or performances.<ref>United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary. Subcommittee on Juvenile Justice. ''Federal Assistance to States to Prevent the Abuse of Children in Child Care Facilities''. 1985</ref> In 1977, the Department of Justice strongly endorsed legislation which banned the production and dissemination of child pornography.<ref>United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary. Subcommittee on Juvenile Justice. ''Computer Pornograph [i.e. Pornography] and Child Exploitation Prevention Act''. 1986</ref> These efforts have been successfully challenged in the 1982 ''[[New York v. Ferber]]'' case ("Recognizing and classifying child pornography as a category of material outside the protection of the First Amendment is not incompatible with our earlier decisions"). Although the states have a different [[age of consent]], in accordance with the [[Federal Labeling and Record-Keeping Law]] all models featured in pornographic content should have 18 years of age. This kind of material is often labeled as "adult" and the appropriate disclaimers are common. They are based on what "depicts or describes, in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards, sexual or excretory activities or organs".<ref>47 U.S.C.A. §223(d)</ref>
===Anti-pornography movement===
:''Further information: [[Anti-pornography movement#United States Supreme Court Jurisprudence|United States Supreme Court Jurisprudence on anti-pornography movement]]
{{see also|Fighting words}}
The so-called "sex wars" of the late seventies<ref>Henry L. Minton. ''Gay and Lesbian Studies''. 1993, ISBN 1-56024-307-4</ref> challenged the traditional understanding of the gender role. [[Andrea Dworkin]] and [[Catharine MacKinnon]] became well-known often-cited anti-pornography authors. Many debates have attended their political intervention into the law by way of their advocacy of anti-pornography ordinances in several [[Mid West|midwestern]] cities. Other notable American anti-pornography activists to belong to this camp are [[Robin Morgan]] and [[Susan Griffin]]. Ordinary [[libertarian]]s, who separate sex and violence, take MacKinnon and Dworkin to task for their refusal to leave sexual expression alone.<ref>Thomas L. Dumm. ''United States''. 1994, ISBN 0-8014-3002-X</ref> This was done particularly by Gillian Rodgerson and Elizabeth Wilson in ''Pornography and Feminism: The Case Against Censorship'': "Yet this theoretical cocktail of biologism and [[Behaviorism|behaviourism]] is lethal. To see men as naturally programmed for violence is to endorse the most conservative views on human nature, and to see it as unchanging and unchangeable". Rodgerson and Wilson argue that pornography plays a relatively minor role in the wider regime of [[sexist]] practices pervading women's lives.<ref>Per ''Approaches to Popular Film'', ed. by Joanne Hollows and Mark Jancovich. 1995, ISBN 0-7190-4393-X</ref>
The famous Indianapolis definition of pornography by Dworkin and MacKinnon paralleled their Minneapolis ordinance. The first was rejected by the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit]] for several reasons. The ordinance did not use any of the accepted terms that the Supreme Court had developed over time for determining when material is obscene, including "prurient interest", "offensiveness", or "local community standarts".<ref name="Moral">''Moral Controversies In American Politics: Cases in Social Regulatory Policy'', ed. by Raymond Tatlovich and Byron W. Daynes. 2004, ISBN 0-7656-1420-0</ref> Another concern was the way the women were depicted in the work. If women were referred to in the approved fashion stressing equality, the activity involved would be regardless of how sexually explicit it was.<ref name="Moral"/> The Court also indicated that if women were referred to in a disapproving way depicting them as subversive or as enjoying humiliation, the activity would be unlawful regardless of the "literary, artistic or political qualities of the work taken as a whole".<ref name="Moral"/> Judge [[Frank Easterbrook]] said: "We accept the premises of this legislation. Depictions of subordination tend to perpetuate subordination. The subordinate status of women in turn leads to affront and lower pay at work, insult and injury at home, battery and [[rape]] on the streets...but...this simply demonstrates the power of pornography as speech."<ref>[http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pornography-censorship/notes.html#2 Plato.Stanford.edu ''Pornography and Censorship'' by Caroline West first published Wed 5 May, 2004]</ref> ''Conceptions of Democracy in American Constitutional Argument: The Case of Pornography Regulation'' by [[Frank Michelman]], issued by Tennessee Law Review (vol. 56, no. 291, 1989) partially consented that "pornography is political expression in that it promulgates a certain view of women's natures and thus of women's appropriate relations and treatment in society", but also concluded that the Indianopolis ordinance was precisely designed to suppress that particular view by censoring pornography. Minneapolis ordinance was struck down on the grounds that it was ambiguous and vague, however despite of its failure the proposal influenced other communities across America.<ref name="Moral"/>
