Pavel Novotny

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 in magazines, or films but it may also appear as a cartoon. Since the 1990s it has been distributed widely over the Internet.

Hardcore pornography was widely prohibited in many countries until the second half of the 20th century when many of the world's liberal democracies, experiencing a change in sexual norms, began to allow limited access. Supply is usually regulated by a combination of a classification system and regulation of points of sale, although today hardcore pornography can be easily downloaded from many Internet sites with little regulation. Public display and advertising is often prohibited. Supply to minors is usually prohibited.

Most of the world's liberal democracies have either taken steps to legalize pornography, or they fail increasingly to enforce legislation to prohibit it, resulting in de facto legalization. There is often vigorous opposition to legalization - see anti-pornography movement. In the U.S., legal interpretations of pornography in relation to the constitutional right to free speech differ from state to state and from city to city. Hardcore pornography was legalised in the UK in 200