According to Wikipedia, pornography is the explicit representation of the human body or sexual activity with the goal of sexual arousal. In 1953, Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart defined pornography as "...I know it when I see it".
Some people will look at the above photo and call it pornography. They will say that the pose is suggestive and made for prurient interests. Other people will call it erotica, a close cousin or fraternal twin of pornography. Still others will call it nudity, basic and wholesome, and the woman in the photo has posed as a dancer, proud of her body. And still others will call it art, a lovely photograph with nice composition and texture.
So what is it really? It's likely that American society will never agree on what is or what is not obscene or indecent, because attitudes shift all the time based on cultural and religious trends. Today there seems to be a very deep and wide split in opinions, with the multi-million dollar pornography industry on one side, and Christianist moralists on the other, and nudism caught somewhere in-between.
It's no wonder that some people are so confused over this issue. A big flap has arisen in Florida over cell phone wallpaper that shows thumbnail images of scantily-clad women. A local news station is fanning the flames by calling the images "pornography".
"That's horrible. Oh my God! I cannot believe that," said parent Rosetta Gotta. "How do they access that?"...Her son has been asking for a cell phone for a while. After seeing what is available on the phones, Gotta explained she is no longer considering it. "Now I'm going to postpone it until he's 30," said Gotta.
These images are not pornography, at least by the definition. Anyone who is "aroused" by a thumbnail image on a cell phone of a girl in a bikini has deep emotional problems. If anything, the images are "pin-ups", and while they are sexy and attractive, they are highly unlikely to arouse anyone sexually.
In Tampa, a Marine Corps sergeant who served 9 months in Iraq, committed suicide rather than face the consequences of having been charged with possessing child pornography. His choices were apparently to fight the charges, or cop a plea and live the rest of his life as a registered pedophile. The sergeant chose the ultimate option of ending his life.
In October 2004, a CompUSA employee who was working on the sergeant's laptop computer found nude images of prepubescent girls. He was charged with a crime, lost all his friends, and was given a "less than honorable" discharge from the Marines. And it was all downhill from there.
The sergeant professed his innocence - his laptop was used by many people who could have downloaded the images. But nobody wanted to hear his story, and with $30,000 in legal fees hanging over his head, he shot himself.
Everybody agrees that the sexual exploitation of children is one of the most reviled acts a person can commit, and in America the war against pedophilia has taken on a new dimension. There is no way that any clear-thinking person would label such images as anything but "pornography". But the hysteria over the fear of pedophiles can spill over to such innocent activities such as taking nude photographs of one's own children, or taking children to a nudist resort. There are many stories out there of people actually having their children taken away by social services because of some innocent nude photos of their children dropped off to be developed at the local drug store. Normal and traditional human behavior can be misconstrued as being something evil should an overzealous person deem it to be so.
For some people, the mere suggestion of nudity or body parts can be offensive. Take for example this woman in New York who was "disturbed" by the mere name of "The Naked Brothers Band" television show, and even more upset at the use of the word "boobies". Can words be pornographic? Apparently she thinks so.
In Illinois, a former teacher's aide took nude cell phone pictures of herself and sent them to a 17 year-old boy.
In Tampa, a Marine Corps sergeant who served 9 months in Iraq, committed suicide rather than face the consequences of having been charged with possessing child pornography. His choices were apparently to fight the charges, or cop a plea and live the rest of his life as a registered pedophile. The sergeant chose the ultimate option of ending his life.
In October 2004, a CompUSA employee who was working on the sergeant's laptop computer found nude images of prepubescent girls. He was charged with a crime, lost all his friends, and was given a "less than honorable" discharge from the Marines. And it was all downhill from there.
The sergeant professed his innocence - his laptop was used by many people who could have downloaded the images. But nobody wanted to hear his story, and with $30,000 in legal fees hanging over his head, he shot himself.
Everybody agrees that the sexual exploitation of children is one of the most reviled acts a person can commit, and in America the war against pedophilia has taken on a new dimension. There is no way that any clear-thinking person would label such images as anything but "pornography". But the hysteria over the fear of pedophiles can spill over to such innocent activities such as taking nude photographs of one's own children, or taking children to a nudist resort. There are many stories out there of people actually having their children taken away by social services because of some innocent nude photos of their children dropped off to be developed at the local drug store. Normal and traditional human behavior can be misconstrued as being something evil should an overzealous person deem it to be so.
For some people, the mere suggestion of nudity or body parts can be offensive. Take for example this woman in New York who was "disturbed" by the mere name of "The Naked Brothers Band" television show, and even more upset at the use of the word "boobies". Can words be pornographic? Apparently she thinks so.
