The first country in the world to legitimize
pornography
Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults, was
Denmark in 1967. That year, the country legalized pornographic literature. Subsequently, on July 1, 1969,
Denmark became the first nation in the world to legalize
pictorial
An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimensiona ...
and
audiovisual pornography,
which helped further promote the
Golden Age of Porn (1969–1984) in modern American culture, and later, in many other countries throughout the world.
People in Denmark have had free access to such materials ever since. There still are a few regulations: for example, pornography must be placed out of the view of children, and may not be sold to persons under the age of 15. The public TV channel
Kanal København broadcast
hardcore pornography
Hardcore pornography, or hardcore porn, is pornography that features detailed depictions of sexual organs or sexual acts such as vaginal, anal or oral intercourse, fingering, anilingus, ejaculation, and fetish play. The term is in contrast wi ...
free and uncoded at night, in the early 2000s.
Prior to 2015, there were no specific restrictions against
animal pornography
Zoophilia is a paraphilia involving a sexual fixation on non-human animals. Bestiality is cross-species sexual activity between humans and non-human animals. The terms are often used interchangeably, but some researchers make a distinction b ...
, and such affairs came under
animal cruelty laws. If no harm or pain was inflicted on the animal, such acts were not illegal. This changed in late April 2015, when Denmark passed a new law, making sex with animals illegal. The earlier lack of legislation had allegedly made Denmark a center for the production of animal pornography. This accusation, however, was dismissed as a
myth
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of Narrative, narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or Origin myth, origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not Objectivity (philosophy), ...
by Det Dyreetiske Råd, a legal council, which, in November 2006, published an extensive report on the topic of animal sex.
Between 1969 and 1980, the
Color Climax Corporation produced legal child pornography films. Since 1980,
child pornography has been illegal in Denmark.
[Section 234 of the ''Danish Criminal Code'' (1969), reads whoever 'sells indecent pictures or objects to a person under 16 yrs of age' is to be punished by a fine. Section 235 (1980) has a special provision concerning the reproduction and sale of child pornography, that is, sexually explicit photographs of persons who appear to be under 15 years (the taking of such pictures was always a criminal offence).] It is illegal to distribute photographic or video pornography of persons under the age of 18, although the
age of consent
The age of consent is the age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to sexual acts. Consequently, an adult who engages in sexual activity with a person younger than the age of consent is unable to legally claim ...
in Denmark is 15.
Further reading
*
Morten Thing
Morten is a common given name in Norway and Denmark. Approximately 22,138 have this name as a given name in Norway and about 52 people have it as a surname. Notable people with the name include:
*Morten Abel, Norwegian singer
*Morten Andersen, Dan ...
: ''Pornografiens historie i Danmark'' (Aschehaug, 1999)
*
Berl Kutchinsky: ''Law, pornography, and crime: The Danish experience'' (Pax Forlag, 1999)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pornography In Denmark
Society of Denmark