Oh yes, I'm going there. Because I need to. We need to. For years the question has been asked: What is the difference between nude art and pornography?
Naked does not equal porn. Does everyone understand that? An image of a nude person does NOT equal pornography. Can you see what we do when we tell our kids that nudity is wrong? We're not only setting them up to disrespect the body and all its parts, but we are implanting in their minds that any time they undress, or any time that other people are undressed, that it is shameful and wrong. Our kids get undressed every day to get in the shower. We are also telling them to take showers. Do you see where I'm going with this? We are creating a double negative for our children, where they are doing what we've told them to do and doing what we've told them not to do. We've already created a confusing situation that they deal with on a daily basis.
Can you be naked and not sexy? Um...have you ever been in a hospital wearing nothing but those awful gowns? Have you ever given birth? What I'm calling for is for us to remember there is a difference in types of nudity. Suggestive poses, even the written word, are specifically designed to arouse sexual feelings. If a child sees Michelangelo's David and is sexually aroused by it, someone has gone wrong somewhere. These are the kinds of problems that lead to pornography.
Let's look at another scenario. If you walk your child by Victoria Secret and you don't cover their eyes, they are probably going to see the suggestive poses. Maybe your son asks you, "Why is that lady in her underwear?", if he asks any questions at all. When he does, maybe it's best to answer as truthfully as possible. Something like, "That store sells underwear to women." When your son/daughter gets older, discuss the ads. Are they appropriate? Do they demean women? Etc.
When we take our children to museums, we provide opportunities for them to ask questions in a safe place. Here are a few examples:
Why are the Three Graces nude? Probably several reasons. To show the beauty of the female body (we're talking aesthetic beauty, not sexuality), and/or to show innocence or connection to the earth or the physical.
Leonard da Vinci's Eternal Man is a mathematical graph of the human body. This was a precursor to the advancement of medical illustrations for doctors to study, along with a guide for artists as far as correct human proportions were concerned.
Anna Hyatt Huntington's Diana shows the strength and beauty of women. Huntington did not give her incredibly large breasts or have her provocatively showing herself off. This is a position of strength and courage. She is well-known as a huntress, but also for her love of animals.
Finally, this painting by Guido Reni depicts a breastfeeding mother. Mary, to be exact. We could start quite a few blogs on breastfeeding, couldn't we? Normalizing breastfeeding is taking one step forward in normalizing the normal human body. Yep, we're normal people. Even when we aren't normal. By the way? This is a beautiful painting.
In a nutshell, I believe that teaching children about their bodies and to not be ashamed of them is critically important. While I don't belong to the church of Pastor David, his article, "The Pornographic View of the Body," is eye-opening and solidly written. He reminds us that calling a person's naked body "indecent" or "lustful" is an idea conceived by man and that it creates a "pornographic view" of the body. Think about this idea. If we are sending mixed messages to our kids about their bodies, are we telling them pornography is okay?
There. I'm done for now. But I'll be back.
Happy New Year! May your 2018 be the best year ever!
First off, I am an advocate of the arts in all their forms, from visual to musical to physical. I enjoy the theater, I love watching ballet, and I attend music concerts (usually symphonic, not necessarily for U2, but we won't count them out). I take my kids to museums, and I do not restrict what they can look at. Some of you must be appalled. But before you judge me, hear me out.
I remember hearing about a mom who covered her young son's eyes every time they walked past a Victoria Secret. Now let's relate this to totally banning your child from eating sugar. Ever. What do you think is the first thought that will cross their mind? Think about what Hermoine tells Harry in The Order of the Phoenix. She reminds Harry that now that the article published about him has been banned, other kids will want to read it more than ever.
Let me tell you what your kid is thinking when you tell them they can absolute not look at/partake of/experience something in any way whatsoever. They're thinking, Why? You can tell them, but they're not going to understand what you say. Not completely. They're kids. Little kids with little brains. I hate to say it, but this well-meaning mom has just trained her son to be extremely curious about Victoria Secret. What's in there? What doesn't she want me to see? I've been around kids who are banned from sugar. Do you know what they do when they're away from home? They sugar-binge. I'm totally serious. Everyone thinks, well, my child doesn't do that. But they do. If you have banned your kid from doing something, that thing is turning into a monster.
