The guys who are eager to post in that thread remind me of the Bing Bong Bros. (NSFW language). 
Actually, to further clarify:
I’m not saying anyone “should” or “shouldn’t” anything. I’ve made one polite request (please give me information ahead of time), but I have no interest in dictating other people’s behavior.
What I’m interested in is being able to think about this, and use others as a sounding board, for discoveries like why nudes are just naked but erections elicit such strong reactions. Other discoveries too, this has been a full-on intellectual exploration for me and that’s only one example, but I hope you see my point.
I, for one, have no illusions about my purpose or motives in posting my pic. It was an act of indulgence. It was exactly the kind of “hay everbuddy look at ma hard on!” post that’s being derided in this thread. Maybe it’s juvenile, creepy etc etc, but I was under the distinct impression a forum called “Mundane Pointless Stuff I Must Share” was all about this sort of thing. I’ve seen lots of other masturbatory (hehe) threads that simply don’t involve links to nudity (that you need to copy and paste and remove spaces to view) that fly under the radar.
Quite frankly I don’t buy this “but is it art?” nonsense. What on MPSIMS is?
I thought I looked good in that photo and show it off. Didn’t really get the reaction I was hoping for (maybe it would’ve been stranger if I did) but hey, at least I got to find out that my penis makes people ANGRY and IT’S NOT ART.
The extent to which I care if it’s art consists entirely of: if it is, then presumably discussion of framing, composition, light, shadow, contrast, what lens you used, is welcome; and I therefore have something to contribute. Otherwise, I’m kinda thinking no one cares if I have an opinion on the lighting quality or framing, so I’ll keep it to myself and move on. I honestly don’t know what else you would want me to say about it.
Reminds me of the old conundrum: “What is mightier than the sword?”
That’d be such a snappy retort if it were responding to anything I’ve said.
Well, gee, thanks for telling me what a thread someone else started is all about. I sure am glad someone did that for me and my small, distracted brain.
Could you maybe provide a guide to other threads for me and others so we don’t really ever have to discuss anything, we just have Silver Fire’s Notes to go by? It’d really save a lot of time.
I haven’t looked at the photos or even the thread, but like the OP I am a little bothered that it’s there. Not very bothered, and I don’t know that I’d even use the word “creepy”. More like “tacky”. Since there was popular interest in having such a thread I think the Mods handled the situation well, but I don’t think it reflects well on the board.
I do consider it worse than a “Your favorite porn star pics” thread because, unless you’re actually a pro, posting nude pics of yourself on the Web is such a foolish thing to do. There’s no taking it back, either. It’s all very well to say “I’m not ashamed of my body and I don’t care who sees it”, but there is a possibility of serious real-world consequences. If people are willing to take the risk then it’s their choice, but I’m uncomfortable with the fact that there’s a thread encouraging them to do so. I’d feel much the same about a “What’s your street address?” thread.
You did look good. Real good I might add.
With all respect Lamia, the only reason you don’t find it creepy is that you didn’t look at the pictures. The issue is being clouded by those who would frame the objection as if everyone wanted people to be barred from posting nude pictures. I don’t really care if people post them, but once posted they are there for comment.
My comment is that the ones who posted range from delusional to attention whoreish to creepy. The girl who posted her bruised breasts and thighs after a bondage session is creepy. Robe and wizard staff guy is both creepy and delusional. Various other people fill out the rest of the spectrum. Seriously this place is a haven for the misfit and the delusional, and the hangers on who pat them on the back for it.
Amen.
Tits or GTFO.
Calling it “creepy” is negative and implies that you would prefer it if people didn’t do it. That’s a mild form of censorship (imposing your standard for conduct on other people). Or am I reading too much into it? You find it creepy but you don’t care if people do it or not?
Why thank you. I appreciate that. 
I did say later on in the thread that maybe “creepy” wasn’t the right word, but when I was writing my OP, I couldn’t find the right word.
But yeah, post your dick or tits on the dope. It’s not like I have to do it too. I just find it weird that you’re doing it here.
Well, not really. “Censorship” would be taking steps to prevent it happening at all, not just expressing negative feelings ex post facto. At least, if you disagree with my reasoning, I don’t see how you can say so without falling foul of your own definition of censorship…
Just as an FYI, from what I can tell, Hodgkin’s is a form of Lymphoma…as such, it turns out that this month (September), is Leukemia, Lymphoma, and Myeloma awareness month. So congrats on your recovery! I’m actually running in a LLS “Light the Night” 5K and the Race for the Cure 5k next month.
