Golden Age of Porn

The Golden Age of Porn was a period of mainstream theatrical pornography in the United States, roughly from the late 1960s through the early 1980s, marked by higher production values and increased public visibility.

1960s sexual revolution: A period of changing attitudes and activism around sexuality, contraception, gender roles, and personal freedom during the 1960s. Changing sexual norms helped create an audience for more publicly visible erotic films.
Behind the Green Door: A 1972 American pornographic feature film directed by the Mitchell brothers and starring Marilyn Chambers. Its formal ambitions and commercial success exemplified the era’s theatrical feature format.
Feature film: A full-length motion picture, generally distinguished from short films by its running time and narrative scope. Golden Age productions adopted the length and narrative conventions of theatrical features.
Home video: The recording, distribution, and viewing of audiovisual media in private homes. Home viewing eventually drew audiences away from adult-film theaters.
Porno chic: A 1970s cultural phenomenon in which pornographic films and performers received attention in mainstream media and social settings. The phrase captures the period’s unusual overlap between adult-film publicity and mainstream culture.
Comstock laws: A set of United States federal and state laws restricting the circulation of materials deemed obscene. Their weakening and uneven enforcement helped reshape the legal risks facing erotic filmmakers.
The Devil in Miss Jones: A 1973 American pornographic feature film written and directed by Gerard Damiano. Its dramatic structure and theatrical release typified the period’s effort to resemble mainstream cinema.
Film distribution: The process of making films available to audiences through theaters and other exhibition channels. Independent distributors connected adult productions with theaters across the United States.
VHS: A videocassette format developed by JVC and widely used for home video from the late 1970s onward. VHS made adult films easier to rent and watch privately, weakening theatrical exclusivity.
Linda Lovelace: An American performer known for starring in Deep Throat and later for her opposition to the pornography industry. Her changing public account made the era’s celebrity inseparable from later debates about coercion.

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