I'm often asked, "What's the difference between pornography and naked art?" Usually the person who asks this assumes there is no difference, and his question is intended to help me see that. This video offers the beginning of an answer to why there is a difference.

Defining our terms is a good place to start. One of the best definitions of porn is "sexually explicit content intended to sexually arouse." If you agree with this, I think you'll see why the nudes depicted in the Sistine Chapel are not pornographic. They aren't sexually explicit, or even if you thought they were, they were not intended to sexually arouse and don't have that effect.

Next, we should take a look at the intention of the pornographer and the artist, and the intention of the viewer. The intention of the pornographer and the intention of the artist are very different.