In Illinois, a former teacher's aide took nude cell phone pictures of herself and sent them to a 17 year-old boy.
Assistant state's attorney Sheryl Essenburg said the charge involves giving a minor something pornographic in nature, in this case depicting nudity.
The woman is serving two years probation and will have to pay a fine and receive psychiatric counseling.
A South Carolina high school student tried to show a nude photo of himself on his cell phone to a female student, who immediately reported the incident. The boy is currently in a detention center awaiting a bond hearing.
And all of this hysteria over nude photos happens in a society where the professional pornography business pulls nearly $4 billion annually. It seems that society can accept pornography as long as it makes a profit, but cannot accept it when it occurs on a local scale.
Neither the law nor the Christianists can do anything about the pornography industry. It's too big and too deep-rooted on video, on cell phones, on cable TV, in hotels, and most of all on The Internet. So the battle is waged on a much smaller scale, to persecute the pedophile who has nude photos of children, to jail the high school kid who has a nude photo of himself, or streaks across the athletic field, or to ruin the lives of teachers that cross that forbidden line to establish a sexual relationship with a student. We jail the state prosecutor that walks around naked at night, we arrest the people who drive around nude in their cars, we fine the TV networks if they show a nipple or a "bad word", we fire teachers for taking children to are museums that have nude sculptures, and so on and on and on.
The danger of all this to nudists and naturists in America is that public opinion will narrow to such a degree that all nudity, erotica and art will be labeled as "pornographic". The 24 hour news networks add to the hysteria, just witness the overblown coverage of Daniel Radcliffe and his nude appearance on a stage in London. Everyone is "outraged" that "Harry Potter" would get naked, that he is a "role model" for children and has no business doing "soft-core porn" as some have called it.
Although nudism is getting to be a more mainstream business, with cruise lines offering topfree decks and resorts taking in as much as $400 million each year worldwide, there is always the lurking danger that the pervasiveness of pornography will ultimately overtake the nudist movement, and some resorts already cater to swingers or other sexual activities. Hedonism is not part of the nudist/naturist philosophy, it's always been about freedom, body image, and shedding the trappings of the textile world.
So beware those that would blur the meanings of pornography, erotica, nudity and art. There is a difference, and it is up to free-thinking, progressive people to keep the definitions clear and unambiguous, lest public opinion will be lost to the overzealous moralists who threaten to put locks on a free society.
Tags: nudism, naturism, nudist, nudists, naturist, naturists, nudity, nudes, bare, au naturel, nude, naked
A South Carolina high school student tried to show a nude photo of himself on his cell phone to a female student, who immediately reported the incident. The boy is currently in a detention center awaiting a bond hearing.
And all of this hysteria over nude photos happens in a society where the professional pornography business pulls nearly $4 billion annually. It seems that society can accept pornography as long as it makes a profit, but cannot accept it when it occurs on a local scale.
Neither the law nor the Christianists can do anything about the pornography industry. It's too big and too deep-rooted on video, on cell phones, on cable TV, in hotels, and most of all on The Internet. So the battle is waged on a much smaller scale, to persecute the pedophile who has nude photos of children, to jail the high school kid who has a nude photo of himself, or streaks across the athletic field, or to ruin the lives of teachers that cross that forbidden line to establish a sexual relationship with a student. We jail the state prosecutor that walks around naked at night, we arrest the people who drive around nude in their cars, we fine the TV networks if they show a nipple or a "bad word", we fire teachers for taking children to are museums that have nude sculptures, and so on and on and on.
The danger of all this to nudists and naturists in America is that public opinion will narrow to such a degree that all nudity, erotica and art will be labeled as "pornographic". The 24 hour news networks add to the hysteria, just witness the overblown coverage of Daniel Radcliffe and his nude appearance on a stage in London. Everyone is "outraged" that "Harry Potter" would get naked, that he is a "role model" for children and has no business doing "soft-core porn" as some have called it.
Although nudism is getting to be a more mainstream business, with cruise lines offering topfree decks and resorts taking in as much as $400 million each year worldwide, there is always the lurking danger that the pervasiveness of pornography will ultimately overtake the nudist movement, and some resorts already cater to swingers or other sexual activities. Hedonism is not part of the nudist/naturist philosophy, it's always been about freedom, body image, and shedding the trappings of the textile world.
So beware those that would blur the meanings of pornography, erotica, nudity and art. There is a difference, and it is up to free-thinking, progressive people to keep the definitions clear and unambiguous, lest public opinion will be lost to the overzealous moralists who threaten to put locks on a free society.
Tags: nudism, naturism, nudist, nudists, naturist, naturists, nudity, nudes, bare, au naturel, nude, naked
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