Coping with lust, is this acceptable?

[me_zimm]

A while back I was reading through some old articles from one of my favorite Catholic blogs, BadCatholic (many of you are probably familiar with it) and I happened to read through his article Nude Beauty for Porn Addicts, which contains the following paragraph:

Perhaps with an appreciation for the glory the artist gives to the nude form, the porn-addicted man may be aided in avoiding the temptation towards lust when viewing nude art. What does pornography do but degrade women? It says she is nothing more than a stimulus to a watching organism. Through the conveyance of beauty – whether in triangles, the golden ratio, color harmony, the rule of thirds, etc. – the artist is specifically glorifying women. Pornography and beautiful art cannot co-exist, because their messages are inherently different and radically opposed.

For better or worse, it resonated with me. Since then, I’ve tried a means of overcoming urges to look at porn by instead conducting what may be described as more “wholesome” searches - for genuinely artistic images of beautiful women who are more-or-less fully clothed (and if there is any undress, it’s done tastefully and not the focus of the art). It seems to placate the urges, I don’t get as wholly engrossed in it as when I look(ed) at porn (nor do I feel those biting stabs of conscience trying to drag me back to sanity), and I don’t feel as dirty coming away from it as I do when I close the laptop at 3 in the morning and drag myself to bed to “finish it off”. Nor am I implicitly giving money or support over to the insidious porn industry through my stupefied click-click-clicking.

I still feel strange doing this, though. Isn’t one of the biggest problems with porn the fact that you are reducing someone’s body to an object for your own gratification - and isn’t that basically what I’m doing here? I know I’d still feel defensive if anyone were to catch me doing it (though probably not as badly as I’d feel if someone had caught me with my earlier habits). I can’t imagine I’m being VIRTUOUS by doing this, just that I’m tiptoeing around a VICE and saying “close enough”.

As you might guess, I don’t have a girlfriend, though I have to say there aren’t many prospects where I live at present. This may change soon though.

So I guess my question is, should I stop and find some other outlet? (I’ve tried many, but this seems to be one of the few that “works” (if you want to call it that).) Is it regrettable-but-acceptable until I meet someone in real life? What do you think?

 

[brian_custer]

i’m not really sure but if this substitute activity is leading you towards a more pure & christ-like lifestyle i would stick to it

pray to the Holy Spirit that you may be guided even further on your journey towards sinlessness

god bless & good luck

 

[Dancer1409]

I am not 100% sure but to me this seems like still focusing on a woman’s body instead of her. It seems like you are looking at these pictures to quiet lust and not fight against it. A woman is more than just a single picture of her body. Have you read anything about theology of the body? It’s something that has really helped me realize the way God created both men and woman, see them in that light and strive to be holy/fight against sin for the sake of my future husband.

 

[me_zimm]

Have you read anything about theology of the body? It’s something that has really helped me realize the way God created both men and woman, see them in that light and strive to be holy/fight against sin for the sake of my future husband.

I have indeed. Which makes my habits all the worse: I can’t plead ignorance of what I’m doing whenever I fall to temptation yet again

 

[Shin]

This isn’t the right way to find a cure, you have to be avoiding this type of thing and not desiring it at all.

You need to pray in times of temptation, from the heart, with short vocal prayers, like "Jesus, protect me.’ ‘Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, help me.’ and to avoid the near occasion of sin, and not desire at all these things at the source.