Porno Chic and the Sex Wars

For many Americans, the emergence of a "porno chic" culture provided an opportunity to embrace the sexual revolution by attending a film like Deep Throat (1972) or leafing through an erotic magazine like Penthouse. By the 1980s, this pornographic moment was beaten back by the rise of Reagan-era political conservatism and feminist anti-pornography sentiment.

This volume places pornography at the heart of the 1970s American experience, exploring lesser-known forms of pornography from the decade, such as a new, vibrant gay porn genre; transsexual/female impersonator magazines; and pornography for new users, including women and conservative Christians. The collection also explores the rise of a culture of porn film auteurs and stars as well as the transition from film to video. As the corpus of adult ephemera of the 1970s disintegrates, much of it never to be professionally restored and archived, these essays seek to document what pornography meant to its producers and consumers at a pivotal moment.

In addition to the volume editors, contributors include Peter Alilunas, Gillian Frank, Elizabeth Fraterrigo, Lucas Hilderbrand, Nancy Semin Lingo, Laura Helen Marks, Nicholas Matte, Jennifer Christine Nash, Joe Rubin, Alex Warner, Leigh Ann Wheeler, and Greg Youmans.

Pentru multi americani, aparitia unei culturi „porno chic” a oferit o oportunitate de a imbratisa revolutia sexuala prin participarea la un film precum Deep Throat (1972) sau rasfoirea unei reviste erotice precum Penthouse. Pana in anii 1980, acest moment pornografic a fost respins de ascensiunea conservatorismului politic din epoca Reagan si a sentimentului feminist anti-pornografie. Acest volum plaseaza pornografia in centrul experientei americane din anii 1970, explorand forme mai putin cunoscute de pornografie din deceniul precum un gen nou, vibrant de porno gay; reviste de imitatori transsexual / feminin; si pornografie pentru noii utilizatori, inclusiv femei si crestini conservatori.