Sylvia Bourdon (born 1949) is a French-German businesswoman, former pornographic actress, artist, and educator. She gained prominence in the 1970s as an actress in pornographic films, later transitioning into business, education, and activism. She has also been involved in political campaigns, particularly in advocating for the legalization of incest among consenting adults in France. [1]
She speaks four languages and is an expert in French art and design. [2]
Bourdon was born as Sylvia van Ginneken in 1949 in Germany. Little is known about her early childhood, but she moved to France as a young adult, where she eventually became involved in the French adult film industry in the 1970s. [3]
She later pursued studies in art and education, focusing on creative expression and pedagogy. [4]
During the 1970s, Bourdon appeared in several French erotic and pornographic films, becoming one of the more recognizable figures in the European adult film scene. Her work in these films coincided with a period of sexual liberation in France, as the industry gained legitimacy following the lifting of censorship laws in the late 1960s. [5]
After leaving the adult film industry, Bourdon transitioned into business, primarily focusing on advertising and media consultancy. She has worked in various sectors, advocating for free speech and liberal attitudes towards sexuality. [1]
She was a famous gallerist from 1978–1985: La Galerie Sylvia Bourdon, 16 rue des Grands Augustins, Paris 6 and BD 36 (restaurant exhibiting cartoons), 36, rue Grégoire de Tours Paris 6. [6]
Bourdon has been outspoken on controversial issues, particularly on the decriminalization of incest between consenting adults. In the late 1990s, she actively campaigned for changes in French law, arguing that the government had no place in regulating private, consensual relationships. [7]
In 1985, she began an eleven-year effort to hold a contest for the European Community's most talented artists to design the then new European currency and have the entries judged in a 12-nation referendum. The "Graphic Ecu Competition" officially launched in April 1993 and, at one point, had twelve European central banks participating. After the contest ended in 1996, none of the contests' 97 banknotes and 44 coin designs were used for the new European currency. Bourdon later sued the European Union over its decision to call the single currency the Euro instead of the Ecu, the name inscribed in the Maastricht Treaty. Her operation is mentioned in a thesis published at MacMillans New York, by Oriane Calligaro: NEGOTIATING EUROPE. [8]
Since 2008 she runs a company promoting French technological innovations in Saudi Arabia, India and Russia. [9]
Bourdon remains a controversial figure in France, particularly due to her advocacy for incest decriminalization. While some view her as a radical free speech activist, others have criticized her stance as extreme. Despite this, she has been recognized for her contributions to debates on sexual freedom, artistic expression, and legal reform. [1]
The European Currency Unit was a unit of account used by the European Economic Community and composed of a basket of member country currencies. The ECU came in to operation on 13 March 1979 and was assigned the ISO 4217 code. The ECU replaced the European Unit of Account (EUA) at parity in 1979, and it was later replaced by the euro (EUR) at parity on 1 January 1999.
A victimless crime is an illegal act that typically either directly involves only the perpetrator or occurs between consenting adults. Because it is consensual in nature, whether there involves a victim is a matter of debate. Definitions of victimless crimes vary in different parts of the world and different law systems, but usually include possession of any illegal contraband, recreational drug use, prostitution and prohibited sexual behavior between consenting adults, assisted suicide, and smuggling among other similar infractions.
Sex and the law deals with the regulation by law of human sexual activity. Sex laws vary from one place or jurisdiction to another, and have varied over time. Unlawful sexual acts are called sex crimes.
The Swiss franc, or simply the franc, is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is also legal tender in the Italian exclave of Campione d'Italia which is surrounded by Swiss territory. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) issues banknotes and the federal mint Swissmint issues coins.
Sex-positive feminism, also known as pro-sex feminism, sex-radical feminism, or sexually liberal feminism, is a feminist movement centering on the idea that sexual freedom is an essential component of women's freedom. They oppose legal or social efforts to control sexual activities between consenting adults, whether they are initiated by the government, other feminists, opponents of feminism, or any other institution. They embrace sexual minority groups, endorsing the value of coalition-building with marginalized groups. Sex-positive feminism is connected with the sex-positive movement. Sex-positive feminism brings together anti-censorship activists, LGBT activists, feminist scholars, producers of pornography and erotica, among others. Sex-positive feminists believe that prostitution can be a positive experience if workers are treated with respect, and agree that sex work should not be criminalized.
