What is pornography?

WARNING:  ADULT PICTURES.  ADULT CONTENT.  DEFINITELY X RATED.  Do not read this if you are easily offended, get chest pain frequently, or are otherwise fainthearted.

Romney, Santorum, and Gingrich all vowed to enforce ‘antipornography’ (read:  obscenity) laws if elected.  Why?  And more importantly, whom in fact to they presume to enforce it against?

I recently, by pure serendipity, watched Inside Deep Throat.  What a fascinating documentary!  I didn’t know that Harvey Reems, the male actor, was actually convicted of obscenity and sentenced to FIVE YEARS in prison.  Thankfully, he didn’t serve any time.  Why on earth they prosecuted him, other than just to make an example of *someone* is beyond me.

Is this pornography?

Or what about this?

How about this?


Maybe this?

How about this?

Surely this.

No?  Then this.

What is the difference between art and pornography when it comes to the naked body?  I refuse to bow to convention and call it ‘nude’.  That, to me, caves in to the whole art vs. pornography pretend argument.  Nude is art, Naked is porn.  Whatever.  Clothes are off regardless.

Is it that one arouses and the other inspires?  Somehow I doubt that.

Is it the subject matter?  Why?  Because one is dealing with lofty or biblical or mythical topics, and one is dealing with the nuts and bolts of every day life?  You say ‘tomato’ I say ‘tomahhhhto….”

Here’s what I think, as a post modern feminist Pagan woman.  I think that the unclothed body, in all its beauty,  artfully posed, arouses no matter what.  I don’t think the subject matter has a whit to do with it.  I think that a frankly sexual picture can be equally as beautiful, as artful, as lofty and spiritual as a classic masterpiece. I think a teenaged boy, if all he has access to is the Birth of Venus, will masturbate to that the same as any Hustler magazine, if you want my honest uncensored down to earth opinion…and I birthed three boys. And there is nothing wrong with that, it’s part of growing up.

I worry about their promise, I truly do.  How much money will we waste as a society pursuing something which has never unequivocally been PROVEN to cause harm to anyone?  How many people, their only crime a dildo or an x rated movie, will go to jail as a result?

And most importantly, I worry about this:  All three of these guys have access to a great deal of money from the for-profit prison industry.  Qui bono?