Pornography colloquially called porn or porno is sexually suggestive material, such as a picture, video, text, or audio, intended for sexual arousal. A general distinction of adults-only sexual content is made, classifying it as pornography or erotica. The oldest artifacts considered pornographic were discovered in Germany in and are dated to be at least 35, years old.
However, the reception of such imagery varied according to the historical, cultural, and national contexts. The Indian Sanskrit text Kama Sutra 3rd century CE contained prose, poetry, and illustrations regarding sexual behavior, and the book was celebrated; while the British English text Fanny Hill , considered "the first original English prose pornography," has been one of the most prosecuted and banned books. Starting from the mid-twentieth century on, societal attitudes towards sexuality became lenient in the Western world where legal definitions of obscenity were made limited.
In , Blue Movie by Andy Warhol became the first film to depict unsimulated sex that received a wide theatrical release in the United States. This was followed by the " Golden Age of Porn " — The introduction of home video and the World Wide Web in the late 20th century led to global growth in the pornography business. Beginning in the 21st century, greater access to the Internet and affordable smartphones made pornography more mainstream. Pornography has been vouched to provision a safe outlet for sexual desires that may not be satisfied within relationships and be a facilitator of sexual fulfillment in people who do not have a partner.
Pornography consumption is found to induce psychological moods and emotions similar to those evoked during sexual intercourse and casual sex. Pornography usage is considered a widespread recreational activity in-line with other digitally mediated activities such as use of social media or video games. Comparative studies indicate higher tolerance and consumption of pornography among adults tends to be associated with their greater support for gender equality.
Among feminist groups , some seek to abolish pornography believing it to be harmful, while others oppose censorship efforts insisting it is benign. A longitudinal study ascertained that pornography use is not a predictive factor in intimate partner violence. Pornography is a major influencer of people's perception of sex in the digital age ; numerous pornographic websites rank among the top 50 most visited websites worldwide. Called an "erotic engine", pornography has been noted for its key role in the development of various communication and media processing technologies.
