Porn vs. Prostitution

Is there a difference between porn and prostitution? Laws don't treat porn and prostitution in the same way. Having sex on camera in an adult film is legal but having sex with a John is not.

In both the cases whether it is porn or prostitution there is a payment made. In one case it is to act while in the other it is to have sex. Performers in porn may engage in sexual acts but that is considered a part of expression which is protected by the First amendment and does not count as sex for hire. There are advocates of free speech who go so far as to want this to even hold for 'gonzo' films where the cameraman also joins in the action. Live sex shows though have received less protection as compared to sexually explicit media even though the Supreme Court in Oregon overturned two state laws about sex shows on grounds of free speech and expression in 2005.

The issue came into focus in the 1980's when a producer Harold Freeman was prosecuted for pimping when he hired five women to perform sex acts for a movie called ' Caught from behind II'. The highest court in the state decided that anti pimping laws were not intended to apply to porn films and these laws would impinge on the First amendment when it came to films. Also the fees that were paid were not for the express purpose of sexual arousal or gratification of either the actors or the producer.

In the early 20th century pornography was rare and was considered obscene and it was not until adult movies became popular that the authorities paid more attention to them. Porn though has been protected under the First amendment since the 1950's. In a case in 1957 of Roth vs. United States the Supreme Court decided that obscenity was not protected under the First Amendment and it also narrowed the definition of obscenity which effectively legitimized porn.

The standards for what is considered 'obscene pornography' kept changing with different court cases and it was finally decided that a work was obscene if it appealed to prurient interests, offended community standards and had no social value. However it was realized that everything could be considered to have social values, so today works are singled out if they lack any serious literary, artistic, political or scientific values as obscene.

Since the case of California vs. Freeman, prosecutors have avoided challenging the distinction between pornography and prostitution due to the legal buffer allowed by the state of California to the adult film industry.