Another matter, which frequently circulates in American anti-pornography movement is a close bond of pornography with rape. According to ''Porn Up, Rape Down'' by [[Northwestern University]] Law Professor Anthony D’amato, "the incidence of rape in the United States has declined 85 per cent in the past 25 years while access to pornography has become freely available to teenagers and adults". Recognizing that the Nixon and Reagan Commissions tried to show that exposure to pornographic materials produced social violence, D'amato concludes that "the reverse may be true: that pornography has reduced social violence". D'amato suggests there are two predominant reasons why an increase in the availability of pornography has led to a reduction in rape. First, using pornographic material provides an easy avenue for the sexually desirous to "get it out of their system". Second, D'amato points to the so-called "Victorian effect". It dates back to the British [[Victorian era]] where people covered up their bodies with an immense amount of clothing, generating a greater mystery as to what they looked like naked. D'amato suggests that the free availability of pornography since the 1970s, and the recent bombardment of internet pornography, has de-mystified sex, thus satisfying the sexually curious.<ref>[http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=4845 ''Pornography has its benefits'' by James McConvill; posted Friday, 29 September 2006]</ref>
==Internet==
The internet maintains a significant part of American adult entertainment, also because the 1997 ''[[Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union]]'' case specified that the term "[[wiktionary:indecent|indecent]]" also has no specific legal meaning in the context of the internet. More recent federal efforts, such as the [[CAN-SPAM Act of 2003]] expressly addressed the internet.<ref>William A. (EDT) Finkelstein, James R. (EDT) Sims, ''Intellectual Property Handbook''. 2005, ISBN 1-59031-585-5</ref> On [[May 1]], [[2000]] [[American Express]] announced it no longer covers transactions from adult sites.<ref>ZDNet News ''AMEX just says 'no' to porn sites'' by Margaret Kane</ref><ref>[http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,36608,00.html Wired News: Amex Nixes X-Rated Exchanges]</ref> According to Committee to Study Tools and Strategies for Protecting Kids from Pornography and Their Applicability to Other Inappropriate Internet Content, subscription sites with adult content exceed 100,000 in the United States, with each site having multiple web pages underneath it. On average, a paid subscription generates $20 to $40 per month in revenue, however an in-depth analysis is complicated. If a visitor site connects to a pay site and signs up for content, it receives a conversion fee from the larger site. A successful large operation like Cybererotica is an umbrella company serving many markets with pay sites. Around this core and its affiliates is a system of ad-supported service sites, such as California-based [http://www.ynot.com/ YNOT.com], a [[Web portal|portal]] for porn [[webmaster]]s.<ref>[http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/10.02/sex_pr.html Edward Cone. ''The Naked Truth'']</ref>
[[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]]-based [[Sex.com]] is one of the major adult [[domain name]]s with a worth at $100 million.<ref>Chantelle MacDonald Newhook. ''Cybersquatters Beware: Insiders' Tips on Winning Domain Name Disputes'', 2003. ISBN 0-07-090579-7</ref> [[Seattle]]-based Flying Crocodile, Inc. has a stable of more than 280,000 adult sites.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20021116222105/http://www.boulderweekly.com/archive/113000/coverstory.html ''Boulder Weekly''. The nude economy]</ref> Another famous leader is XPics Publishing, which launched more than 600 adult sites, like Xpics.net and Xpics.cc. [[Lesbian]] sites are considered not to fit securely into anti-pornography or "pro-sex" feminist ideas.<ref>''Web. Studies'', ed. by David Gauntlett and Ross Horsley. 2004, ISBN 0-340-81472-1</ref> Among several marginal sites are [http://www.sexbizlaw.com SexBizLaw.com], a legal resource for the adult-entertainment industry, Seattle internet traffic monitor [http://www.sextracker.com/ SexTracker.com] and [http://pornvalleynews.com PornValleyNews.com]. <!-- On May 6, 2006 Utherverse Inc. company launched RedLightCenter.com, an online erotic universe supporting thousands of players, similar to the ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' and the ''[[Second Life]]''<ref>[http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/news/?id=12705 GameDaily BIZ RedLightCenter.com Integrates Female Intimacy]</ref> Can't check out whether Utherverse Inc. is American :P --> There is also a vast amount of [[e-zine]]s, including all mainstream. ''Playboy'' was quick to jump on the Web and made its content differed from the print version. ''[[Fleshbot]]'' online magazine features sex-related digital technologies and their distribution.
