[jetset]

Good find, T_B - a useful addition to the argument.

I think public morality changes with the times, as Simmo suggests and as Vesuvio references in the Greek definition of pornography. Some of the statuary and graphics from ancient Roman times would suggest that erotica/pornography or just plain naughty artwork and copy is not a modern phenomenon....and some cultures are obviously more open to discussion and display than others.

For me, this thread represents a microcosm of just how subjective opinions and even definitions can be...and the point is well made that an all-embracing description of "pornography" is difficult to apply to the different shades of erotica and sexuality seen by others.

The issue is clouded by what I see as a generally negative or uncomfortable perception that the word "pornography" tends to conjure up in many people, and the fact that even over the span of fifty or sixty years there has been such a dramatic change in how the public at large sees nudity, sexuality, erotica and what is acceptable or not.

Highly graphic, penetrative, zoom-in and/or kinky (a word that means different things to different people, too) sex and who (or what) is engaged in it have many permutations, and opinions of those acts will differ widely.

I think it's safe to say that most folks view the molestation of minors; injurious, coercive and violent sex and bestiality as way beyond the pale, but by today's standards more *conventional* (if I dare use that word) encounters can provoke lots of debate and exchanges of opinion as to whether it is hardcore, soft porn, erotica, artistic expression or something else.

I still don't personally regard Playboy Gaming as pornographic, though!