Nudity, Art, and Pornography

When I mentioned "pornography," you seemed to equate it with a devaluation of the female form. Not at all! I am in fullest agreement with the ancient Greek sculptors, who saw that form as the most perfect in all of nature-- that is, when it is cared for. I mentioned earlier my artistic passion for the sculptures of the Greeks, and this was precisely what I had in mind -- mostly the nude, or seminude, goddesses. I think that the nude female form is not only the most beautiful, and exciting, in all of nature, but it is better than any form that I could imagine!

It is awesome and breath-taking! As noted earlier, I would love to have at least one of those classic statues, life-sized. But they cost a fortune!

Pornography is totally different. It portrays woman as mere object, like a footstool. She exists only for the convenience, often the sick abuse, of men. In pornography, which distinguishes it from art, she is abused, or hurt, or portrayed as abused. Pornography is not mere nudity; some of the older issues of Playboy portrayed nudes quite artistically and beautifully. Nor is it pornography because it is arousing. I think, instead, that the definition of pornography is based on the view of women that is the motive behind the photos or portrayals. If she is viewed as a simple object, stripped of personality, beauty, tenderness, and other very highly spiritual components, the presentation of a woman so stripped of everything noble, is likely to be pornographic. Or, if she is presented as disembodied body-parts, the same principle applies. The deepest obscenity is the presentation of a deeply potentially spiritual reality as if it were no more than an "animal." In sum, pornography is just tasteless, or of terribly bad taste.

The nude human body is not "ugly," or unclean in any way. We all must carry them around with us, wherever we go, during a human incarnation. If you cannot love the body, your selflove can never be really complete. So, let us use the "all-embracing Mind" of enlightenment to celebrate the human body as a beautiful and artistic creation of God. This loving it also means that we must respect it very deeply. Abuse is out of the question, even in private fantasy, for a pure and clean mind.

So, comparing artistic appreciation with rejection of pornography is indeed comparing apples with oranges. Both are spherical, true: But we have to exercise caution not to get our balls mixed up!:)
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