Definition:
: government by harlots
About the Word:
In most cases, when one is confronted with the word pornocracy, one is also confronted by reference to the somewhat turbulent state of affairs in the Catholic Church in the early 10th century. It was a heady time in the church; an Italian noblewoman named Marozia was reputed to have been the mistress of one pope, and the mother of another. Much of the use of pornocracy is directed at her, and the influence she was purported to have. However, it seems easy enough to use the word with a slightly relaxed meaning and to find it useful in describing all types of political states subsequent to the 10th century Vatican.
Example:
"Tiberius and Caligula, those monsters of heathendom, were now outdone by the 'holy fathers' of Christendom, who vied with one another in the practice of the vilest vices, the rule of the Christian Church being actually called, and truthfully called, a 'pornocracy.'" — James A. B. Scherer, The Holy Grail, 1906
Photo credit: Wikipedia
