The distinction between Erotica and Pornography
The purpose of pornography is not the desire to admire the human body and respect physical intimacy. The culture of pornography was created in order to be able to make money. The main problem in pornography is the attitude towards women; scilicet in candid scenes, women become the object of satisfaction of needs. Indeed, society can say that women themselves agree to such rules, but the choice of a minority forms the idea of the majority of women. Now the question arises, does erotica have such a purpose? No, the idea of eroticism is to recognize that the human body is beautiful. Erotica urges people not to be ashamed of themselves, and to understand that the body is a work of art. Erotic art is not proposed to satisfy physical needs or even humiliate women (Simon, 2016, p. 105). On the contrary, eroticism is an art that is needed to fulfill spiritual needs. Erotica glorifies the beauty of the human body, not making it the object of violence.
Production and Consumers
The next slide deals with the issue of consumers and producers of pornographic and erotic materials. An erotic work of art should evoke positive spiritual and passionate feelings about what it shows. When drawing the line between pornography and works of art that reflect man’s intimate life, it must be understood that in actual outcomes, this is achieved by artistic means, without cynicism, vulgarization, and crude naturalism (Drabek, 2016, p. 14). Erotic works of art are designed for free people who have a wide range of knowledge and are not limited by standard thinking. They can afford to see the beauty in their bodies and admire the paintings and sculptures created by great artists.
As for pornographic materials, they are generated by the film industry. Professional actors perform the roles in the scenes to receive an award. Often without even a plot, they are trendy among connoisseurs of physical intimacy. Pornographic products cannot bring a person joy, pleasure, or spiritual enrichment. They do not perform an ideological and educational function, incorrectly orient a person because they depict his sexuality unilaterally, and separate the physiology of sexuality from the richness of its spiritual, social, and moral content (Drabek, 2016, p. 14). Therefore, the primary consumers of erotic products are people who are interested in art and have a broad outlook. Instead, pornography is gaining popularity among people who want to see only primitive sexual intercourse.
Proponents and Opponents
This slide will highlight arguments for allowing or banning pornography. The debate over pornography is not new, but society has not found a single point of view on the issue. Some people defend pornography on the grounds that criticism of pornography stems from traditional considerations and religiosity. Others, however, argue that pornography can destroy family relationships, be immoral, and perpetuate gender discrimination. The main argument against showing naked bodies or describing erotic scenes is the religious factor (Tyler and Quek, 2016, p. 8). Concerning religion, every conscious person must adhere to the correct understanding and interpretation of their sexuality. The priceless human does not drown in the swamp of the sin of uncleanness and does not result in moral degradation of society as a whole. There are also positive public views on pornography and erotica. For example, the spread of pornography can reduce the level of violence in today’s world (Tyler and Quek, 2016, p.8). The general opinion here is that people can satisfy their desire at home, and they will not need to commit criminal acts.
The View of Feminists
The slide shows two different views of feminists on pornography and censorship. As a rule, the strong beliefs of feminists are connected with pornography instead of eroticism. The first part of women urged women to avoid injury; they considered pornography a manifestation of violence. That is, the general concept was that the public display of a naked woman who did not always have safe sex would violate women’s rights. Pornography can also result in poor morale and public condemnation of participants in the process. Feminists who supported women’s desire to appear in pornographic films justified this with freedom of choice. Indeed, in their opinion, women on a par with men can use and show intimate organs for their own pleasure and earnings (Lim, Carrotte and Hellard, 2016, p. 3). In fact, it is the question that even after the release of pornography to the masses, it is the woman who is condemned. Moreover, another idea for non-discrimination against women is to create pornography targeted at women consumers. Thus, there is no consensus on the views of feminists.
The Influence of the Internet
In today’s world, it is much easier to find pornography, than just using the Internet. Accordingly, pornography has become very accessible. Now the question arises about the control of access to sites for minors. At the same time, the Internet provides opportunities to search for paintings or sculptures that have elements of eroticism. Also, even feminists can express their positions through the Internet. As a result of the rapid exchange of information, the question of the relationship between pornography, erotica, and art arises again. There are more and more opportunities on the Internet to learn the difference between erotica and pornography. For example, the absence of plots, dialogues, and fully formed actors allows us to classify a specific picture as pornographic (Chen and Jiang, 2020, p. 487). Also, the understanding that people have admired the naked human body in the form of a sculpture for hundreds of years is proof that there is a place for eroticism in art. Therefore, it is expected that the growth of the Internet will help to complete the discussion and admit each person to form their own opinion based on all the facts.
Regulation of Pornography by Law
This slide addresses censorship; today, state legislation introduces classifiers of censorship. According to them, television will determine which films can be broadcast to the whole audience and only to adults. Thus, the government may restrict the showing of a movie if it does not fully comply with censorship. If a scene of violence or pornography lasts only one minute for the entire film, is it appropriate to limit the viewing of the film? A detailed study of the film classifier in a particular country will answer the questions (Chen and Jiang, 2020, p. 488). Although, even if the film is limited to television, there is a high probability that everyone can watch it freely on the Internet. Accordingly, it is necessary not just to restrict the production of films but also to explore people’s opinions and understand the concept of violence.
Reference List
Chen, L. and Jiang, X. (2020)‘The Assessment of Problematic Internet Pornography Use: A Comparison of Three Scales with Mixed Methods’, Int. J.Environ. Res. Public Health, 17, pp. 486-488.
Drabek, M.L.(2016) ‘Pornographic Subordination, Power, and Feminist Alternatives’, Feminist Philosophy Quarterly, 2(1), pp. 1-20.
Lim, M., Carrotte, E. and Hellard, M. (2016) ‘The impact of pornography on gender-based violence, sexual health and well-being: what do we know?’,J Epidemiol Community Health, 70, pp. 3-5.
Simon, F. (2016) ‘Pornographic Art and the Aesthetics of Pornography’, The British Journal of Aesthetics, 56(1), pp. 103–106.
Tyler, M. and Quek, K. (2016) ‘Conceptualizing Pornographication: A Lack of Clarity and Problems for Feminist Analysis’, Sexualization, Media, & Society, 2(2), pp. 1-14.