Using the five concepts of representation, sexual, content, media and free speech, my definition of pornography is that is a representation of free speech using sexual content through different media.
The history of pornography and its struggle to be included in mainstream entertainment has revolved around these five words. My understanding of these five concepts is as under.
Representation is the basic concept of displaying and conveying the information from the point of enactment to the point of viewing. In context of pornography, this representation can be in different forms and styles. Also, I think that pornography as a whole, is an important concept related to free speech, which is discussed later (Slade, 2001).
Representation of this act involves many stakeholders, the production team, the actors, the distributors and finally the viewers. The production team conceptualises the act and makes sure that the representative form of art clearly conveys the message it intends to convey. Then it is up to the actors to make sure the representation is done as envisaged.
Sexual concept involves erotic and romantic ways in which the message is represented in different forms. These forms are generally designed to arouse sexual interest and excitement in the viewers (Farlex).
However, there has to be distinction between erotic excitement and obscenity and it has been legally clear in the past, that erotic content if obscene, is not protected under free speech and is punishable. Erotic content can take different specialized forms and is generally designed to cater to the interests of different type of audiences.
Media is the mode of transmission of the pornography from the production side to the viewership side. It can be visual, audio or a combination of the two. Also, the form of media can be either through print or electronic media.
Erotic literature has been around for centuries. However, in the last few decades, we have seen the media of pornography can different forms. Websites, short movies, parodies of mainstream movies, comics etc. have been developed.
Choosing the form of media depends on the production side, and is based on the message to be conveyed, the target audience, the budget for the production etc. Although the market for electronic media pornography is the largest, there has been significant investments recently in print forms.
Free speech is the concept that makes pornography legal and a form of art rather than a private act. Most countries have made pornography legal in the context of promoting free speech. However, most of the countries which have restrictions on pornography, have laws which restrict the truest sense of free speech (Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy).
The people who oppose pornography argue that many acts in pornography make it obscene and this violates the legal principles protecting it. As a result there have been many lawsuits and protests, however in most cases the right to free speech by the production and acting team has been upheld (Sunstein, 1986).
So it is seen that pornography can be defined as a combination of the above five concepts and that each of the five concepts is necessary to fully understand the essence behind an act of pornography.
References
Slade, J. W. (2001). Pornography and Sexual Representation: A Reference Guide. Westport: Greenwood Press.
Farlex. Pornography. The Free Dictionary. Retrieved from http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/pornography.
Jenkins, J. P. Pornography. Britannica Encyclopaedia. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/pornography.
Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy. Pornography and Censorship. Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pornography-censorship/.
Sunstein, C. (1986). Pornography and the First Amendment. Duke Law Journal. 1986(4): 589–627.
