[UUPoly-L] Defining Pornography

Is not looking in the dictionary governed by the same Y chromosome gene that dictates we not read the manual before assembly? Why should we be surprised that a culture that demonizes sex in any form would equate causing sexual arousal with obscenity?

The reason we have so much trouble with this definitions is that we don't tease apart the messages designed for sexual arousal from the messages of sexism, misogyny, racism, and ignorance that abound to varying extents commercial porn. Likewise, erotica becomes an almost useless distinction because the art designed to sexually arouse is mixed up with commentary about the social, cultural and political aspects of sexuality.

Frankly, I think art that causes sexual arousal is one of many useful aids to segueing from the world of mundane stress to a sexual encounter. Others include music, massage, tantric rituals, a light meal, and fragrances.

John U

Pornography:
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por·nog·ra·phy
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(pôr-n g'r -f ) <http://cache.lexico.com/help/ahd4/pronkey.html>Pronunciation Key
n.
* Sexually explicit pictures, writing, or other material whose primary purpose is to cause sexual arousal.
* The presentation or production of this material.
* Lurid or sensational material: "Recent novels about the Holocaust have kept Hitler well offstage [so as] to avoid the ... pornography of the era" (Morris Dickstein).

But also, alas:

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por·nog·ra·phy
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/p r n g
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r
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fi/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[pawr-nog-ruh-fee] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
?noun
obscene writings, drawings, photographs, or the like, esp. those having little or no artistic merit.

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[Origin: 1840?50; < Gk pornográph(os) writing about harlots (porno-, comb. form of pórné harlot + -graphos <http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=-graph>-graph) + <http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=-y>-y3
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And while we are at it, obscene:


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ob·scene
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  / b sin/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[uh
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b-seen] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
?adjective
1.offensive to morality or decency; indecent; depraved: obscene language.
2.causing uncontrolled sexual desire.
3.abominable; disgusting; repulsive.

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[Origin: 1585?95; < L obscénus, obscaenus
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­Related forms
ob·scene·ly, adverb
ob·scene·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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ob·scene
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( b-s n', b-) <http://cache.lexico.com/help/ahd4/pronkey.html>Pronunciation Key
adj.
* Offensive to accepted standards of decency or modesty.
* Inciting lustful feelings; lewd.
* Repulsive; disgusting: "The way he writes about the disease that killed her is simply obscene" (Michael Korda).
* So large in amount as to be objectionable or outrageous: "local merchants in nearby stores get hammered by stratospheric rents and obscene taxes" (Joe Queenan).


[Latin obsc nus.]

ob·scene'ly adv.
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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obscene
1593, "offensive to the senses, or to taste and refinement," from M.Fr. obscène, from L. obscenus "offensive," especially to modesty, originally "boding ill, inauspicious," perhaps from ob "onto" + cænum "filth." Meaning "offensive to modesty or decency" is attested from 1598. Legally, in U.S., it hinges on "whether to the average person, applying contemporary community standards, the dominant theme of the material taken as a whole appeals to a prurient interest." [Justice William Brennan, "Roth v. United States," June 24, 1957]

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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obscene

adjective
1. designed to incite to indecency or lust; "the dance often becomes flagrantly obscene"-Margaret Mead
2. offensive to the mind; "an abhorrent deed"; "the obscene massacre at Wounded Knee"; "morally repugnant customs"; "repulsive behavior"; "the most repulsive character in recent novels" [syn: <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/abhorrent>abhorrent]
3. suggestive of or tending to moral looseness; "lewd whisperings of a dirty old man"; "an indecent gesture"; "obscene telephone calls"; "salacious limericks" [syn: <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/lewd>lewd]

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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obscene [ b si n] adjective
disgusting, especially sexually
Example: obscene photographs
Arabic:
Chinese (Simplified):
Chinese (Traditional):
Czech: oplzlý
Danish: modbydelig
Dutch: obsceen
Estonian: nilbe
Finnish: säädytön
French: obscène
German: obszön
Greek: ,
Hungarian: trágár
Icelandic: klámfenginn
Indonesian: jorok
Italian: osceno
Japanese:
Korean:
Latvian: nepiekl j gs, piedauz gs
Lithuanian: nepadorus, ne?vankus
Norwegian: uanstendig, griset, pornografisk
Polish: spro ny
Portuguese (Brazil): obsceno
Portuguese (Portugal): obsceno
Romanian: obscen
Russian:
Slovak: oplzlý
Slovenian: opolzek
Spanish: obsceno
Swedish: oanständig, motbjudande, obscen
Turkish: müstehcen, aç k saç k
See also: <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/en%3Aobscenity>obscenity

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary (Beta Version), © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd.
<http://dictionary.reference.com/help/mwlaw.html>Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - <http://dictionary.reference.com/cite.html?qh=obscene&ia=mwlaw>Cite This Source - <http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=2&q=obscene#sharethis>Share This

Main Entry: ob·scene
Pronunciation: äb-'sEn
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle French, from Latin obscenus obscaenus indecent, lewd
: extremely or deeply offensive according to contemporary community standards of morality or decency ­see also Roth v. United States in the <http://dictionary.reference.com/search?db=mwlaw&q=importantcases>IMPORTANT CASES section
NOTE: The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that obscene applies to materials that appeal predominantly to a prurient interest in sexual conduct, depict or describe sexual conduct in a patently offensive way, and lack serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value. Material or expression deemed obscene by the court is not protected by the free speech guarantee of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.



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