I took a look at the thread in question the other day, although I didn’t look at any of the pictures. I agree that it’s far more for titilation than for artistic comment. Still, it is MPSIMS, now if I started seeing threads in GQ like “Is this the right way to measure my hardon (Pics inside)?” or “Do you think this clit ring looks better than this one(Pics inside)?” in IMHO, then I’d be worried. But as I said earlier, MPSIMS has always been a free-for-all.
Like Jonathan Chance, I’m just older now and not as interested in partaking of those types of things. But it really doesn’t bother me that it’s going on. Like I said I remember posting parties that devolved into online orgies back in the day.
However I do want to point out something in this statement:
(bolding mine)
This I don’t think is healthy. We all bemone the fact that people can get an unrealistic view of what real people look like. Not airbrushed and surgically enhanced models. I think it’s far better to see what real people look like and find some point of arousal from them, than to expect a “smokin hot” body in real life. I don’t know you or your boyfriend, it’s very possible ya’ll are young and in shape and really do look like those types of models, however as middle age rapidly approaches me, I’m discovering just how impossible it is to get to that shape once you have a career, family, a few kids, a house to keep up…ect. ect. Or at least I’ve come to have higher priorities than doing nothing but working out in my free time. I run 2 to 4 miles a day (depending on the day) 5 days a week, not so I can be rail thin, but so I have the energy to play with my kids …and also not be a total blob so that my wife won’t have to close her eyes and picture gay models during sex.
I am mildly icked out by the concept but I did look and certainly wasn’t traumatized or shaken on any fundamental level. The most enjoyable pictures were, in my opinion, the ones where the posters were attempting to do something more than just pose nude … I’m thinking of the David and Thinker and Donatello shots. They were interesting and in the spirit of what we intellectual and pseudointellectual Dopers aspire to.
Had it gone completely this way, I might have considered posting my own NSFW picture, which is merely myself and my infant in the bath, most parts covered but visible if you look really closely. It’s a picture I treasure, which in the end, I suppose, is why I decided not to post it … I couldn’t bear that someone would either get off on it, or deride it.
I agree that this thread is an interesting exploration of our feelings on the matter. And just for what it’s worth, there is not a single photo posted so far that I find in the least titillating. Jonathan summed it up best; mostly the whole thing is a yawn.
No. We’re not near that hot. We are pretty darn average. He’s got a few extra pounds. I’ve got small boobs and my face isn’t anything special. But he’s fucking hot. And we’ve got a really good relationship. I tend to date guys I have no interest in whatsoever beyond “hey this is a new person” at first, then I get to know them and their personality makes them become very very cute. The bf is a total nerd and a sweetie and that’s why we are together, not because he is the most attractive person I could find that would date me.
It’s just that - when you go out to a bar or wherever, if you’re just looking don’t you tend to look at the hottest people in the bar? And hottest is subjective of course, but the hottest to you, when considering ONLY looks. It’d just idle looking. When I’m looking at porn, I don’t give a shit about the model’s personality or anything, it’s all looks. So I’m shallow when I’m just looking but I’m not shallow in practice. It’s not like the people or date or even my friends are just the most attractive people I can find - looks matter somewhat in relationships but personality can overcome a LOT of “shortfalls” in the looks department.
I guess it’s just a matter of personal preference or taste or whatever.
I don’t tend to ogle random guys at the bar. (I wish I did, however. Life would be just a teensy bit more fun if it ever occurred to me to do that.) But on the rare occasion when someone does manage to catch my eye, it’s because of something about them other than sheer looks–maybe the way they move or the way they’re dressed or something. Of course, that brings in the “personality” element.
Maybe this is the reason that most porn does virtually nothing for me. The guys may be hot, but that doesn’t really do it for me.
Yeah, this is pretty much how I’ve felt, without the mildly icked out part… it wasn’t so much “ick” as it was a rolling of the eyes. But I’m on board with pretty much all of this: I liked the more artistic shots that I saw (quite a bit, actually); I might have posted my own art shots but couldn’t deal with the idea that someone would get off on it or say something crass; and nothing I saw was titillating – I’m just not wired that way, my approach to seeing naked people is very… I dunno if “clinical” is the right word, but it’s the best I can come up with. It doesn’t happen for me unless there’s touch and smell and emotional connection involved, especially with guys. I do find well-done nudes to be very beautiful, but not in the “Rawr! HOT!” way, more along the lines of seeing a beautiful sunset.
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Yes, it is a Lymphoma, and this is actually quite nifty, since the anniversary of my remission is during the first week of September. (Two years, now.) Thanks for your support!
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