Many laws exist today that stigmatize the pornography industry. The Iranian lawmakers approved the harshest of them on June 13. According to this new law, any individual found guilty of participating in the making of a pornographic video, including porn stars, camera crew and directors, will be sentenced to death.
A sex tape scandal that happened in Iran last year preceded the new legislation: a videotape showing Iranian actress Zahra Amir Ebrahimi having sex became publicly available across the country. Ebrahimi denied she was in the film. The Iranian government proclaimed that the creation of this tape violated the country's morality laws.
That scandal is not the only thing that is worrying lawmakers, however. Although a conversation about sex is considered a taboo, pornographic television channels, videotapes and CDs are increasingly becoming available to the general public in Iran.
Many countries have laws regarding the production and distribution of pornography, most of these laws dealing with child pornography. In the United States these rules are amongst the most severe. Here, even possession of child pornography is treated as a criminal act.
There are numerous organizations that exist to protest pornography. One of them is the National Law Center for Children and Families. This organization was formed in 1991 and its mission is to "protect children and families from the harms of sexual exploitation and sexually exploitive material." Another such organization is Religious Alliance Against Pornography. One of the things this organization does to protest pornography is send newsletters to parents warning them of the dangers that their children can come across while exploring the Internet.
When one thinks about things that existed since Greco-Roman times, pornography is not something that usually comes to mind. Yet, the fact is that before pornography became a multi-billion dollar industry, it was a part of ancient culture. Throughout history, though, the general public has always frowned upon the term itself.
What does the history tells us? The word "pornography" means "writing about prostitutes." Although the term comes from mid-19th century England, pornography itself existed long before that. For instance, the first use of sex toys can be traced back to ancient Greece.
Pornography has always been stigmatized for various reasons. Some people feel that it is against their religious beliefs to watch or to distribute pornography. Others feel that it is degrading to women. But, there has likely never been a case when a person involved in producing or distributing pornography was sentenced to death.
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