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If it has nothing to do with sex, stop calling it porn

The word "porn" is being hijacked and no longer means what it should

Illustration published Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2016.

Illustration published Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2016.


I’m sure it’s happened to you before. You’re scrolling through Twitter when all of a sudden there are pornographic images in front of you.

Most of us see pornography and scroll past, perhaps with a bit of an eye-roll. At the same time, most of you who scroll past the nudity would retweet from a handle with “porn” in the title.

You retweet porn accounts. You favorite them. You sometimes even quote them saying “This is so beautiful.”

Here’s my point: I am tired of seeing accounts that are dedicated to a certain topic titling themselves as “___porn.” Foodporn. Poemsporn. Vansporn. Roverporn. Truckporn. Estateporn. Sportsporn. Scienceporn. And hundreds more foodporn accounts.

There’s enough porn on Twitter to make Hugh Hefner blush. Except, it’s not real porn, is it? Heck, half the accounts bios say “Not real porn, just ____.” So what gives? Why call something porn that isn’t?

Mako Fitts Ward, an instructor in ASU’s School of Social Transformation, said she understands the attempt to exaggerate by using the word porn.

“My sense is that these websites, these (accounts), this whole movement of 'pornifying' something other than a sex act, that the whole purpose of using (the word) porn is to exaggerate,” Ward said.

Ward said that in some ways, our lustful attitudes toward certain images, such as food, is similar to pornography.

“You can present food in a particular way that’s so not the same as how you would present bodies in a sex act,” Ward said.

Ward and I disagree on the ethicalness of pornography, the selling of sex acts in a media manner, to be clear. However, we come to an agreement that the “pornification” of everyday objects is leading to a desensitizing of sex in our society.

When we call the love of something porn we diminish the value of that thing by equating it to pornography. Pornography is a fabricated version of something that is truly beautiful — sex.

To equate poetry or landscape to an industry designed to inspire lust and temporary satisfaction is disgusting.

“It’s deliberately misusing the term porn,” Ward said. “You’re really blurring the real meaning of what porn is in people’s minds. I think over time, this whole movement of using XYZporn, foodporn, TVporn, poemporn … it actually contributes to the desensitizing of sex in society.”

Desensitizing sex in society has some advantages. Society needs to recognize that sex isn’t taboo, it’s natural. Sex isn’t dirty, it’s beautiful in the proper place of marriage.

(Before you ask, yes I’m fully aware of my old-fashioned standards. If you’d like to call me names in the comment section, feel free, I won’t be bothered.)

The problem is that the desensitizing of sex has extremely harmful effects on society. Sex has become an industry and a business rather than a sensual and wonderful act between consenting parties.

On another level, the use of the word porn is meant to grab your attention without having any substance to it — it’s click-bait.

“At the core it’s click-baiting,” Ward said. “You’re getting traffic through your social media site.”

We are so much better than falling for click-bait, at least I’d like to think we are.

Another question – when does this get too weird?

We love poetry and food so we have poemsporn and foodporn. These accounts are dedicated to showing us something we love. We love our families but I bet you cringe when you see familyporn. Hypothetically you could have an account dedicated to showing you cute babies – babyporn.

Did it just get weird?

Don’t forget, a lot of these accounts are describing real fetishes.

“Foodporn is actually a legitimate fetish within pornography,” Ward said. 

Pornography at its essence, the selling of visualized sex acts, can be debated. However, those of us on both sides can come to together to agree that the hijacking of the word porn isn’t acceptable.

“They’re only focusing on the display aspect of pornography when using that moniker,” Ward said. “They’re also negating the essential purpose of porn, which is the sex act.”

No more. Don’t retweet that account with porn in the title. Don’t do it. Find the original work and give credit where it is due. 


Reach the columnist at maatenci@asu.edu or follow @mitchellatencio on Twitter.

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Editor’s note: The opinions presented in this column are the author’s and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.

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