Now, I know a bunch of you are thinking about drugs and alcohol, and other things that are inherently dangerous to our bodies. Guess what? I'm not talking about that today. While we don't allow those things in our house, and we tell our kids the disadvantages of trying and getting addicted to these things, that's not my soapbox today.
I will give you my short explanation of pornography first. Pornography comes in many forms, from explicit photographs to badly-written erotic romance. Pornography is a problem with both males and females, and it always has to do with the exploitation of the body for sexual purposes. Pornography causes addictive behavior because it is enticing, brings instant gratification, and is easy to hide. I also want to add that a body does not need to be nude to be pornographic. Heavens, even those Victoria Secret ads border the "porno" line.
Second, I want to discuss the definition of "art." Like Leo Tolstoy, I believe that "Art begins when a [person], with the purpose of communicating to other people a feeling he once experienced, calls upon it again within himself and expresses it by certain external signs." Communication is key in art. Does that mean that all art is clean as a whistle? Nope. Of course it doesn't. There are quite a few pieces of erotic art out there. Most of them, however, are not in museums for others to enjoy. Can you imagine? Most of them are privately owned and probably not for the greatest reasons.
Naked does not equal porn. Does everyone understand that? An image of a nude person does NOT equal pornography. Can you see what we do when we tell our kids that nudity is wrong? We're not only setting them up to disrespect the body and all its parts, but we are implanting in their minds that any time they undress, or any time that other people are undressed, that it is shameful and wrong. Our kids get undressed every day to get in the shower. We are also telling them to take showers. Do you see where I'm going with this? We are creating a double negative for our children, where they are doing what we've told them to do and doing what we've told them not to do. We've already created a confusing situation that they deal with on a daily basis.
Can you be naked and not sexy? Um...have you ever been in a hospital wearing nothing but those awful gowns? Have you ever given birth? What I'm calling for is for us to remember there is a difference in types of nudity. Suggestive poses, even the written word, are specifically designed to arouse sexual feelings. If a child sees Michelangelo's David and is sexually aroused by it, someone has gone wrong somewhere. These are the kinds of problems that lead to pornography.
Let's look at another scenario. If you walk your child by Victoria Secret and you don't cover their eyes, they are probably going to see the suggestive poses. Maybe your son asks you, "Why is that lady in her underwear?", if he asks any questions at all. When he does, maybe it's best to answer as truthfully as possible. Something like, "That store sells underwear to women." When your son/daughter gets older, discuss the ads. Are they appropriate? Do they demean women? Etc.
When we take our children to museums, we provide opportunities for them to ask questions in a safe place. Here are a few examples:
Why are the Three Graces nude? Probably several reasons. To show the beauty of the female body (we're talking aesthetic beauty, not sexuality), and/or to show innocence or connection to the earth or the physical.
Leonard da Vinci's Eternal Man is a mathematical graph of the human body. This was a precursor to the advancement of medical illustrations for doctors to study, along with a guide for artists as far as correct human proportions were concerned.
Anna Hyatt Huntington's Diana shows the strength and beauty of women. Huntington did not give her incredibly large breasts or have her provocatively showing herself off. This is a position of strength and courage. She is well-known as a huntress, but also for her love of animals.
Finally, this painting by Guido Reni depicts a breastfeeding mother. Mary, to be exact. We could start quite a few blogs on breastfeeding, couldn't we? Normalizing breastfeeding is taking one step forward in normalizing the normal human body. Yep, we're normal people. Even when we aren't normal. By the way? This is a beautiful painting.
In a nutshell, I believe that teaching children about their bodies and to not be ashamed of them is critically important. While I don't belong to the church of Pastor David, his article, "The Pornographic View of the Body," is eye-opening and solidly written. He reminds us that calling a person's naked body "indecent" or "lustful" is an idea conceived by man and that it creates a "pornographic view" of the body. Think about this idea. If we are sending mixed messages to our kids about their bodies, are we telling them pornography is okay?
There. I'm done for now. But I'll be back.
Happy New Year! May your 2018 be the best year ever!
Comments
Post a Comment