How was porn originated? |

It is difficult to say how pornography really began, but what sets pornography apart from other material is that it is intended to be sexually arousing to the viewer. Art which depicts nude figures is not necessarily pornographic, so when we consider ancient carvings like the Venus of Willendorf or famous paintings like Titian's Venus of Urbino, we really need to understand the artist's intent in the piece. This gets more and more difficult the further back in time we look. We are more removed from the cultural context in which the art was made and may be lacking in our capability to understand what was or was not erotic in that culture.

Even when considering materials which explicitly depict sexual intercourse, like the Kama Sutra, we must also try to understand the context of the art. The Kama Sutra is a Hindu text dating to about the second century CE, and only a small portion of the book actually deals with sexual intercourse. The whole text is primarily a guide for living a virtuous life, and sex is accepted as part of a life lived well. While to my American eyes, the depictions of intercourse in the Kama Sutra may be erotic or pornographic, I understand that it is just a small part of what is essentially a self-help book.

In 1524, shortly after the establishment of the Gutenberg Press, a book of erotic engravings was published with the title I Modi. What remains of the original engravings is housed at the British Museum. Based on the fact that these engravings were accompanied by sonnets describing sexual and intimate acts, we can presume that the artists intended for these works to be sexually enticing. 

The origins of what we consider to be modern, commercialized pornography dates back to 1839 with the development of daguerrotype photography. Soon after its invention, photographers began using it to make pictures of scantily clad women and couples engaged in intercourse. Film came into play in the 20th century, with thousands of pornographic films being shot and produced by ameteurs in just the first half of the century.

Today, pornography production is a legal form of sex work in the United States and many other countries. It may be created as film or photo, or even in literary works called erotic fiction. These means of production are much like their nonsexual counterparts and employ writers, actors, models, directors, editors, and artists of all kinds in order to complete the production.

I am not including reference to links as I cannot be sure that you are not a minor and I do not want to refer you to any explicit material.