R18 is a film and video classification given by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). It is intended to provide a classification for works that do not breach UK law, but exceed what the BBFC considers acceptable in the 18 category. In practice, this means hardcore pornography.
Tabatha Cash is a French former pornographic actress and currently the editor in chief of France's Hot Vidéo magazine as well as the head of the Hot Video group.
Incest pornography is a genre of pornography involving the depiction of sexual activity between relatives. Incest pornography can feature actual relatives, but the main type of this pornography is fauxcest, which features non-related actors to suggest family relationship. This genre includes characters with various levels of kinship, including siblings, first cousins, aunts, uncles, parent(s), offspring, nieces and nephews. In many countries, incest pornography amounts to illegal pornography.
Claudine Beccarie is a French pornographic actress of the 1970s. She has been called "the French Linda Lovelace" and she was described by The New York Times as being "one of France's most successful pornography performers."
Karen Lancaume was a French pornographic film actress. She appeared in over 83 pornographic films between 1996 and 2000. She starred as Nadine in the 2000 film, Baise-moi, a mainstream film in which she performed unsimulated penetration and fellatio.
Raffaëla Anderson is a French former adult film performer. During her porn career, she was often credited as Raphaëlla.
The livre was the currency of Kingdom of France and its predecessor states of Francia and West Francia from 781 to 1794. Several different livres existed, some concurrently. The livre was the name of coins and of units of account.
Color Climax Corporation ApS (CCC) is a defunct Danish pornography producer headquartered in Copenhagen. It was founded in 1967 by the Theander brothers and began with the publication of the porn magazine ColorClimax, despite pornography being illegal in Denmark until 1969. It was one of the leading producers of European pornography up until the 1990s. Since then, CCC has sold most of its assets to the Sansyl Group in the Netherlands. As of 2024, the website of CCC has been taken down over concerns related to its history of involvement in child pornography.
Sex workers' rights encompass a variety of aims being pursued globally by individuals and organizations that specifically involve the human, health, and labor rights of sex workers and their clients. The goals of these movements are diverse, but generally aim to legalize or decriminalize sex work, as well as to destigmatize it, regulate it and ensure fair treatment before legal and cultural forces on a local and international level for all persons in the sex industry.
Laws regarding incest vary considerably between jurisdictions, and depend on the type of sexual activity and the nature of the family relationship of the parties involved, as well as the age and sex of the parties. Besides legal prohibitions, at least some forms of incest are also socially taboo or frowned upon in most cultures around the world.
Emmanuelle is a 1974 French erotic drama film directed by Just Jaeckin. It is the first installment in a series of French softcore pornography films based on the novel Emmanuelle by Emmanuelle Arsan. It stars Sylvia Kristel in the title role about a woman who takes a trip to Bangkok to enhance her sexual experience.
This is a list of important events relating to the LGBT community from 1801 to 1900. The earliest published studies of lesbian activity were written in the early 19th century.
Céline Bara, née Céline Szumigay, is a French retired pornographic film actress.
Rebecca Brooke was an American pornographic film actress and model who specialized in sexploitation films, including both hardcore and softcore pornography in the 1970s. Vern L. Bullough wrote that Brooke was "one of the true beauties to grace the porn screen."
Sexe de rue is a 2003 Canadian documentary film about the history and current conditions of street prostitutes in the Centre-Sud of Montreal, written, directed and co-produced by Richard Boutet, who died of a heart attack on 29 August 2003, a few days before the film's premiere at the Montreal World Film Festival. The largely first person documentary gives a voice to street workers, allowing them to tell their own stories in their own words. Prostitution is discussed as labour and in the context of local history and relevant sociological factors, including dangers.
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