Evolution of the Concept of Pornography

Fordham University English Professor Walter M. Kendrick supports complete freedom of speech, subscribing to the battle cry, "No censorship of any kind, any time, anywhere" (Gewen 15). He followed his 1987 volume, The Secret Museum, with an investigation of the horror genre, The Thrill of Fear: 250 Years of Scary Entertainment, which argues that horror fiction does not inspire violence any more than, for example, Don Quixote encourages readers to take up knighthood and tilt at windmills. Both books set forward his firm belief that attempts to legislate writing (or other forms of expression) are wholly unacceptable. In both, he tackles explosive subjects; The Secret Museum is especially volatile because its subject is sex, erotica, and pornography, as it has come to be defined.

"Pornography" is a surprisingly recent word whose

. . .
red thing will survive" (96). The spread of what was coming to be called pornographic literature (and artwork, since these materials included illustrations of varying kinds) was greatly aided by the increased accessibility of books in general. Until the mid-1800s, published books were simply too expensive to be bought or distributed throughout the general populace. Erotic literature was certainly published; Kendrick cites numerous examples from various periods. Such books were not, however, readily available, nor were they affordable to all but the wealthiest. In addition, few but the most wealthy, and primarily only wealthy men, were able to read easily. Education was an upper-class luxury, for the most part. Reading was a pastime for the few who had the ability and the spare time for such extravagance. Some of what passed for erotic or obscene literature was obscured in the form of classical languages or esoteric medical terminology. Lawrence Stone observes, "One of the most remarkable facts about hard-core pornography before the 19th century is how little of it there was" (3). This dearth was undoubtedly because erotic literature had until that time a very limited market. The market began to expand dramatically i
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Approximate Word count = 2085
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)