Sin, Sickness and Sanity by Vern L. Bullough Bonnie Bullough

Author:Vern L. Bullough, Bonnie Bullough [Vern L. Bullough, Bonnie Bullough]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Sociology, General
ISBN: 9780429615221
Google: OPODDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2019-01-16T03:45:38+00:00

CHAPTER 10

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Pornography, Obscenity, or Personal Preference?

A key to any study of past attitudes toward sex is the question of the place pornography or obscenity had in a society. Etymologically the two words differ, although in practical usage they are often synonymous. Technically the term “pornography” is derived from the Greek pornographos, literally, “the writing of prostitutes,” and it carries the suggestion of erotic imagery which results in sexual arousal. In short, pornography is a kind of psychological aphrodisiac. In theory, obscenity has a quite different meaning, but because of the psychological factors involved in the definition, the two can be synonymous.1 “Obscenity” is a Latin word, probably derived from the word caertum, meaning “dirty” or “containing filth or excrement,” but which also meant “penis”; in its plural form it could refer either to the genitals or the buttocks. It is also possible that the word is derived from scaena, meaning “stage,” and thus could mean something that took place offstage (ob-scaena) because it was inappropriate to depict onstage. The difficulty in distinguishing obscenity from pornography is that what is sexually repulsive to one individual might well be sexually suggestive to another. For example, a portrayal of an adult urinating or defecating might be regarded as obscene by most, but to the individual who enjoys watching others urinate or defecate (technically a coprophiliac), such a portrayal might prove to be sexually arousing. Sometimes an illustration might be both pornographic and obscene to the same individual since, though he or she might be sexually aroused, the guilt and shame he or she feels through such arousal could lead to revulsion. Thus Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, who wrote that though he could not define what constituted hard-core pornography (meaning obscene), he recognized it when he saw it, would be revealing his own sexual predilections much more than he intended whenever he ruled on a case.2

In looking at the past, however, it is not always clear that what we regard as either pornographic or obscene was regarded by the people of the time in the same way. In some societies where the copulation of animals was accepted as part of life, the inclusion of such acts in an illustration might be regarded simply as a portrayal of reality. Thus pictures relating to sexual reproduction might be regarded as pornographic, obscene, or simply an illustration of life, depending upon the culture involved. Still, even with this qualification, it seems that most societies have had some sort of pornography, that is, materials consciously designed to be sexually arousing. The forms these materials have taken have varied from culture to culture, although obviously, literary materials did not appear until the invention of writing. Simply because a culture is not literate, however, does not mean that it lacked pornographic materials. One of the largest surviving collections of sexually illustrative materials in pre-Columbian America has been excavated in Peru, and it seemingly had pornographic implications. The materials are made of pottery and show exaggerated phalluses and

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