===Controversies===
As any other pornographic branch in the world, American web segment faces different trials and debates, notably on the [[.xxx]] domain. In 2000 the owners and operators of [http://www.playgirltv.com/ Playgirl.com] and scores of other adult sites have been charged by the [[U.S. Federal Trade Commission]] with illegally billing thousands of consumers for services that were advertised as free, and for billing other consumers who never visited the web sites at all.<ref>[http://www.out-law.com/page-934 Outlaw.com US authorities take action against porn sites for illegal billing]</ref> [[Nevada]]n Voice Media Incorporated, which runs several adult sites such as Cybererotica, Clubpix.com, XXXpassword.com, ff5.com, and Boobtropolis.com, later was also charged by the Commission. Namely Cybererotica by itself suffers from unauthorized, non-paying surfers who use the stolen passwords. This kind of attack could easily use an entire month’s worth of [[Bandwidth (computing)|bandwidth]] in a day, with the site operator paying hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of additional bandwidth fees, all for traffic that returns no money at all.<ref>Lewis Perdue. ''EroticaBiz: How Sex Shaped the Internet''. 2002. ISBN 0-595-25612-0</ref> The 2002 ''[[Paragon Electric Co., Inc. v. Buy This Domain]]'' case ruled that linking domain names to pornographic sites is not per se conclusive of bad-faith registration and use, although it does raise that presumption.<ref>[http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisions/html/2001/d2001-1439.html WIPO Case No. D2001-1439]</ref> A web address remained a common occurrence in this sense. Notably the [http://www.whitehouse.com Whitehouse.com] domain, which now hosts a people finder, for some period featured the explicit content (while the proper domain is [http://www.whitehouse.gov Whitehouse.gov]).<ref>Hossein Bidgoli. ''The Internet Encyclopedia'', 2004. ISBN 0-471-22201-1</ref> The obsolete [[TSTV]].com was registered with Network Solutions, Inc. on [[September 22]], [[1998]] but when accessed it currently goes to a porn page (initially Slut.com). For a brief period of time in October 2000, when a user typed in www.tstv.com into the locator line, he or she was taken immediately to a site entitled "The Ultimate Adult Site Locator".<ref>[http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisions/html/2000/d2000-1612.html WIPO Domain Name Decision: D2000-1612]</ref> These cases usually occur due to buying an expired domains and according to Secure Computing Corporation already happened to sites belonging particularly to [[Nebraska]] Department of Education, the [[Ohio State Senate]], and the Ballet Theatre of [[Annapolis, Maryland]]. Another typical [[spoofing attack]] occurred when Sno-Isle Regional Library in [[Snohomish County, Washington]] set up a site for bibliophiles to reserve books. If the [[hyphen]] was not typed in the address, the user was taken to the adult site.<ref>Kathleen Fearn-Banks. ''Crisis Communications: A Casebook Approach'', 2001. ISBN 0-8058-3604-7</ref>
At the [http://www.cybernetexpo.com/ Cybernet Expo], held in June 2006 in [[San Diego]], more than 120 porn webmasters listened closely as several panels explored the difficulties facing the industry.
==Movies and pay-per-view==
{{see also|History of erotic depictions|Nudity in American television|Cable Indecency Decision}}
Much of the pornography produced in the United States is in the form of movies and the branch acutely competes with the internet. The market is very diverse and ranges from the mainstream [[heterosexual]] content to the rarefied [[S/M]], [[BDSM]], [[interracial]] sex, ethnic, etc. through enduringly popular [[gay porn]].
