Disclaimer: This is my own personal experience. I have passing knowledge, but not a lot of specifics. I want to better understand why GORE is viewed as worse than PORN, and why it's not seen as cause for concern.
Also note-- the creation of sexual or gory content is of no consequence here. That's not the issue being discussed; the issue is why gore is seen as "acceptable," while pornography is not.
Content Warning: Mentions of School Shootings, Discussion of Gore & Horror, Mentions of Rape and Non-Consent, Mentions of Self Harm and Suicide
Why is gore held to a different standard than erections, sexual fluids, and spread vaginas?
It should go without saying that gore is, at the base, far more disturbing than a basic human function. Having one's insides torn out, eaten, playing jump rope with them, what have you. Eye trauma, nail gore, teeth pulling, even vomit; are regarded as okay on websites that disallow pornographic imagery. You won't see a slasher film taken off YouTube, but god forbid there be a vanilla porno available for viewing.
Why? Where did this start?
My best guess is simple: America. Outside of America (and Western culture), sex is everywhere. Sexual imagery, sexual celebrations-- you can buy little wooden carvings of men with HUGE, erect cocks. But in America, this is seen as obscene, disturbing, and needless. It's somehow corrupting, evil, and must be purged.
Christian influence is likely a direct cause. But even then, in many of their religious texts, sex and gore are discussed in detail. Sure, sex out of wedlock is seen as sinful, but even Jesus Christ himself befriended and aided prostitutes.
Another thing, perhaps more awful, is American's desensitization to violence. Gun violence is a good example, as students must fear for their lives daily. The news displays grizzly murders and gives killers cute little pet names, making them into some demented form of celebrity (Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, etc.). They create media (movies, television, novels, and comics) based on these people, often portraying them favorably, handsomely, or sensationally.
I am very obviously anti-censorship, and you can do as you please in fiction (even wanting Jack the Ripper to rape you, thought crimes aren't real), but the problem stems from a lack of understanding of this media. Often people begin to romanticize it in the real world, and are not taught differently. Relationships in general are portrayed as idealistic, perfect, and NECESSARY for your self-worth, and so few people speak out about their real life and experiences (or are encouraged not to for the sake of "normalcy") that people fall into this strange trap.
Do I think watching a horror movie makes you a serial killer? No. Do I think watching a romance movie makes you blindly in love with everyone you see? No. It's not just the media at fault here-- it ]s the blatant refusal from society to properly educate kids, teens, and the disabled about these things.
We teach "don't do it" for bad things, or attack things we (read: The West) see as controversial, without having the willingness to discuss it. This is especially apparent in American sex education: "Don't have sex, you'll die," is what many of us were taught. What does this do? Absolutely nothing, as we have a lovely "3 in 10" status of women becoming pregnant before the age of 20.
We also blatantly ignore signs of disturbed teens, again, for the sake of "normalcy." Suicidal tenancies, violent tendencies, and unhealthy* obsessions (such as war, weapons, murder, Nazism, and the like), are brushed off as "just a phase" or, worse yet, "normal boy things" (I sadly know less about girls in this regard, having worked mostly with mentally unstable young men).
*"Unhealthy" as in those with these tendencies lack some level of reality =/= fiction, often seen in autistic and disabled folk, myself having been included.
As these signs go ignored, many kids are forced to find an outlet. This often culminates in the more accepted things-- such as gore, violence, war, and the similar topics. Kids (of any age) will draw "vent art" of self harm, vicious beatings, torn open torsos, and worse.
Let me be clear. This is fine if that is what they want to draw. The problem comes from society's view of the content. These things are seen as "normal," where a person (teen, adult, whatever) creating sexual imagery is seen as cause for concern.
You can sell a gory commission over PayPal with no issue. If you draw an erect penis, however, you can have your account frozen.
SETSA/FOTSA will make websites responsible for someone seeing something pornographic, and can have them taken to court-- but NOT for seeing real life gore and death (see r/watchpeopledie... actually, don't).
My roommate draws gore (for vent and for fun). My exes have. Several of m friends have. No one has ever brought this up as an issue with them. Others, however, draw fetish art. Several people have asked if something is wrong with me, my friends, and others creating this kind of content: "Why are you like this?", "Are you repressed?", or remarks like "You need therapy/mental help." Because a girl with an erect penis was drawn, or two fictional dogs fucking, or urine, or vore, or anything like that. These people are seen as the problem.
It should be worth noting that I, and many others, have been chastised for creating "dark" things as well (death, sadness, fear), but often it was handled briefly, easy to explain or blow off with little to no further concern.
What's been your experience? Why do you think America (and western culture in general) is like this?
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