What is Pornography?

How would you describe pornography to someone? To a child?

If someone were to ask you, "What is pornography?" How would you answer?

I think that most people would describe pornography as "inappropriate pictures of people without clothes on." But is this really a complete description of pornography? As any addict, spouse of an addict, parent of an addict, etc. would tell you: no. There is a whole lot more to pornography than just pictures. 

In fact, some of the worst types of pornography are not in photo-form. 

My favorite description of pornography came from one of my uncles, who was speaking to a young teen. He described pornography along these lines:

-Anything that makes you feel feelings [or think thoughts] that are inappropriate or that should be reserved for marriage.

I loved that!!!! What a great description of what pornography is. It is a force (yes, force) that teaches you to feel and then become desensitized to feelings that should be reserved for a happy, respectful relationship. Then the addict searches for "next step" for their addiction. And it just gets more and more inappropriate from there. It is an extremely slippery slope.

Yes, pictures are part of it. But just a part.