Early American [[stag film]]s included ''Wonders of the Unseen World'' (1927), ''An Author's True Story'' (1933), ''Goodyear'' (1950s), ''[[Smart Alec (1951 film)|Smart Alec]]'' (1951), and ''Playmates'' (1956-58). The breakthrough films such as 1972 ''[[Deep Throat (film)|Deep Throat]]'' and 1978 ''[[Debbie Does Dallas]]'', that launched the so-called [[porno chic]], put the adult movies production onto the commercialization. <!--In 1978 American porn industry gained a 4 billion USD income<ref>{{ru icon}} [http://www.genderpolicy.ru/old/bin/Gloss-new.doc Глоссарий для регионального проекта по гендерному образованию]</ref> Dubious--> In this period America's most notorious pornographer was [[Reuben Sturman]]. According to the [[U.S. Department of Justice]], throughout the 1970s Sturman controlled most of the pornography circulating in the country.
The country now houses over 40 adult movies studios featuring heterosexual scenes,<ref>[[List of pornographic film studios|List_of_pornographic_film_studios]]</ref> more than any other country. The branch, according to founder and president of ''Adult Video News'' Paul Fishbein involves the manufacturers of adult products, distributors, suppliers, retail store owners, wholesalers, distributors, cable TV buyers, and foreign buyers. The production is concentrated in [[San Fernando Valley]] (mainly in [[Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California|Chatsworth]] and [[Reseda, Los Angeles, California|Reseda]]) and [[Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas]], where more than 200 adult entertainment companies gather to network and show off their latest wares.<ref>[http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/11/21/60minutes/main585049.shtml CBSNews.com Porn In The U.S.A.]</ref><!-- The annual output is about 3,000 movies<ref>{{ru icon}} [http://www.rusawm.com/articles.php?id=186 Логово американской порноиндустрии]</ref> Dubious --> The world's largest adult movies studio, [[Vivid Entertainment]] generates an estimated $100 million a year in revenue, distributing 60 films annually<ref>[http://www.forbes.com/business/2005/03/07/cz_bp_0307vivid.html Forbes.com The Porn King]</ref> and selling them in video stores, hotel rooms, on cable systems, and on the internet. Vivid's two largest regional competitors are [[Wicked Pictures]] and [[Digital Playground]]. [[Colorado]]-based [[New Frontier Media]], a leading distributor of adult movies (at [[NASDAQ]] since November 2000) is one of the two adult video companies traded publicly, the another one being Spanish [[Private Media Group]].
The industry's decision to embrace [[VHS]] in the early 1980s, for example, helped to do away with [[Sony Betamax]], despite the latter format's superior quality. Video rentals soared from just under 80 million in 1985 to half-billion by 1993.<ref>[http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2003/06/01/343376/index.htm Money.CNN.com Prime-Time Porn Borrowing tactics from the old Hollywood studios...]</ref> Suffering at the hands of video [[warez]] tended not be publicly stressed by country's film industry.<ref>Peter Drahos, John Braithwaite. ''Information Feudalism: Who Owns the Knowledge Economy?'' 2002. ISBN 1-85383-917-5</ref> In 1999 there were 711 million rentals of hardcore films.<ref>''[[The New York Times]]'', October 2000.</ref> 11,300 hardcore films were released in 2002.
In the recent years, according to Fishbein, there are well over 800 million rentals of adult videotapes and [[Digital Versatile Disc|DVD]]s in video stores across the country. Digital Playground said it is choosing the Blu-ray Disc for all of its "interactive" films because of its greater capacity.<ref>[http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/05/02/pornhd/index.php?lsrc=mwrss Macworld.com Porn industry may be decider in Blu-ray, HD-DVD battle]</ref>
The female demographic is considered to be the biggest catalyst for pornographic cultural crossover.<ref>Andi Zeisler, [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/07/25/CMGF77DFT31.DTL "Porn Plague: Has porn's proliferation desensitized us to its power?"], ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'', [[July 25]], [[2004]].</ref> According to Adella O'Neal, a Digital Playground publicist, in 2000 roughly 9% of the company's consumers were women while four years later that figure has bloomed to 53%.
