Prostitution,Pornography and Erotica in Brazil

Prostitution, whether heterosexual or homosexual, is not a criminal offense in Brazil unless it involves public solicitation or pudor em público (a public violation of pudor, meaning chastity, decency, modesty, virtue, purity, and more). In 1970, liberation of the press which strongly influenced sexual liberty, accentuated reduction in female prostitution in the larger cities. Meanwhile, the increase in libertinism (o aumento da libertinagem, meaning debauchery, hedonism, immorality, and more) has facilitated the appearance of male prostitution in public places, for both heterosexual and homosexual contacts. The presence of houses of prostitution (casas noturnas) has decreased, being replaced by massage parlors, telephone callgirls, and street soliciting. A large number of motels have appeared throughout the larger cities, often catering only to couples seeking private encounters or to prostitutes and their clients.
Statistics on the total number of prostitutes in Brazil do not exist, but the police estimate their number at about one million for the whole country.
There is a Prostitutes Association or union (Associação de Prostitutas) founded in 1986, with its main purpose to obtain recognition of prostitution as a legal profession. So far, this effort has produced no results.

Pornography and Erotica

The military regime that dominated Brazil from 1964 to 1985 repressed the publication of erotica and sexually explicit films. Since 1985, there has been a great surge in the number of pornography shops and erotic films, videos, and publications. Presently both hard- and soft-core pornography is easily accessible in Brazil. Both television and cinema theaters exhibit erotic films. Scenes showing sex with children or animals are strictly avoided, as is any depiction of sadomasochism, although sexual cruelty and violence may sometimes be shown.
[In 1995, a growing concern about the spread of AIDS, confusion over sexual values among the young, and the competition among television’s prime-time soap operas to stage the steamiest love scenes provoked a social backlash against Brazil’s fabled comfort with sensuality. In July 1995, the weekly news magazine Veja identified 95 nude shots, 74 sex acts, and 90 scenes with smutty dialogue in a week’s worth of programming on the five major networks. Complaints from individuals, local governments, and church groups have prompted the federal government to investigate the prevalence of sex on prime-time television and recommend steps to control this (Schrieberg 1995).