Why porn and war are inextricably linked

Any war is always a lot of young and full of strength men deprived of female society. Such asceticism does not benefit everyone and only aggravates the psychological problems associated with the horrors and hardships surrounding the military. Only erotic and pornographic publications could partially compensate for the absence of ladies.

During the First World War, the soldiers had only spicy postcards at their disposal. They were of poor quality and very monotonous. The first posters and magazines of erotic content began to be published in the 40s, when the Second World War was underway. First, pin-up images came into fashion. Magazines published painted girls, partially or completely naked.

There were also more serious products. In 1918, both the Germans and the British had a very popular book "Fanny Hill. Memoirs of a Woman for Pleasure" (Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure Illustrated). It was full of descriptions of sex and well illustrated.

A little later, they started taking photos "for adults" and the first popular erotic models appeared. The most famous were the Americans Betty Grable and Marilyn Monroe. Posters and magazine clippings with them could be found in any barracks and dugout.

The founder of Playboy magazine Hugh Hefner brought eroticism in the army to a whole new level. He made his publication the main one for American soldiers. It was the period of the Vietnam War, and the regular supply of fresh numbers was not limited. Playboy organized concerts and shows, often in the field, soldiers wrote letters to models. Often, military-style plots appeared on the pages of the publication or on branded posters.

Nothing has changed since then. During the operation in In the Persian Gulf, which took place in 1991, Playboy coordinated with the military leadership "Operation Playmate". The girls of the month corresponded with soldiers and officers and even sent them photos in swimsuits. Later, the same actions were carried out in the US Army in 2001 and 2003. However, during the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Internet came into its own and everything became much simpler.

With the development of the global network, there was no need to send wagons of erotic magazines to the military. Everyone gets unlimited access to any content to their taste via a computer, tablet or smartphone. At the same time, bans on the use of the Internet in the combat zone does not change anything. Military personnel upload videos and photos to the device's memory in advance, so that they can then enjoy them at any time.

Not everyone likes the introduction of eroticism and pornography into the military sphere. In 2010, religious figures launched a campaign in the United States to ban the distribution of products "for adults" in the army. They argued that this harms the moral development of soldiers and causes a drop in morale. In 2013, the attacks of clerics reached their goal and Playboy and Hustler magazine were removed from army stores. They presented it to society as a way to combat sexual violence in the army.

This was not the first time that erotica was attacked in the army. Back in the middle of the 20th century, in his book Psychological Warfare, professor Paul Linebarger wrote:

Today, the psychology professor's conclusions look ridiculous. But in the 40-50s of the 20th century, Linebarger had a lot of supporters, and in the highest circles. Fortunately, everything is different now and even a military man has the right to choose what he likes and what he doesn't. Of course, without going beyond morality and the law. In 2017, a scandal broke out in the US Army. A group of Marines created a social network community where they posted intimate photos of their colleagues.

After the appeal of several women to the courts, the Ministry of Defense conducted an investigation and found the perpetrators. They were fined large sums and disgracefully expelled from the armed forces. But at the time of sentencing, photos stored on the cloud in free access were downloaded by more than 30 thousand people.