American adult pay-per-view television is presently unregulated since it is not technically "broadcasting" as defined in the [[Federal Communications Act]]. [[List of United States cable and satellite television networks|Cable and satellite television networks]] host about six main adult-related channels. Most of them (particularly [[Playboy TV]], [[Penthouse TV]], and [[Hustler TV (US)|Hustler TV]] (there is also a "Hustler Video", a line of raunchy films created by [[Larry Flynt]])) are maintained by three mainstream porn magazines. In 1999 Playboy Enterprises sold to Vivid Entertainment a small channel which was renamed to Hot Network. Since that Vivid launched two more channels—the Hot Zone and Vivid TV. The viewers paid close to $400 million a year to tune in to Vivid's hardcore content and the company soon overtook Playboy as operator of the world's largest adult-TV network. However, after passing the 2000 ''[[United States v. Playboy Entertainment Group]]'' case Playboy bought all three networks from Vivid in 2001 and folded them into "Playboy's Spice" brand. Operators then shunned "Playboy's Spice Platinum", a new group of channels with graphic hardcore fare.<ref>Andrea Figler, [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0DIZ/is_21_13/ai_75120095 "Playboy's New Porn Channels Are Too Spicy For Some"], ''Cable World'', [[May 21]], [[2001]].</ref>
Some [[Subsidiary|subsidiaries]] of major corporations are the largest pornography sellers, like [[News Corporation]]'s [[Direct TV]]. [[Comcast]], the nation's largest cable company, once pulled in $50 million from adult programming. Revenues of companies such as Playboy and Hustler were small by comparison.<ref>[http://lists.essential.org/pipermail/commercial-alert/2000/000042.html ''New York Times'', October 23, 2000 ''Wall Street Meets Pornography'' by Timothy Egan]</ref>
===HIV encounter===
With the onset of [[AIDS]] in the 1980s, [[HIV]] transmission between performers resulted in a number of deaths, including that of the famous porn actor [[John Holmes (actor)|John Holmes]]. Although the pornography industry did not promote [[safe sex]], it instituted a system of [[HIV test]]ing designed to prevent the spread of the virus within the industry. Following an HIV outbreak in 1998 claiming several of her coworkers, former porn actress Sharon Mitchell, who reports earning a Ph.D. in "human sexuality' on her website, has founded the Adult Industry Medical (AIM) Health Care Foundation to serve the health care needs of industry workers, including HIV and gynecological testing, and psychological counseling. However, in April 2004, the [[Los Angeles County Department of Health Services]] received several reports of work-related exposure to HIV in the heterosexual segment of the adult film industry in California. The source was apparently in [[Brazil]].<ref>[http://www.hivdent.org/mmwr/mmwrHTAF0905.htm HIVdent.org HIV Transmission in the Adult Film Industry - Los Angeles, California, 2004]</ref>
==Publications==
American adult magazines which have the widest distribution do not violate the Miller test and can be legally distributed.<ref>[http://www.leaderu.com/orgs/probe/docs/pornplag.html ''The Pornography Plague'' by Kerby Anderson]</ref> Adult magazines have been largely put into mainstream by the pioneer ''Playboy''. However during the so-called [[Pubic Wars]] in 1960s and 1970s ''Penthouse'' established itself as a more explicit magazine. [[Screw magazine]] moved the bar towards Hard-Core when it first came out in 1968 and with [[Hustler]] appearing in 1974 the move to Hard Care was complete. By the mid-'90s magazines like ''Playboy'' had become noncompetitive and even hardcore publications like ''Penthouse'' and ''Hustler'' struggled. According to [[Laura Kipnis]], a cultural theorist and critic, "the ''Hustler'' body is an unromanticized body—no [[vaseline]]d lens or soft focus: this is neither the [[airbrush]]ed top-heavy fantasy body of ''Playboy'', nor the ersatz opulence, the lingeried and sensitive crotch shots of ''Penthouse'', transforming [[female genitals]] into ''objets d'art''. It's a body, not a surface or a suntan: insistently material, defiantly vulgar, corporeal".<ref>Per ''Photography: A Critical Introduction'', ed. by Liz Wells. Routledge, 2000, p. 230. ISBN 0-415-19058-4</ref>
Many adult magazines in the United States are now highlighted by special features and are usually sold wrapped to avoid their look-see by the under-age persons. A primarily [[softcore]] ''[[Barely Legal (magazine)|Barely Legal]]'' focuses on models between 18 and 23 years. ''[[Hustler's Leg World]]'' is focused on the female legs and feet. ''[[Perfect 10]]'' publishes the images of women, untouched by [[plastic surgery]] or airbrushing.
