Pornography

            The causes of the deterioration of society are attributed to many parts of human nature. Actions, feelings, and events have all been blamed for the rise in crime and violence. None of these, however, have created as much controversy as pornography. Anti-pornography groups have tried to make all forms of this entertainment illegal. These activists blame pornography for the increase in sexual violence, the degradation of women, and a blockade to the first amendment.
             Truly a multi-media event, pornography can be seen in magazines, theaters, television programming, bars, clubs, telephone numbers, and the Internet. The term "pornography" is derived from the Greek word prone, which means "whore," and graphing, which means, "to write." So, literally, pornography translates to "the writings of harlots" or "depictions of acts of prostitutes." The broad field of pornography is divided into two fields, hard-core and soft core. The difference between the two is that in hard-core porn, "genital manipulation and penetration are visible" (Media and Gender Monitor).
             Hard-core pornography can only be bought in specialty, "adult only" stores. Other ways that this can be seen is through pay-per view and the Internet. Late night movies on ShowTime and other premium cable channels are good examples of soft-core pornography. These movies often show nudity and sexual situations. However, these shows never show the act of intercourse explicitly (Media and Gender Monitor). Magazines like Playboy and Penthouse are not exactly true pornography because there is no sex involved at all. Magazines, like these, are characterized as exotica (McElroy). .
             Even though hard-core pornography is harder to get than soft-core, many moral conservatives and radical feminists choose to blur the distinction. Most even include erotica in as pornography. This causes problems because these activist groups are trying to ban everything "pornographic.