Porn is Art

I've been thinking about the lost media hunt for the "Everyone Knows That" song, AKA Ulterior Motives. When it was finally found, there was applause and laughter. Because where was it found? From an 80s porno of all things! Of course nobody looking thought to look in a porno until then. How funny is that?

But I also remember there being shame in the story. Because of where it's found, and how the original person to ask about the song didn't admit to where he found it. Why admit to watching porn, after all? (Even though it's an entirely normal thing to do!) So much conversation around the source material has teeth-gritting and cringing and squirming around it. All because people were going at it in the source material.

Frankly, it's silly to me. What, you're gonna do internet archaeology and expect no ancient porn? People have been jorkin' it for the entirety of human history. There have been beautiful pieces revered by historians that were horny as hell. There's no shame in enjoying a song from a porno. Hell, I've looked up songs I've heard in porn multiple times, because it slapped! Often times I'm lucky and it's something that exists outside that particular media; Such as Camel by Camel, or Flip City. (That's another ramble I'll have further down the page) But in the case of Ulterior Motives, that song was made specifically for the porno.

I get not wanting to see porn when you didn't consent to it. But if you're an adult in the lost media community, there's no shame about the origins of EKT. Porn is a normal thing to watch, even cheesy 80s porn. The search was treated as this valiant trudge through gooner slop, when in reality it was the same as any other lost media search. All because porn is seen as this lesser art.

I am firmly pro-porn and pro-sex work. It's been art for the entirety of human history. But the act of an art piece being horny has been seen as a reductive quality because of puritan culture. This attitude of "That's not art, that's porn!" has been ingrained in western society lately. But in truth, it's all art. Erotica/smut is still writing. Pinups are still illustrations and photography. Overwatch characters getting backshots is still 3D animation. Live action porn is still filmmaking. Even the most ameteur home video of a guy fucking his wife is indipendent film. All forms of art.

It's so damn tiring to see this reductive attitude about porn. Pretending like all producers and consumers are depraved or lesser for the simple act of getting off. On Bluesky, there's this distain towards NSFW artists; as if they're not the backbone of the userbase. Fanfiction is given this side-eye because normies assume every fanfic is a lemon; When lemons and smut built fandom as we know it.

I have a special interest in animation, which makes watching animated porn absolute eye candy to me, on top of being hot. Like, if you've seen animations from Tabuley or Zonkpunch, you know where I'm coming from. Gorgeous all around, and that's just the 2D artists I like. The fact I'm also into that stuff doesn't subtract from the fact I like how well it's done from an artistic perspective.

Respect porn as an artform. That's my main point here. There's no shame in it.

Now, I also understand the flip side here. Those that enjoy songs like Camel by Camel and Flip City entirely separate from the porn they're used in. I too would love to listen to a song without worry that some passerby will assume that I'm watching porn. However, I've had a thought.

So riddle me this:

What were they doing at the devils sacrament?

I'm also of the camp of "Who cares if someone learns about a song from porn?" Because at least they learned about a song they like. Similar to learning things from video games or video essays. At least you learned it.

But yeah. That's my long-winded ramble about how porn is disrespected as an art form.