Softcore vs. Hardcore Pornography: Origins, Rules, and History

Pornography — whether photos or videos — is divided into two major categories, softcore porn and hardcore porn. There is an array of porn genres to satisfy everyone’s desires and preferences and these two categories are where pornography differs the most.

To explain the main differences, let’s talk about history a bit.

Where did porn start

Naked people have been depicted in art for millennia. However, in modern times porn started with nude photos in magazines like Playboy or Hustler which gained popularity in the 60s.

These would be described as soft porn. You see nude images of women, oftentimes with their genitals covered, leaving the rest to your imagination. You could argue that porn as we know it started here.

As time passed, preferences for something more appeared. With the advent of VHS and distribution companies such as Homegrown Videos, the demand for more explicit content increased.

The invention and dissemination of the internet pushed porn online. From the 90s onwards, porn and different types of porn became more accessible. Photos were no longer enough, not even the hardcore ones, as people have had the chance to see something as interactive and engaging as video.

Video pornography leaves nothing to the imagination. This hits the things people are looking for in porn: novelty and surprise. Elements such as new positions and novel kinks and fetishes become the norm when they’re available easily online.

Softcore porn has been losing ground to hardcore porn for decades — the demand has been for pushing boundaries. However, there is still a place for softcore porn that doesn’t include penetration and only simulates sexual acts.

What’s the difference between soft and hard porn?

There are specific rules that need to be respected when it comes to making soft porn or hardcore porn videos. For example, in soft porn, you’ll rarely — if ever — see the male or female genitalia.

There won’t be real oral sex too. When the male actor goes down on a woman, he usually pulls down to the pubic bone, resting his forehead on it while the woman lifts her leg and braces him with it just enough to cover what’s truly going on.

Of course, soft porn is not short on the moans and expressions of joy a woman makes while real sex happens in the otherwise “normal” sex videos, also known as hardcore porn.

While soft porn is more sensual and intimate, hardcore porn leaves nothing hidden. You will see the actors nude from every angle and in every pose.

Hardcore porn exposes their genitals, and while in soft porn there cannot be penetration shown, hardcore porn relies on it.

The videos also indicate a close-up on oral sex with the man coming on her body. This type of porn has become ever more popular in the first decade of the 21st century and new ways to access adult content online.

The future of hardcore and softcore porn

Many believe soft porn has become the black sheep in the industry. It is produced less because so much more explicit content is readily available.

The videos are more reliant on scripts and story, yet are characterized by cheesy conversation and acting where the female actor gets into sexual situations with one or more people throughout the video.

That being said, the porn industry is ever-changing and trends towards what viewers want to see. This leaves a lot of room for the comeback of soft porn.

Some people prefer soft and never watch the hardcore stuff as it’s more aesthetically pleasing to them and leaves a lot of room for imagination and learning new foreplay methods.

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