Pornographic bookstores have been subject to [[zoning laws]] in the US.<ref>Susan Easton. ''The Problem of Pornography: Regulation and the Right to Free Speech''. 1994, ISBN 0-415-09182-9.</ref>
==Video games and Japanese influence==
{{see|Pornography in Japan}}
[[Microsoft]] has long declined to license development software to game makers whose titles include sexual content. [[Wal-Mart]], America's largest distributor of video games, maintains the policy of selling no [[Adult video games|games with an AO rating]].<ref>[http://money.cnn.com/2004/05/11/technology/e3_nekkidgames/index.htm "Video games get raunchy"], Money.CNN.com </ref> However in recent years the pornographic content in video games has been promoted particularly by Playboy. ''[[Playboy: The Mansion]]'' became the first game built around the "Playboy" license.<ref>[http://money.cnn.com/2004/08/25/commentary/game_over/column_gaming/ "Video game gals take it off for Playboy"], Money.CNN.com.</ref> In ''Playboy'''s softcore line of the video games heroines [[BloodRayne|Rayne]] was the only featured undressed atop (October 2004 issue).
A downloadable [[Mod (computer gaming)|mod]]—"[[Hot Coffee]]"—developed by Dutch [[Hacker (computing)|hacker]] Patrick Wildenborg in 2004, according to Jason Della Rocca, executive director of the [[International Game Developers Association]], accelerated the need to discuss the challenges faced in creating games with pornographic content. The two-day [[San Francisco]] gathering was held in June 2006 to delve into the design, development, and technology of sex in video games, also in the United States.<ref>[http://www.sexinvideogames.com/ Sexinvideogames.com]</ref>
Meanwhile ''[[Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas]]'' was pulled from shelves by [[Rockstar Games]] after it became public knowledge that, with the use of a [[Gameshark]], a scene can be unlocked portraying the protagonist having sex with another character. In the scene both characters have their clothes on. The game was later sold without the unlockable scene.
[[Playstation 2]] video game ''[[God of War (video game)|God of War]]'' features an event in the first part of the game where protagonist [[Kratos]] can have sex with two topless [[prostitution|prostitutes]], who reside in a bedroom on his boat. Although no sexual acts are depicted (they occur off-screen and are indicated by sound effects), the women are shown topless. The player interacts by performing button and joystick commands that appear on screen which results in an experience reward for the player.
The adult sections of American [[comic book]] stores carry a large number of translations of Japanese hardcore comics, as well as an increasing number of home imitations.<ref>''Porn Studies'', ed. by Linda Williams, 2004. ISBN 0-8223-3312-0.</ref>
One of the [[anime]] porn movies, which started the American adult video market, was ''[[Urotsukidoji]]''. The adult anime market exists primarily through direct sales: mail-order to customers, and wholesale to specialty shops which cater to anime and to comic-book fans.<ref> Fred Patten, [http://www.awn.com/mag/issue3.4/3.4pages/3.4patten.html "The Anime 'Porn' Market"], Animation World Magazine, Issue 3.4, July 1998.</ref> The legal framework in both countries regarding the regulation of obscene and pornographic material is overall rather similar.<ref>[http://www.tc.umn.edu/~kane0034/censor/pornusjcomparisson-engtext.htm ''US and Japan pornography regulation traditions and trends''] by Dan Kanemitsu (2002/3 revision)</ref>
==Notes==
'''a''' {{Note_label|A|a|none}} In the 1969 ''[[Stanley v. Georgia]]'' case (later followed by the 1971 ''[[United States v. Reidel]]'') the Supreme Court ruled that private possession of pornography (except child pornography as determined in 1990 by a 6 to 3 decision<ref name="breakthrough" /><ref>''Proliferation of Child Pornography on the Internet''. 1997, ISBN 0-16-055747-X</ref>) in the home was not a crime, nor was it subject to government regulation. Technically why people have a constitutional right to watch hardcore pornography privately has never been explained,<ref>Jethro Koller Lieberman, ''A Practical Companion to the Constitution'', 1999, ISBN 0-520-21280-0</ref> but in the 1973 ''[[Paris Adult Theatre v. Slaton]]'' Chief Justice [[Warren Burger|Burger]] wrote: "We categorically disapprove the theory... that obscene, pornographic films acquire constitutional immunity... simply because they are exhibited for consenting adults only".<ref>Stephen L. Newman. ''Constitutional Politics in Canada and the United States''. 2004, ISBN 0-7914-5937-3</ref> ''Miller v. California'' held 5-4 that the state may outlaw the showing of hardcore pornographic films, even if the "adult theatre" is clearly labeled and warns.
