Golden Age of Porn
The Golden Age of Porn or porno chic refers to a period in the history of pornography, approximately from the late-1960s to the early-to-mid-1980s.[1] The period is idealized as a time in history when the difficulties in treating STDs had not achieved wide public notice. This freedom was ostensibly reflected in the pornography industry, with adult movies and adult magazines approaching the mainstream and becoming increasingly visible.
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The era [edit]
The Golden Age was a period of interactions between pornography and the contemporaneous second wave of feminism. Radical and cultural feminists, along with the Christians, religious, and conservatives[2] attacked pornography, while other feminists were pro-pornography, such as Camile Paglia, who defined what came to be known as sex-positive feminism in her work, Sexual Personae. Paglia and other sex-positive or pro-pornography feminists accepted porn as part of the sexual revolution with its libertarian sexual themes, such as exploring bisexuality and swinging, free from government interference.[1]
The origins of the Golden Age are typically associated with the 1970 film Mona the Virgin Nymph, the first adult film to obtain a wide theatrical release in the USA. Following this came the massive success of the 1971 film Boys in the Sand,[3][4] and of Deep Throat and Behind the Green Door, which were both released in 1972.[5] These three were the first hardcore porn films to reach a mass mixed-sex audience,[6] and all received positive reviews in mainstream media.[7] Other key films from the period include The Devil in Miss Jones and Score, which appeared in mainstream movie houses of the United States for the first time.
These films brought pornography into mainstream consciousness, whereby drive-in theatres would take out full page newspaper ads to promote the latest adult features. Porn films started being shown in mainstream movie theaters, and were accepted as suitable for general public consumption, or at least tolerated.[1] Debbie Does Dallas (1978) is also regarded as one of the most important releases during the period.[8]
Mainstream attention [edit]
For a period of two or three years it was fashionable to watch and discuss pornographic films. An influential five-page article about the film Deep Throat in the New York Times Magazine in early 1973 used the phrase "porno chic" in the title to describe the phenomenon.[9] Actress Linda Lovelace once stated at that time that she believed that pornography would merge with the mainstream film industry.[10]
Porno chic actors [edit]
Major pornographic film actors of the Golden Age included Linda Lovelace, Marilyn Chambers, Annie Sprinkle, Lisa De Leeuw, Jacqueline Lorains, Nina Hartley, Juliet Anderson (a.k.a. "Aunt Peg"), Seka, Desiree Cousteau, Harry Reems, John Leslie, Jack Wrangler, Ron Jeremy (a.k.a., "the Hedgehog") and John C. Holmes (a.k.a. "Johnny Wadd").
As their popularity rose, so did their control of their careers. John Holmes became the first recurring porn character in the "Johnny Wadd" film series directed by Bob Chinn. Lisa DeLeeuw was one of the first to sign an exclusive contract with a major adult production company, Vivid Video, and Marilyn Chambers worked in mainstream movies, being one of the first (and still rare) crossover porn actors.
The dominant pornographic film studios of the period were VCA Pictures[11] and Caballero Home Video.[12]
Films of the period [edit]
Some of the best-known pornographic films of the period include:
- Mona the Virgin Nymph (USA, 1970)
- Boys in the Sand (USA, 1971)
- Deep Throat (USA, 1972)
- Behind the Green Door (USA, 1972)
- The Devil in Miss Jones (USA, 1973)
- Emmanuelle (France, 1974)
- Sensations (France, 1975)
- The Story of Joanna (USA, 1975)
- Alice in Wonderland (USA, 1976)
- Through the Looking Glass (USA, 1976)
- The Opening of Misty Beethoven (USA, 1976)
- Kansas City Trucking Co. (USA, 1976)
- El Paso Wrecking Corp. (USA, 1978)
- Debbie Does Dallas (USA, 1978)
- A Night at the Adonis (USA, 1978)
- Jack and Jill (USA, 1979)
- Taboo (USA, 1980)
- Insatiable (USA, 1980)
- Nightdreams (USA, 1981)
- Café Flesh (USA, 1982)
- The Bigger The Better (USA, 1984)
- Big Guns (USA, 1987)
References [edit]
- ^ a b c Second wave: Feminism and porn's golden age. Radical Society Oct 2002 by Loren Glass[dead link]
- ^ See Christian right.
- ^ Bailey, Cameron (2005, Feb). "Blow-by-blow accounts". NOW Toronto 24 (24). Retrieved 2008-03-18.
- ^ Weitzer p. 52
- ^ Williams, Linda (2004). Porn studies. Duke University Press. p. 320. ISBN 0-8223-3312-0.
- ^ Williams, Linda (1999). Hard core: power, pleasure, and the "frenzy of the visible". University of California Press. pp. 156–158. ISBN 0-520-21943-0.
- ^ Robert J. Kelly, Ko-lin Chin, Rufus Schatzberg (1994). Handbook of organized crime in the United States. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 301–302. ISBN 0-313-28366-4.
- ^ Sam Stall, Lou Harry, Julia Spalding (2004). The encyclopedia of guilty pleasures: 1001 things you hate to love. Quirk Books. p. 182. ISBN 1-931686-54-8.
- ^ Ralph Blumenthal: Porno chic; "Hard-core" grows fashionable-and very profitable, The New York Times Magazine, 21 January 1973
- ^ From an 1970s interview in the documentary Inside Deep Throat.
- ^ Connelly, Tim (2003, May). "It's Now Official: Hustler Acquires VCA; Deal Comes a Year After Vivid Pact, Cementing Hustler As...". AVN. Retrieved 2011-12-01.
- ^ Jennings, David (2000). Skinflicks: The Inside Story of the X-Rated Video Industry. AuthorHouse. p. 125. ISBN 1-58721-184-X.
Bibliography [edit]
- Weitzer, Ronald John (2000). Sex for Sale: Prostitution, Pornography, and the Sex Industry. New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-92294-1.
- Legs McNeil, Jennifer Osborne and Peter Pavia: The Other Hollywood: The Uncensored Oral History of the Porn Film Industry. Regan Books 2005. ISBN 0-06-009659-4
External links [edit]
- That old feeling: when porno was chic, Time Magazine, March 29, 2005
- PornoChic, a collection of resources related to the 1970s phenomenon
