Pornography and erotica in the Philippines
Encyclopedia
Pornography in the Philippines is defined by Philippine law in the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines
and Republic Act No. 7610. According to this Filipino legislation, pornography
are illegal doctrines, publications
, shows
, and other similar material or portrayals that advocate human immorality, obscenity
, and indecency. Philippine legislations penalize participation in these unlawful activities, which extend punishment to those that harbor abuse
, exploitation
, prostitution
, and discrimination of children
.
. The early 1900s became the source of some of the first "sensual" pictures
of Filipino women
, such as the nude photographs of Philippine tribal women taken by Dean Conant Worcester
, an American photographer and former Secretary of the Interior of the colonial United States government. During the 1960s, magazines for women in the Philippines featured literary articles featuring topics on contraception
, sexual health, marriage
, erotica
and sexual liberation
with the purpose of improving marital relationship, and not as an impediment or replacement to romantic or appropriate natural and normal human sexuality. Also in this decade, pornography became accessible to interested affluent adult men and women who are in a mature relationship
that can be viewed through eight-millimeter
portable film projector
s, before the introduction of the more affordable videocassettes. Although illegal, local video rental shops and newsstands became the primary channel of for-sale and rented pornographic materials. Locally-produced pornographic and erotic media in the Philippines became available in the forms of published materials and pre-recorded and live sex shows. The first soft-core pornographic Philippine-made movie appeared in the 1970s, entitled Uhaw (literally, "thirst", but figuratively denotes "sexual hunger" or "sexual desire"), a film wherein the lead female role was portrayed by a former Philippine beauty pageant queen. Production of homemade and poor quality hardcore
sexually-oriented films also appeared later on, prior to the arrival of CDs, VCDs, DVDs, cable television, mail-order services and Internet-accessible visuals and information on sexual activity.
and Taiwan
. Pornography film producers have offices in Angeles City
in Pampanga
, Olongapo City
in Zambales
, City of Manila, Pasay City
, Makati City
, and Quezon City
, where male and female prostitutes are hired to play sexual roles for adult films. According to Rolando B. Tolentino, the hardcore porn industry is non-existent in the Philippines, but such productions are subcontracted by foreign producers including businessmen from India
and the United States to local filmmakers.
Long after the publication of the Tik-Tik, Sakdal, and Playboy Scenes magazines in the Philippines, a Filipino edition of Playboy
, named Playboy Philippines, was initiated in the country on March 15, 2008. Its first issue was released in April 2008. There was a difference in the presentation for its Filipino audience and readership in order not to go against Filipino business, cultural, and social values
. Among these characteristic differences from its Western or typically racy counterparts are the non-display of frontal nudity and human genitalia, although it features Filipino women as 'playmates'”. In addition, the magazine also writes about "real people" of society, personality profiles, celebrity people, pictorials, interview sections, advice columns, editorials, humor, lifestyle, fashion trends, articles of investigative journalists, and recognized fictionists. The magazine's aim was to earn readers who belong to the 25-year old age group and older.
medical practitioner, revealed that modern-day Filipino men and women have different purposes for viewing or reading erotic and sexually related materials. Based on the study, female consumers evolves around the "couple context" or relationship context, while male patrons do so in relation to solitary sexual activity. Leyson’s study also found out that there is a continuous rise in preferences among “educated, sophisticated, and professional” men and women who are engaged in an intimate relationship
for so-called "clean" or "softcore" versions of sexually-oriented resources.
Revised Penal Code of the Philippines
The Revised Penal Code contains the general penal laws of the Philippines. First enacted in 1930, it remains in effect today, despite several amendments thereto. It does not comprise a comprehensive compendium of all Philippine penal laws. The Revised Penal Code itself was enacted as Act No...
and Republic Act No. 7610. According to this Filipino legislation, pornography
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
are illegal doctrines, publications
Pornographic magazine
Pornographic magazines, sometimes known as adult magazines, sex magazines or top-shelf magazines are pornographic magazines that contain content of a sexual nature. Adult magazines are mainly aimed towards men, and in some parts of the world, many men's first sight of a naked woman has been in an...