'''b.''' {{Note_label|B|b|none}} The [[sex tourism]] involving minors outside the U.S. is also illegal.<ref>18 U.S.C. 2423B</ref>
'''c.''' {{Note_label|C|c|none}} The term "[[dial-a-porn]]" was used at the federal level e.g. by the [[Telecommunications Act of 1996]] <ref>Robert E. Emeritz. ''Telecommunications Act of 1996'', section 228 (h). ISBN 0-937275-07-7</ref>, but it was partially voided by federal courts over subsequent years.<ref>Robert Singh. ''American Government and Politics''. 2003, ISBN 0-7619-4094-4</ref> Another term usage includes the 1996 ''Denver Area Educational Telecommunications Consortium v. Federal Communications Commission'' [[certiorari]] to the [[United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit|Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit]].<ref>[http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=000&invol=u20031 Caselaw.lp.FindLaw.com Denver Area Educational Telecommunications Consortium, Inc., et al. v. Federal Communications Commission et al.]</ref>
'''d''' {{Note_label|D|d|none}} The transportation of pornography in interstate commerce was banned in the 1973 case of ''[[United States v. Orito]]''. The Supreme Court upheld zoning restrictions that either quarantine or disperse pornography merchants, leaving it to local officials to determine whether local interests are best served by restricting all porn merchants to a single district. Though the Court has also upheld zoning that prohibits pornographic entertainment within a certain distance of a school, the legitimate primary purpose excludes the preventing of access by minors which can be achieved much more directly by simple restrictions.<ref>''The Place of Law'', ed. by Austin Sarat, Lawrence Douglas, Martha Merrill Umphrey. 2003, ISBN 0-472-11350-X</ref> On [[May 13]], [[2002]] writing for the majority in ''[[Ashcroft v. American Civil Liberties Union]]'', Justice [[Clarence Thomas]] stated that using community standards to identify material that could be harmful to minors does not make the law overly broad and therefore unconstitutional under the First Amendment.<ref>[http://research.yale.edu/lawmeme/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=209 Research.Yale.edu ''Supreme Court Upholds Portions of Net Pornography Law'' posted by Raul Ruiz]</ref>
'''e''' {{Note_label|E|e|none}} [[Utah]] uses the legal term "pornography" for the same illegal sexually explicit material.<ref>[http://attorneygeneral.utah.gov/pornography/obscenpornlaws.htm AttorneyGeneral.Utah.gov Office of the Utah Attorney General Obscenity/Pornography Laws]</ref>
'''f''' {{Note_label|F|f|none}} See also the 1977 ''[[Splawn v. California]]'' and 1978 ''[[Pinkus v. United States]]''.
==References==
{{reflist|3}}
==Further reading==
*''Obscenity and Pornography Decisions of the United States Supreme Court'', ed. by Maureen Harrison and Steve Gilbert. 2000, ISBN 1-880780-23-2
*Hawkins, Gordon, Zimring, Franklin E. ''Pornography in a Free Society''. Social Science, 1991. ISBN 0-521-36317-9
*Mackey, Thomas C. ''Pornography on Trial''. 2002, ISBN 1-57607-275-4
*Petkovich, Anthony. ''The X Factory: Inside the American Hardcore Film Industry''. 2002, ISBN 1-900486-24-5
==External links==
* [http://law.enotes.com/everyday-law-encyclopedia/pornography Pornography: Encyclopedia of Everyday Law]
* [http://www.porn-report.com/ Attorney General's Commission on Pornography Final Report, July 1986, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington D.C.]
* [http://ptw.uchicago.edu/Eaton01.htm ''Might Pornography Cause Harm?'' by Anne W. Eaton, The University of Chicago]
* [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/10/20031025-1.html White House Protection From Pornography Week, 2003]
* [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/porn/ American Porn]. Report by [[Frontline (PBS TV series)]] (first aired in 2002, updated in 2004), watchable online.
{{United States topics}}
[[Category:Pornography by region]]
[[Category:State law in the United States]]
[[Category:Obscenity controversies]]