During the communist era,
pornography was considered a product of Western decadence, and was illegal. However,
from 1960 to 1980, the experience with the market economy - the so called
goulash communism - left the Hungarian State isolated with large debts abroad.
After the fall of communism in 1989,
the government was eager to find new ways to produce revenue. The
post-Communist constitution was introduced without prohibition of pornography,
and the industry had a good economic opportunity.
The project was a success, and
Hungary soon became one of the leading manufacturers in the world of porn.
The Hungarian models are the best. “That's why Budapest is the porn capital of
the world”, according to Istvan ‘kovi’ Kovacs, 50 years old. He is the head
of Luxx, the biggest porn film production company in Hungary, which he prefers
to call “cinema for adults”.
Movies made in other countries such
as the Czech Republic use Hungarian models because they are the best. The
economic factor also has its importance, he adds. Using a Hungary's production
company is cheaper, and this country is full of perfect locations.
The Hungarian porn industry employs
a large number of professionals, although it is difficult to predict an exact
number, given the fact that many of them are temporary workers.
Kovi estimates the number of
actresses at about a hundred, while there are only between thirty and forty
actors. Kovi feels worried about the crisis that the sector is going through. “The internet is a problem. More movies are
being produced than the market can absorb. This makes the profit decrease, and
encourages the production of a more extreme porn, were anything goes” he
says.
Despite the crisis, adult cinema is
still a very lucrative business: the porn industry in Hungary generates around
€ 636 million per year, representing about 0.5% of Hungary GDP.
Pornography is like a fairy tale for
adults. You are not allowed to see it until you turned eighteen, a mentality
that Kovi explains, was developed because of criticism that porn “is bad for your mental health” - at
least until you get the called “age of
sexual maturity”.
Vilmos Szilagyi is one such critic.
The 79-year-old Hungarian psychologist and sexologist wrote more than 26 books
on sexology and he maintains a website specialized in sexual psychology. Her
review of pornography is absolutely negative. In pornography, there is no
representation of the sexual culture. They are only techniques. There are many
cases where the pornography-related problems are treated, especially addiction.
Szilagyi is particularly concerned about the negative effect that pornography
has on actors since it makes them feel like objects, trivializing sex and
provoking emotional disorders.
Pornography
and prostitution are the same?
Could porn be seen as the same thing
as prostitution?
“There
is a connection in both directions”, says Agnes Földi, president of the Hungarian
prostitutes association, “The producers
also seek prostitutes for their movies and actresses who want to earn extra
money with this activity”.
Prostitution is also becoming
internationalized in Hungary.
“There
are a lot of people who visit Hungary for its sex tourism, and there is even a
real nationalities calendar at different times. During Christmas, for example,
we have a flow of Italian. Formula 1 attracts a large number of Germans. Prostitutes
also tend to work abroad as Italy, Greece or England for a short period,
because of legal reasons”.
Agnes is an activist who militates
for prostitutes rights in Hungary. She mentions the economic factor as one of
the main reasons why young women work in the prostitution business. Prostitutes
working the streets are usually the poorest. Those “at the top of the street hierarchy”, work for major clients such
as politics.
The law of prostitution in Hungary
is confusing. It is a legal activity, despite restrictions that make its
practice stricter. For example, brothels are forbidden, but there is a
proliferation of apartments where prostitution is practiced. In 1999, there
were only three establishments of this type. Today, there are about 150 only in
Budapest. Meanwhile, the number of prostitutes is somewhere between 7000 and
9000 in Budapest, according to Agnes, and a growing number of men is working in
this profession.
József Pöltl states that human
trafficking is the darker side of the sex business. 90% of cases are related to
prostitution, according to József Pöltl, head of the traffic department of
human beings of the Hungarian police. In his opinion, porn does not generate
human trafficking, though contributes to its development, he says. The number
of traffic human cases in Hungary today is about 450.
