For-Profit+Internet+Pornography+in+the+United+States

=Sex Work on the internet: Pornography in the United States=

[[image:porn.jpeg width="466" height="239" align="right" link="@https://psychologies.co.uk/sites/default/files/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/ppiip-2.jpg"]]Overview
With the rise of the internet, pornography (IP), usage rates have increased over the past ten years (Short, Black, Smith, Wetterneck, & Wells, 2012). There is little academic literature evaluating IP specifically, however, the existing relevant studies primarily focus on its effect on children and adolescents. The academic literature does not support a single definition of pornography, IP, or for-profit IP. A meta-analysis of the academic literature on IP by Short et al. (2012) found that the most appropriate definition of internet pornography was “any sexually explicit material displaying genitals with the aim of sexual arousal or fantasy” found on the internet. This definition excluded written pornography however. There is little academic research concerning the sale of IP or about those who profit from working in IP, therefore, for the purpose of this wiki, the author defined for-profit internet pornography to be any sexually explicit material with the aim of sexual arousal or fantasy, found on the internet, and for the purpose of economic gain.

Business
The sale of internet pornography is hugely profitable (Brendan, 2000). In 2006 alone, Americans spent over 13.3 billion on X-rated materials including internet pornography (Short et al., 2012). As of 2000, adult internet entertainment sites profited at least a 30% due to low advertising and labor costs (Brendan, 2000).

The Sale of Internet Pornography
Broadly, Kraak (2001) divided material found on the internet into dynamic and static categories. This concept can be extrapolated to for-profit internet pornography which allows IP to fall into dynamic and static categories as well. Dynamic IP includes explicit material that is engaging and is broadcasted or disseminated through video, chat rooms and voice. Static IP includes explicit material viewed via photos and fixed in written word.

The Law
There is not one overarching law in the United States regarding IP or the sale of IP. Since the Supreme Court Case, Miller v. California in 1973, pornography has been protected under the right to free speech in the First Amendment. In Miller v. California, it was found that The First Amendment did not protect against sexually explicit material that was considered “obscene” (Russell, 2008). Commonly referred to as part of the Miller Test, “obscene” was defined as “(a) Whether ‘the average person, applying contemporary community standards’ would find that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest, ... (b) whether the work depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by the applicable state law; and (c) whether the works taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value” (Russell, 2008). In 1982, the sale and distribution of child pornography was found to be unprotected by the first amendment, and therefore illegal. Many opponents to IP argue that IP is obscene and should be illegal so that children are protected from viewing and IP they come in contact with (Boyd & Scherer, 2012).



Boyd, J. E., & Scherer, K. (2012). Finding pornography on the family computer. GP Solo, 29(2). Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA317469171&v=2.1&u=udel_main&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w&asid=d23f843a7ceb1d1b87c4892d8b

Kraak, M. (2001): Settings and Needs for Web Cartography. New York. New York: Francis and Taylor.

Owens, E. W., Behun, R. J., Manning, J. C., & Reid, R. C. (2012). The Impact of Internet Pornography on Adolescents: A Review of the Research. Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity, 19(1/2), 99-122. doi:10.1080/10720162.2012.660431

Russell, G. (2008). Pedophiles in wonderland: Censoring the sinful in cyberspace. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 98(4). Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA194192407&v=2.1&u=udel_main&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w&asid=0a73be85cabe748b5a45dafc3ba54a12

Short, M. B., Black, L., Smith, A. H., Wetterneck, C. T., & Wells, D. E. (2012). A Review of Internet Pornography Use Research: Methodology and Content from the Past 10 Years. Cyberpsychology, Behavior & Social Networking, 15(1), 13-23. doi:10.1089/cyber.2010.0477

Weitzer, R. (Ed.). (2010). Sex for sale: Prostitution, pornography, and the sex industry. Routledge.