How to Distinguish Nudism From Pornography

The key consideration to make when trying to distinguish nudism from pornography is that the latter depicts actual or simulated acts of sex or eroticism, whereas the former simply celebrates the human form in its natural state. Nudism, in its truest sense, never has any erotic overtones, and you can thus easily distinguish it from pornography by understanding what is considered "actual or simulated acts of sex or eroticism."

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Include any drawing, digital image, motion picture or photograph under the blanket term of "image" for the purposes of distinguishing nudism from pornography.

2. Consider any actual depiction of a sex act, including genital-to-genital contact, oral-to-genital contact, oral-to-anal contact or genital-to-anal contact, to be pornographic. It doesn't matter if contact is implied or explicit. Images involving genital stimulation of any type are pornographic.

3. Include any other act of eroticism, including masturbation, bestiality and sadomasochism, under the definition of "pornographic." As a rule of thumb, if the picture is sexy, sexual or implies sexuality in any way, it's veering into the realm of pornography and away from the realm of nudism. Nudism celebrates the human body, while pornography celebrates sexuality.

4. Get a grasp on the concept of a "lascivious pose." There is considerable gray area here, since there are numerous and often-conflicting definitions of what poses are considered lascivious, and whether or not a lascivious pose is actually considered pornographic. However, lascivious poses, which prominently display genitals, buttocks and inner thighs or strongly imply particular sexual positions, have no place in nudism.

5. Distinguish pornography from nudism by considering each image within its own context. While a nude woman's inner thigh may be visible in a photograph of her walking through a stream, it's probably not correct to consider the pose to be lascivious given its nonsexual context.

6. Avoid any kind of nude images if you are offended by either pornography or nudism, or if you see no difference between the two. Nudism is a lifestyle choice celebrated by millions of people, but equal numbers decry it as morally bereft. Take a "live and let live" approach, and don't go looking for reasons to offend yourself if it's not necessary to do so.

Tips & Warnings

• Nude images of children are particularly problematic. You should be thoroughly familiar with all local laws regarding the viewing of nude images of children before you do so, regardless of whether or not they are considered nudist images.