Pornography is a satire on human pretensions.

Twas a lonely and dull night last Wednesday. There was nothing to do. My eyes were actually dropping but my mind was unwilling to sleep. Didn't get enough shuteye previous to that night, so, was kinda wondering how come I was wide-awake.

Unfortunately enough, the cable's not cooperating with me. There was nothing good to watch and I ended up watching local channels. As I scan the channels, I bumped into this "debate" show on GMA 7. Didn't get the title, though. I believe the topic was about pornography vs. art. (maybe it's not but it's what's being discussed when I ran into it.)

Of course, who could be the better guest but Asia Agcaoili? Kristine Reyes, younger sister of Ara Mina, was there with another sexy actress turned comedienne, Laureen Larazabal (correct me if I said her name wrong or misspelled it). That's it. I have nothing more to say.

JOKE.

There were sociologists, of course...and the hosts. hahaha Plus the studio audience.




Asia Agcaoili
I find this 'non-porno'.



Seriously now, the show was nothing edifying. Was expecting every guest to be pragmatic with their responses. Turned out that the sexy actresses won the debate without sweat (at least before I slumbered due to disappointment).

Asia was the most outspoken person in the show. Well, I think the question was very basic. "How can you differentiate pornography from art?"

None of the sociologist guests were able to clearly define the two. Which was kinda weird for me. One of them said that it's porno when the girl feels bad about what she's doing. Another point given was that it's porno when the photo's 'obscene'. Yet, the definition of obscene was not even clearly stated. booh.

The first thing that popped into my head when I heard the question was this,

"a photo can be categorized as porno when there's suggestive gestures and facial expressions".

It's as simple as that.

"Any pose that arouses sexual fantasies is considered porno".

Another thing is,

"which magazine is the photo intended for? FHM, which is short for For Him Magazine"

...tell me now what kind of mag is it?

Both FHM and Maxim are men's magazines. What the hell are men's magazine for?! Now, tell me whether it's porno or not.

FYI:

Pornography is defined as "any sexually explicit writing and/or picture intended to arouse sexual desire."

I think I have already given my point.

Am not really sure what's the topic about but this is what I had seen and it kinda frustrate me that none of the professionals were able to give a clear statement about the issue. It doesn't really matter what reasons those girls have for posing for those magazines, the question was ...are their photos considered porno?!

Who wouldn't want to celebrate the beauty of one's own body? ...and flaunt it. I do. But, well, posing for men's magazine is another story. For me, it's sort of a more 'decent' prostitution. Only because there's no physical contact. But, it's basically the same.

Am not against women posing for men's magazine, don't get me wrong. I respect their decisions and I am in no position to question their judgment and character. There really might be weightier reasons why they chose to.




Christine Reyes



...if I will be offered another of the similar opportunity, who knows I might grab it this time? I don't want people to judge me for my decision. And having said all these things, I clearly have shared with you my two cents thoughts on the issue. Well, not because people do what they do, means, they're for it. If I will ever pose for men's magazine, it's not that I decided to celebrate the beauty of my body like Kristine's argument. Nor because I was given no other alternative. Whatever my reason will be, I believe I don't owe anyone an explanation.

fwahahahaha I sound like so serious.

I have to quote what Kristine said. On the other hand, I can't/won't ...might get sued for defamation. Ok, she just said that in the future she wants her children to see how beautiful she was when she was younger. She won't be ashamed for taking that decision, ever.

Asia later added that folks have always been telling her (verbally) how beautiful their bodies were during their younger years blah blah...but it's all talks. No proof. At least, their photos will serve as their proofs for their stories. True, right? They can laminate their photos or preserve the mags. And voila! There's evidence.




Maureen Larrazabal



Am swaying from the reason why am ranting. Ok...will maneuver back to it.

I just couldn't understand why those professionals weren't able to say the obvious facts. It's as simple as this. They posed for a men's mag. Ok, there's still distinction between a men's and a porno mag. Ok, ok. Well, browse those men's mag and check if the above definition for "pornography" is not incorporated in each men's mags' contents.

Let's be realistic now. There's no point being defensive. I think porn mags are just an exaggerated pieces showing rather excessively indecent photos and articles. But, both cause sexual arousal.

Come on now, guys! Admit it.

Contemporary dictionaries give a very different definition: today pornography is considered ‘obscene material whose intention is to provoke sexual arousal’.

- Excerpt from Oxford University

Now, another question arises. How is "obscene" defined?

Here's what I found from the net:

1. Offensive to accepted standards of decency or modesty.
2. Inciting lustful feelings; lewd.

* Taken from The American Heritage Dictionary

And here's another one:

The Supreme Court has established that, to be obscene, material must meet a three-pronged test:

* An average person, applying contemporary community standards, must find that the material, as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest;
* The material must depict or describe, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by applicable law; and
* The material, taken as a whole, must lack serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.

Well, I have given my opinion. Maybe, it's up to you now how you view it.

If I will pose for a men's magazine, what will you think of me? Will you stare at me with so much lust while imagining me on the centerfold? Will you just appreciate my body's beauty without malice? Without getting aroused?

Just answer truthfully. Come on!

hahaha

Anyway, share what you think. The blog entry doesn't end with my opinion. *wink* Share your thoughts.

How can you tell pornography from art?