Re: [Leica] erotica/pornography

[John Collier <jbcollier@home.com>]

Oh no! DH Lawrence was a pornographer after all :-).

It is difficult to define pornography as our cultural upbringing and life
experiences have an enormous influence on how we feel about certain types of
images (both visual and mental). I recently struggled with this over the
Mapplethorpe book, "Pictures". No easy answers came for me and I can well
understand the furore that it raised amongst the right and the religious. In
a strict Islamic nation perhaps even showing a women's face, or even just
her hair, might not only be considered pornography but enflame the same
passions as Playboy does in our own young pubescent males*. It is not so
long ago that ankles were "hot stuff" in Western society.

John Collier

*A statement made to illustrate a point not to state a fact about Islam,
Islamic nations or followers of Islam....or young males.

> From: Guy Bennett <guybnt@idt.net>
> 
>> My person definition of pornography is very simple:
>> Pornography is erotic art done poorly.
>> Anyone got a better one?
>> 
>> mark rabiner
> 
> 
> i'll offer the following:
> 
> pornography invariably has some sort of explicit "sexual" content, be it
> arousal, masturbation, intercourse, what have you, whereas erotica merely
> suggests or predisposes one to some form of sexual gratification that will
> have to occur, if at all, outside of the image.
> 
> how's that?
> 
> guy