What constitutes pornography?

[Abiding_in_Love]

I do want to begin with a disclaimer: I am a recovering scrupleholic, so please take this question with at least five grains of salt.

I know what constitutes pornography from a visual “recorded medium” standpoint, but what about what we read? If anything is discussing the sexual act, can that become pornographic? The reason why I ask is because I was looking for a PG answer to a question I had earlier today, and some of the sources I found described dialogue that people may engage in during the sexual act. I browsed various terms on this particular page (the page itself being non-pornographic) and found that many of them were quite explicit, then I left. I know that that is different than, say, a pornographic novel, magazine, or website that is inclined toward that content.

I also know that my asking this means I am uncertain and therefore there was no mortal sin, but I would like to know for future reference.

 

[pensmama87]

Since you would only be consuming and not producing the content, I think what matters most is your intent in seeking it out. Are you seeking to fantasize or be titillated or aroused? Then it’s not good for you. If you’re looking for an answer to a question, then that would be something else. If you found that you had judged wrongly or you find yourself getting tempted then you can stop. I suggest this because you seem to have a very sensitive conscience. For others who might use that as a kind of loophole to exploit, it might be better to say, “Hey, treat all that as occasions of sin and avoid them as you mature in faith.”

 

[Monica4316]

I think if you read anything that tempts to sin knowingly and with that intent, its a mortal sin. If your intent is something else, like to figure something out, but still involves considering the topic and feeling temptation, i was told to avoid it too as that is sinful to do and dangerous. If something is absolutely necessary to read, then that would of course affect the morality of the act. In the end, if something tempts you, whether its pornographoc or not, its good to avoid anything explicit or that could lead to sinful thoughts or feelings. If there’s a question about the morality of something its better to ask a priest instead of thinking about it if its related to purity, as that can present temptation. Hope that helps! Regarding the situation you describe, it could be better to ask at Confession so the priest could look at the situation more carefully

 

[Maxirad]

Check this out.

 

[Abiding_in_Love]

I wrote down an outline for Confession, but because I am trying to avoid my scrupulous tendencies (which have almost completely gone away, and I’m trying to keep it that way by not entertaining them), I would appreciate some feedback here.

This is what I wrote:

"- curious to a fault

• flirty thoughts and interactions…not overtly sexual, but likely pushing the envelope

• led to temptations and the like

• read some materials that were also pushing the envelope, although they weren’t pornographic
• missed Mass last week, which wasn’t deliberate or without good reason, but I don’t want to miss Mass."

When I realized that I could not do some of this flirting, no matter how hard I tried, in a PG way that wouldn’t get me “worked up”, I corrected it. I wrote “they weren’t pornographic,” which is my belief, although I acknowledge that skimming through some pretty vulgar stuff out of curiosity (looking at Urban Dictionary definitions) wasn’t a good idea.

There were two separate occasions I can recall within the last two or three months where I didn’t indulge my scruples by going to Confession because I wasn’t absolutely certain there was mortal sin present. Should I just wait a while? I try to go to Confession once a month for venial sins.

 

[pensmama87]

I wrote down an outline for Confession, but because I am trying to avoid my scrupulous tendencies (which have almost completely gone away, and I’m trying to keep it that way by not entertaining them), I would appreciate some feedback here.

This is what I wrote:

"- curious to a fault

• flirty thoughts and interactions…not overtly sexual, but likely pushing the envelope

• led to temptations and the like

• read some materials that were also pushing the envelope, although they weren’t pornographic
• missed Mass last week, which wasn’t deliberate or without good reason, but I don’t want to miss Mass."

When I realized that I could not do some of this flirting, no matter how hard I tried, in a PG way that wouldn’t get me “worked up”, I corrected it. I wrote “they weren’t pornographic,” which is my belief, although I acknowledge that skimming through some pretty vulgar stuff out of curiosity (looking at Urban Dictionary definitions) wasn’t a good idea.

There were two separate occasions I can recall within the last two or three months where I didn’t indulge my scruples by going to Confession because I wasn’t absolutely certain there was mortal sin present. Should I just wait a while? I try to go to Confession once a month for venial sins.

Ask your priest about the frequency for confession and what would constitute grave matter. This is not a matter for CAF posters when it comes to scrupulosity. It requires regular care from a confessor.

 

[Lea101]

“You know it when you see it”

If you were to flip a book and see an explicit picture of two people doing it. And you just look and think “oh” and put the book down

Vs

If you see a picture of a girl wearing a swimming suit on an ad. You stare at it and slowly start to imagine things.

Which one is wrong?

Your question shouldn’t really be what’s considered as porn IMO but what constitutes as a mortal sin when it comes to lust?