Porno chic

The term "porno chic" was first used in the early 1970s to describe the wave of pornographic movies like "Boys in the Sand", "Behind the Green Door", "Deep Throat", "The Devil in Miss Jones", and "Score" that appeared in mainstream moviehouses of the United States for the first time.

Mainstream attention

For a period of two or three years it was fashionable to watch and discuss such films. An influential five-page article about the movie "Deep Throat" in the "New York Times Magazine" in early 1973 used the phrase "porno chic" in the title and described the phenomenon. [Ralph Blumenthal: Porno chic; "Hard-core" grows fashionable-and very profitable, "The New York Times Magazine", 21 January 1973] Actress Linda Lovelace once stated at that time that she believed that the porn industry would merge with the mainstream film industry. [From an 1970s interview in the documentary "Inside Deep Throat".]

Porno chic actors

During the era of porn chic, also known as the "Golden Age of Porn", adult film stars such as Linda Lovelace, Harry Reems, Marilyn Chambers, Anne Sparkles, and John C. Holmes, a.k.a. "Johnny Wadd," became household names and much sought-out superstars. As the industry flourished, Mr. Holmes was cast as the first recurring porn character in the wildly popular "Johnny Wadd" film series, in which he played a world-wise detective.

Modern usage

More recently, "porno chic" or "porn chic" has been used to refer to the mainstreaming of pornography and the use of imagery from pornography in popular culture, such as advertising, music videos, movies and cable television. [William L. Hamilton: The Mainstream Flirts With Pornography Chic. "The New York Times", 21 March 1999] Adult models and actresses are routinely interviewed on radio and appear on "The Howard Stern Show." As a result, such actresses, as well as a few actors such as Ron Jeremy, have received increased exposure. In the 1990s it became common for mainstream Hollywood actors to date adult video stars. In some cases, private videos subsequently made by them were discovered and later sold over the Internet.

The latter use of the term has been promoted by British media researcher Brian McNair. [ [http://www.nikk.uio.no/arrangementer/konferens/tallin03/Sorensen.pdf The mainstreaming of pornography in mass culture] , by Anette Dina Sørensen. Talk given in 2003.]

Criticism

Barneys creative director Simon Doonan has criticized porno chic in his book, "Eccentric Glamour: Creating an Insanely More Fabulous You." [Colin Bertram, "New York Daily News," March 31, 2008 "Simon Doonan of Barneys wants to take us off our diet of raunch dressing," http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/2008/03/31/2008-03-31_simon_doonan_of_barneys_wants_to_take_us-1.html]

Movies

Some of the best-known movies are:

References

External links

* [http://www.time.com/time/columnist/corliss/article/0,9565,1043267,00.html That old feeling: when porno was chic] , Time Magazine, March 29, 2005
* [http://www.jahsonic.com/PornoChic.html PornoChic] , a collection of resources related to the 1970s phenomenon

Further reading

* Legs McNeil, Jennifer Osborne and Peter Pavia: "The Other Hollywood: The Uncensored Oral History of the Porn Film Industry". Regan Books 2005. ISBN 0-06-009659-4