Pornography has been around since the dawn of time, but never in the history of mankind has it been as easily accessible and affordable until now. Pornography has existed throughout recorded history and has adapted to each new medium, including photography, cinema, video and the internet. The modern generation is spoilt for choice, from live webcams to VR porn, but it’s interesting to look at the history of visual adult entertainment and see how it’s evolved over the years. When did we first start seeing adult movies on the market? Did ancient porn vary a great deal from what people watch now, or have we always had the same kinds of fantasies? And perhaps the most interesting question of all, where will it go next?
The very early ages
Scholars believe that erotic images have existed as long as humans had the ability to draw, so it’s hard to find the exact date of the very first pornography. Among the oldest surviving examples of erotic depictions are Paleolithic cave paintings and carvings, such as a cave in France that is thought to be about 37,000 years old, which contains symbols of female genitalia. The purpose of the images is still unclear, but they could have been used for sacred rituals or sexual purposes. Many ancient images depicted sexual union with mythological creatures or Gods, not unlike certain kinds of modern Japanese hentai.
Erotic depictions could also be found on ancient pottery, papyrus scrolls, and walls carvings across every civilization, from the Romans to the Egyptians. The ancient Greeks are well known for some of the very first paintings depicting same-sex relations as well as pederasty, so we can thank the Greeks for the start of lesbian porn! In Ancient Greece, however, it was fashionable to have a small penis, as can be seen from many of their statues that are still in museums all around the world, a trend that didn’t survive the time.
You can’t talk about the history of porn without touching on Asia, sex manuals such as the Kama Sutra in India (400 BCE) or the erotic art of Shunga in Japan (13th century) are widely recognized across the globe and have been an inspiration to modern pornography to this day.
Printing and photography
Published pornography was invented in 1524 in Rome and printed porn became popular in many works of art and literature, especially those that contained depictions of Gods, such as Jupiter, and their interactions with humans. Prints were hard to come by then and were mostly available to the elite members of the society.
Porn didn’t become commercially available until the 1860s, when photography became available on a larger scale and inevitably led to the world’s first nudes. Technology was on the rise then and within 30 years, photography became cheaper and easier to do, which led to the first pornographic magazine being born in France.
Motion pictures
Pornography was perhaps most significantly revolutionized when mankind invented moving pictures, i.e. films. By the 1920s, “stag films” started surfacing for personal viewing. By the 1970s, feature-length pornographic movies began circulating, but back then it was costly, hard to find, and embarrassing to ask for. Pornography was still taboo and was often disguised as art.
The coming of VCR and cable TV made the availability and distribution of porn even easier, so by the late 20th century people could rent adult movies to watch at home or view soft erotica on late-night TV. Many of these films were made by amateurs and depicted what would now be considered either soft or vanilla porn.
The world wide web
Over the last 30 years, we experienced a bigger growth in technology than ever before. The invention of the internet changed many things for the world, including the spread of porn. Photos and movies catering to each possible sexual style and fetish became available to anyone with an internet connection and anonymous viewing played a big role in its popularity.
Digital cameras and phones gave way to a whole new style of pornography, where anyone in the world could suddenly become a porn star from the comfort of their homes and even get paid for it. Live chatting and webcams was a step up from movies and photos and it allowed the viewer to feel like they’re part of the experience.
Virtual reality is the latest step in the porn evolution, allowing the viewer to get the most realistic experience possible through the use of a VR headset and optionally even toys that sync with the chosen films.
Given that we’ve come so far in such a short amount of time, where will porn go next? Our bet is on the further evolution of virtual and augmented reality, where you’ll actually be able to see yourself in digital form and have the ability to do anything you want with anyone you choose.