, shows
Sex show
A sex show is a form of live performance that features one or more performers engaging in some form of sexual activity on stage for the entertainment or sexual gratification of spectators. Performers are paid either by the spectators or by the organisers of the show. A performance would involve an...
, and other similar material or portrayals that advocate human immorality, obscenity
Obscenity
An obscenity is any statement or act which strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time, is a profanity, or is otherwise taboo, indecent, abhorrent, or disgusting, or is especially inauspicious...
, and indecency. Philippine legislations penalize participation in these unlawful activities, which extend punishment to those that harbor abuse
Child abuse
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
, exploitation
Child pornography laws in the Philippines
Child pornography laws in the Philippines have recently begun to react to the growing commercial sexual exploitation of children in that country.-UNICEF Manila study:...
, prostitution
Prostitution of children
Prostitution of children or child prostitution is the commercial sexual exploitation of children in which a child performs the services of prostitution, for financial benefit. The term normally refers to prostitution by a minor, or person under the local age of majority...
, and discrimination of children
Child sex tourism
Child sex tourism is tourism for the purpose of engaging in the prostitution of children, that is commercially-facilitated child sexual abuse...
.
Historical background
Pornographic materials first arrived in the Philippines in 1946, in the form of pornographic magazines imported from the United StatesPornography in the United States
In the United States, there have been several notable court decisions relating to the definition of pornography and obscenity, personal possession, and its relation to prostitution. The total market value of pornography in the U.S. is estimated between $2-$13 billion per year...
. The early 1900s became the source of some of the first "sensual" pictures
Pioneers of photography in the Philippines
The pioneers of photography in the Philippines were Western photographers, mostly from Europe. The practice of taking photographs and the opening of the first photo studios in Spanish Philippines, from the 1840s to the 1890s, were driven by the following reasons: photographs were used as a medium...
of Filipino women
Women in the Philippines
The role of women in the Philippines is explained based on the context of Filipino culture, standards, and mindsets. The Philippines is described to be a nation of strong women, who directly and indirectly run the family unit, businesses, government agencies and haciendas.Although they generally...
, such as the nude photographs of Philippine tribal women taken by Dean Conant Worcester
Dean Conant Worcester
Dean Conant Worcester, D.Sc., F.R.G.S. was an American zoologist, public official, and authority on the Philippines, born at Thetford, Vermont, and educated at the University of Michigan ....
, an American photographer and former Secretary of the Interior of the colonial United States government. During the 1960s, magazines for women in the Philippines featured literary articles featuring topics on contraception
Contraception
Contraception is the prevention of the fusion of gametes during or after sexual activity. The term contraception is a contraction of contra, which means against, and the word conception, meaning fertilization...
, sexual health, marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
, erotica
Erotica
Erotica are works of art, including literature, photography, film, sculpture and painting, that deal substantively with erotically stimulating or sexually arousing descriptions...
and sexual liberation
Sexuality in the Philippines
Sexuality and sensuality in the Philippines or Filipino sexuality refers to human sexuality and sensuality as perceived, expressed, experienced, and valued by the Filipino people. This encompasses sexual behavior, sexual practices, and sexual activities exhibited by Filipino men and women of the...
with the purpose of improving marital relationship, and not as an impediment or replacement to romantic or appropriate natural and normal human sexuality. Also in this decade, pornography became accessible to interested affluent adult men and women who are in a mature relationship
Courtship in the Philippines
Traditional courtship in the Philippines is described as a "far more subdued and indirect" approach compared to Western or Westernized cultures. It involves "phases" or "stages" inherent to Philippine society and culture. Evident in courtship in the Philippines is the practice of singing romantic...
