What is considered porn is one of the most debated topics of our time. 

If we ask ten people what is considered pornography? We will likely get ten different answers. Apart from the obvious depiction of sexual acts, are nudes considered porn? What about a steamy novel or an erotic podcast? What about AI-generated content?

As cultural norms and forms of explicit content evolve, what is pornography also changes depending on the intent of the viewer. The cultural evolution of sex, intimacy, and desire also plays a crucial role in determining what is considered pornography and what is not.

What is Considered Porn?

Although the internet has made porn more accessible than ever before, porn is not a novel phenomenon. Since the 19th century, societies have tried to define what is considered porn and regulate it. 

1. Etymology and Dictionary Definition of Pornography 

We can trace the usage of the word ‘pornography’ to the mid-19th century. It was derived from the ancient Greek word pornographos, meaning writing about people who engage in sex for pay, i.e., prostitutes.

With the shifts in societal and scholarly perspectives, the answer to what is considered porn has also evolved. The earlier definition restricted itself to describing prostitution. Now, it includes any material that is intended to sexually arouse. 

The modern definition of pornography is more nuanced. It moves beyond the objective definition of the content itself towards a more subjective and contextual understanding. So, an explicit image might be considered as art, educational, or pornography depending on its presentation and the viewer’s intent. 

2. Form Vs Function Debate 

With the internet, there has been rapid advancement in the form of porn – image, video, audio, deepfakes. The media and technology used to create, distribute, and consume porn has also undergone a transformation. The function or porn i.e. why individuals consume it has also become more diverse.

The definition of pornography relies on the function or intent of the consumer. So, any legal regulations or technological blocking mechanisms might become a censoring tool based on form rather than function.

3. Intent, Content, and Context 

Here are the key criteria that help to decide what counts as porn – 

1. Depiction of Sexual Activity – Pornographic material should depict sexual activity either explicitly or by implication. 
2. Intended for Arousal – The material has an explicit intention to cause sexual arousal in the viewer. 
3. Various Forms – Pornography might be in the form of text, audio, video, AI-generated content, or interactive mediums. 
4. Cultural and Ethical Considerations – The collective social and religious beliefs of individuals often shape what is considered porn. 
5. Blurred lines of Erotic Art and Health Education – Based on presentation and intention of the viewer, the same content can be classified as erotic art or educational.
6. Porn Differs From Person to Person – Depending on each person’s sexual script and their values, what is considered porn is different for individuals. 

Pornography and Obscenity Laws – The Legal Definition of Pornography 

What counts as porn legally can differ from the dictionary definition and even the contextual definition. US law considers adult porn as legal and protects the individual’s right to consume it in private. 

However, it classifies obscene porn as illegal. To determine whether a material is obscene or not, the courts use the Miller Test criteria –

1. If the material appeals to the prurient interest in sex.
2. If the depiction of sexual acts in the material is considered obscene under legal or community standards.
3. If the material lacks any serious scientific, literary, educational, or artistic value. 

How Common is Pornography Exposure and What are the Consequences? 

Internet access has amplified the risk of unintended pornography exposure. Studies have found that 58% of Americans have viewed porn at least once, and 11% of people watch porn every day. A popular site, Pornhub, reported that it had more than 100 million daily visits in 2023. 

For adolescents and those in recovery from compulsive sexual behaviors, pornography exposure poses a serious problem.

Adolescents often get exposed to porn as early as 13 years of age. Such early exposure is linked to violent or risky sexual behavior later in life, along with greater vulnerability to mental health challenges. Early exposure is also linked to higher risks of porn addiction later in life. 

In adults, frequent porn use is linked to lower relationship satisfaction, body image challenges, mental health issues, and sexual performance challenges such as erectile dysfunction. 

Types of Pornography: A Full Spectrum 

Psychological and Neurological Definition of Pornography

Apart from the form and function of porn, it is crucial to understand how pornography affects us psychologically and neurologically. 

How Your Brain Reacts to Arousing Material

Porn hyperstimulates your brain’s dopamine reward system. This level of dopamine increase from porn is unnaturally high and sustained compared to real-life sex or other pleasurable activities. 

When the brain encounters intense neurochemical reactions, it reinforces the urge to repeat the action and experience the same dopamine high. When porn hijacks your dopamine reward system, it creates a dependency and compulsion to consume porn. 

Habituation and Escalation: Why it Gets More Extreme Over Time

With frequent and sustained exposure to high levels of dopamine, your brain becomes habituated to it. As the dopamine receptors in the brain are downregulated, you will need more intense stimulation to achieve the baseline high.

Habituation results in escalation in type, intensity, and frequency of porn consumption. It also dampens the pleasure in real-life activities. So, you will become more dependent on porn as only it can deliver the instant dopamine hit you crave. 

Addiction Potential of Non-nude Content

Even non-nude content can be potentially addictive if it is highly stimulating. Frequent exposure to such content can also result in habituation effect where your reward pathways can be rewired to escalate consumption to hardcore pornography.

For instance, virtual chatrooms or digital spaces that offer role-play offer anonymity and novelty. This combination can trigger addictive behavioral loops. Erotic chats or fantasy forums can also evolve into problematic porn consumption behaviors.  

The Bible’s Definition of Porn 

Catechism of the Catholic Church defines porn as “removing real or simulated sexual acts from the intimacy of the partners, in order to display them deliberately to third parties.”  

The Church considers porn as an offence to the dignity of its participants and a perversion of the intimate sexual act between spouses. This definition covers any such deliberate display, irrespective of the form, such as audio, video, or text. So, by the Bible’s definition, porn also includes erotic literature or explicit scenes in movies. 

The Bible and Catechism advise not just to avoid porn but to pursue holiness. So, for a Christian, the key question is not what is considered porn? But what is virtuous and moral in the eyes of God?

Consequences of Consuming “Soft” Porn  

Even soft porn, which contains mild erotic imagery, can have harmful effects psychologically and neurologically. 

Clinicians have noted that engagement with non-explicit material gradually escalates into more graphic and compulsive use. So, the habituation effect can happen even with soft porn and result in neural rewiring that drives compulsive use. 

How to Stop Watching Porn: Practical Tools and Boundaries 

A porn blocker such as BlockP helps to create digital boundaries to prevent you from accessing porn. Additionally, it also promotes healthy digital consumption habits to support recovery from a compulsive porn habit. 

Here are the five key areas where BlockP can act as a practical tool for your recovery –

1. Prevents intentional porn access – BlockP instantly blocks millions of adult websites. You can even add the websites you want to restrict to this blocklist. 
2. Protects from accidental exposure to triggering content – BlockP uses AI to filter all explicit content at the network level on websites, social media, and Apps.
3. Accountability – It lets you add an accountability partner who will get a notification when you try to access pornography. 
4. Emotional regulation and focus – BlockP’s mediation prompts and focus mode are designed to support recovery. 
5. Community support – The online support community of BlockP helps you find practical strategies for quitting porn and inspiration from your peers. 

FAQ on What Is Considered Porn? 

1. Are nudes considered porn?

Nudity without explicit sexual activity is not automatically classified as pornography. However, if an individual uses it with an intention to arouse, then it can function like porn. 

2. Is Paying Actors for Porn Considered Soliciting?

No. Legally, porn performers are considered employees of a production, who are paid for filming and acting – not for the sexual act itself.

3. Is porn considered a harmful sexual activity?

Watching porn that features consenting adults is not generally considered harmful or illegal. However, the aggression and toxic themes of porn can have a harmful effect.