21 May 1956 New laws are proposed to stop the $500 million a year traffic in pornographic literature and photographs in the United States.
5 March 1959 Is pornography ‘an index of dangerous immaturity’? A letter to the editor of the Manchester Guardian condemning pornography starts a debate in the newspaper.
6 September 1969 Hugh Hefner or ‘Hef’, who created Playboy magazine in 1953, proves himself to be a master of self-publicity at the launch of his new film venture.
6 November 1976 Tory MP Richard Body seeks tax on sexy films. ‘If people must really see X or AA films then I think they should not object to paying a little extra for the privilege.’
15 July 1977 Teachers see porn link with school canings: corporal punishment inspires a disturbing amount of pornographic material, says teachers’ society.
21 March 1981 Jill Tweedie on Linda Lovelace, the Queen of Porn, made infamous by her film Deep Throat, as her autobiography Ordeal is published.
19 August 1999 The British Board of Film Classification is under pressure to give R18 certificates to pornographic videos. Until now, the board has only passed videos showing simulated sex.
17 July 2017 Privacy campaigners criticise UK plan for age checks on porn websites.
23 August 2017 Picture gallery: ‘Look at those fonts!’ X-rated film posters of the 60s and 70s.
10 September 2017 Alongside longtime collaborator George Pelecanos, The Wire’s creator talks about their new TV drama, The Deuce, which examines porn’s impact on US society.