that can be viewed through eight-millimeter
8 mm film
8 mm film is a motion picture film format in which the filmstrip is eight millimeters wide. It exists in two main versions: the original standard 8mm film, also known as regular 8 mm or Double 8 mm, and Super 8...
portable film projector
Movie projector
A movie projector is an opto-mechanical device for displaying moving pictures by projecting them on a projection screen. Most of the optical and mechanical elements, except for the illumination and sound devices, are present in movie cameras.-Physiology:...
s, before the introduction of the more affordable videocassettes. Although illegal, local video rental shops and newsstands became the primary channel of for-sale and rented pornographic materials. Locally-produced pornographic and erotic media in the Philippines became available in the forms of published materials and pre-recorded and live sex shows. The first soft-core pornographic Philippine-made movie appeared in the 1970s, entitled Uhaw (literally, "thirst", but figuratively denotes "sexual hunger" or "sexual desire"), a film wherein the lead female role was portrayed by a former Philippine beauty pageant queen. Production of homemade and poor quality hardcore
Hardcore pornography
Hardcore pornography is a form of pornography that features explicit sexual acts. The term was coined in the second half of the 20th century to distinguish it from softcore pornography. It usually takes the form of photographs, often displayed in magazines or on the Internet, or films. It can also...
sexually-oriented films also appeared later on, prior to the arrival of CDs, VCDs, DVDs, cable television, mail-order services and Internet-accessible visuals and information on sexual activity.
Philippine porn industry and market
According to a news report by the American Chronicle on May 30, 2009, the underground Philippine porn industry earned about $1 billion in American dollars in 2006, ranking the illegal Philippine porn black market in eighth place around the world, tied together with CanadaPornography in Canada
Legislation on pornography in Canada has sharply evolved since the 1960s, along with the progressive liberalization of society since that period, which is noticeable in the Trudeau bill of 1968 that suppressed various laws related to sexual norms.-Science:...
and Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. Pornography film producers have offices in Angeles City
Angeles City
The City of Angeles , located within the province of Pampanga in the Philippines, is locally classified as a first-class, highly-urbanized city. Its name is derived from El Pueblo de los Ángeles in honor of its patron saints, Los Santos Ángeles de los Custodios , and the name of its founder, Don...
in Pampanga
Pampanga
Pampanga is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the City of San Fernando, Pampanga. Pampanga is bordered by the provinces of Bataan and Zambales to the west, Tarlac and Nueva Ecija to the north, and Bulacan to the southeast...
, Olongapo City
Olongapo City
The City of Olongapo is a highly urbanized city located in the province of Zambales, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 227,270 people in 50,300 households.-History:...
in Zambales
Zambales
Zambales is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is Iba. Zambales borders Pangasinan to the north, Tarlac and Pampanga to the east, and Bataan to the south. The province lies between the South China Sea and the Zambales Mountains. With a land area of...
, City of Manila, Pasay City
Pasay City
The City of Pasay is one of the cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila in the Philippines. It is bordered on the north by the country's capital, Manila, to the northeast by Makati City, to the east by Taguig City, and Parañaque City to the south.Pasay City was one of the original four...
, Makati City
Makati City
The City of Makati is one of the 17 cities that make up Metro Manila, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. Makati is the financial center of the Philippines and one of the major financial, commercial and economic hubs in Asia...
, and Quezon City
Quezon City
Quezon City is the former capital and the most populous city in the Philippines. Located on the island of Luzon, Quezon City is one of the cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila, the National Capital Region. The city was named after Manuel L...
, where male and female prostitutes are hired to play sexual roles for adult films. According to Rolando B. Tolentino, the hardcore porn industry is non-existent in the Philippines, but such productions are subcontracted by foreign producers including businessmen from India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and the United States to local filmmakers.
Erotic publications
In general, there are three major categories of erotic publications in the Philippines:- Sexual-issue publications: Those publications belonging in this category include magazines that deal with sexual issues, avoid full nudity and nude images that are pornographic in nature, and are geared toward public information by employing scientific, popular, and academic terminologies, how to enhance sexual pleasure through imparting techniques in human sexuality, sexual health renewal, and safe-sex practices.
