Pornography, a 1960's Perspective

The 60s will always be regarded as a time of great social change. Widely considered one of the major transitional eras in the modern history, you’ll find any number of complex social movements and events unfolding here! Under a widespread student movement, we’re able to observe a vital change in the way young people act, think and perceive the world. Considered a time of great social and cultural change, it all began with the widespread counterculture movement and a profound sexual revolution! In many ways, these helped define the world today in terms of sexuality and culture. The changing perception of society allowed for progressive thinking and more social freedom, while the average youth expression directly aimed to destroy the rigid traditional values society imposed! The result? Sexual freedom, baby.

“The major civilizing force in the world is not religion, it is sex."- Hugh Hefner,  Vanity Fair 2010.

This is taken as our defining moment in our story, as the sexual revolution of the 60s has shaped and coined the development of pornography as we know it! How so? To answer this question, we’ll be going back to how the progressive youth perceived pornography way back before the golden age of porn began. A vital source for such a story is the emergence of popular youth and adult magazines that began to pop up all over the world - more so in this era! When it comes to the USA, there’s no denying Playboy and its profound impact on society. Being a trendsetter of sorts, it’s liberal attitude and supreme penmanship made it into a pornography giant! Carrying the liberal world and promotion people like Andy Warhol and his Blue Movie, they’ve earned the right to be called pioneers of the porn industry. Europe wasn’t immune to the new and adventurous youth movement either, as observed through the significant influence of American culture on youth press of socialist states like Yugoslavia! Word of the new and courageous sexual revolution has soon spread into every corner of society.

Civil rights protest - hippies (Image credit: Wikipedia - Flower Power)

Talking about sex is no longer considered taboo, which has led to a refreshing and brand new approach to sexuality. Talked through and openly discussed trough press, it has led to a change in how people perceive sex, relationships, and pornography! After Warhol pretty much blew the lid and released the first ever pornographic film that was received a theatrical release, the press made pornography a hot topic of discussion. These were unanimous in agreeing there are no major drawbacks of porn to a person's health - as previously argued, taking a healthy and proactive standing towards it as an art form! Such thinking has caused an outrage, namely in traditional circles. That’s why the 60s were only the start of a much bigger fight for all kinds of freedoms and rights, after what is considered to be an age of repression!

Still from Blue Film by Andy Warhol (Image credit: Whitney Museum of American Art: Andy Warhol, Blue Movie)

The perception of pornography has changed a lot since then, for better or worse? The good news is that Playboy is still around, and has taken a modern expression with branded sites like PlayboyTV (NSFW). In contrast, most people today feel pornography can no longer be considered to have any artistic value. This kind of thinking has led people to believe that it’s, therefore, something to be censored. Baseline argument behind this suggests that if it’s educational or artistic purpose is lost, it serves no other purpose but entertainment! This being the subject of some controversy, it’s undeniable that often porn in the service of entrainment is perceived as simply materialistic and meaningless. There is no end to this argument in sight but one thing is certain - the 1960s were a time of awakening, and its legacy is very much alive today. The act of pursuing freedom, sexual or otherwise, is thereby something to be cherished and exercised daily!

DISCUSSION: The perception and definition of pornography has changed a lot since the 1960s. Do you think it was for better or for worse?Tell us in the comments below.