- Literary and humorous publications: Magazines categorized within this type contain partial or total nudity, texts that are pornographic in nature, and columns and letters that provide sexually-related advice and opinions.
- De facto pornographic publications: Magazines and game cards or image cards are included under this category. They are described as "clearly pornographic", commonly lacking quality and artistry, and some have scatological content.
Long after the publication of the Tik-Tik, Sakdal, and Playboy Scenes magazines in the Philippines, a Filipino edition of Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
, named Playboy Philippines, was initiated in the country on March 15, 2008. Its first issue was released in April 2008. There was a difference in the presentation for its Filipino audience and readership in order not to go against Filipino business, cultural, and social values
Filipino values
The Filipino value system or Filipino values refers to the set of values or the value system that a majority of Filipino people have historically held important in their lives. This Philippine value system includes their own unique assemblage of consistent ideologies, moral codes, ethical...
. Among these characteristic differences from its Western or typically racy counterparts are the non-display of frontal nudity and human genitalia, although it features Filipino women as 'playmates'”. In addition, the magazine also writes about "real people" of society, personality profiles, celebrity people, pictorials, interview sections, advice columns, editorials, humor, lifestyle, fashion trends, articles of investigative journalists, and recognized fictionists. The magazine's aim was to earn readers who belong to the 25-year old age group and older.
Consumption
An informal consumption survey was conducted by Jose Florante J. Leyson, a FilipinoFilipino people
The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....
medical practitioner, revealed that modern-day Filipino men and women have different purposes for viewing or reading erotic and sexually related materials. Based on the study, female consumers evolves around the "couple context" or relationship context, while male patrons do so in relation to solitary sexual activity. Leyson’s study also found out that there is a continuous rise in preferences among “educated, sophisticated, and professional” men and women who are engaged in an intimate relationship
Intimate relationship
An intimate relationship is a particularly close interpersonal relationship that involves physical or emotional intimacy. Physical intimacy is characterized by romantic or passionate love and attachment, or sexual activity. The term is also sometimes used euphemistically for a sexual...
for so-called "clean" or "softcore" versions of sexually-oriented resources.
See also
- Child pornography laws in the PhilippinesChild pornography laws in the PhilippinesChild pornography laws in the Philippines have recently begun to react to the growing commercial sexual exploitation of children in that country.-UNICEF Manila study:...
- Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003The Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003, R.A. No. 9208, is a consolidation of Senate Bill No. 2444 and House Bill No. 4432...
- Pioneers of photography in the PhilippinesPioneers of photography in the PhilippinesThe pioneers of photography in the Philippines were Western photographers, mostly from Europe. The practice of taking photographs and the opening of the first photo studios in Spanish Philippines, from the 1840s to the 1890s, were driven by the following reasons: photographs were used as a medium...
- List of Filipino female adult models
External links
- Articles About Pornography from PRO-LIFE Philippine Foundation, Inc., pro-life.org.ph
- Factbook on Global Sexual Exploitation: The Philippines, uri.edu
- Sparrow, William. Philippines Exporting Labor and Sex, Sex in Depth, Southeast Asia, Asia Times Online, atimes.com, March 15, 2008
- Sex in Cyberspace Alarms (Philippine) Senate; Probe Pressed, from the Manila BulletinManila BulletinThe Manila Bulletin , is the Philippines' largest broadsheet newspaper by circulation, followed by the Philippine Daily Inquirer. It bills itself as "The Nation's Leading Newspaper", which is its official slogan...
, 11 March 1996 - Stop Child Porn Today!, UNICEF Philippines, unicef.org
- Photography & Power: Dressing & Undressing the Filipino, digicoll.library.wisc.edu
- Sex in Philippine Cinema (2004), imdb.com