# Why is child pornography illegal? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 6, 2001, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-child-pornography-illegal/48764 "2001-01-06T22:07:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Egad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Egad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Egad)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2001, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-child-pornography-illegal/48764/21 "2001-01-08T16:56:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > I’m not condoning pedophilia at all, I’m simply aware of the slippery slope involved in younger aged people having sex. My neice is 20 now, but I remember her at 13, 14, 15-etc. She was already becoming active- was she being raped? Not at all, as far as she’s ever told me. She did things with guys, out of lust, love, etc- but she was consensual. So, defining child porn has always been, to me, a knee-jerk safetly thing. Defining age of consent is a more complex issue. At 14, my neice was consenting to whatever she was doing. At the age of 15, some other girl might not be. > > \*\* But I think there’s a big difference between a 15 year old having sex with a 15 year old and a 30 year old with a 15 year old. Like **handy** said. My $0.02 anyway… ---
**Author:** ![Egad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Egad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Egad)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2001, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-child-pornography-illegal/48764/22 "2001-01-08T16:59:36Z")
Sorry that’s not really like what **handy** said. My mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Milossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Milossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milossarian)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2001, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-child-pornography-illegal/48764/23 "2001-01-08T17:30:06Z")
KellyM - > [@](#): > > ## quote: > > ## \*Originally posted by k2dave \* Having sex w/ a person over the age of consent but looks and is portrayed as a child, I believe qualifies as child porn. > > **This is not the case. It is perfectly legal (as far as the child porn statutes go) to use an 18-year-old actor who looks much younger. (You still have to deal with obscenity statutes, of course.)** No. k2dave is correct. He’s not saying you will be arrested for having sex with a minor; he’s saying it’s considered child porn. And he’s right, as far as many states are concerned. Of course you’re not going to get arrested for sex with a minor if you’re not having sex with a minor. But the fact remains that many states have statutes that read that a participant need only _appear_ prepubescent for the material to be considered an illegal depiction of child pornography. ---
**Author:** ![KellyM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/57b2e6/32.png) [@KellyM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KellyM)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2001, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-child-pornography-illegal/48764/24 "2001-01-08T18:16:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Milossarian \* > \*\* > No. k2dave is correct. He’s not saying you will be arrested for having sex with a minor; he’s saying it’s considered child porn. And he’s right, as far as many states are concerned. > > Of course you’re not going to get arrested for sex with a minor if you’re not having sex with a minor. But the fact remains that many states have statutes that read that a participant need only _appear_ prepubescent for the material to be considered an illegal depiction of child pornography. \*\* This formulation is probably unconstitutional, then. At least, I would suspect it would be, given the Court’s recent interpretation of the federal law against child porn. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2001, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-child-pornography-illegal/48764/25 "2001-01-08T19:47:14Z")
I think one of the ideas we are groping for is the idea of age of consent. It is child-porn is the person is under the age of consent. Well why did the several states pass age of consent laws and why did the choose the ages they did. If I take a sexual photo of a 15 year old in HI and then bring the photo with me to a state where the age of consent is 16 am I in trouble? Also what about these ‘little miss’ pagents. These 3, 4 and 5 year girls are all dolled up in heavey make up and skimpy outfits and they sing tourch songs for the amusement of adults. Why isn’t this kiddie porn? I have never liked the ‘community standard’ theory to find if a work of art (image/movie/book) has ‘artistic merit’. I don’t even trust the local movie critic to tell me if a movie has artistic merit why would I want to let a random group of people from the community tell me if something has ‘artistic merit’. ---
**Author:** ![jb\_farley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9d8465/32.png) [@jb\_farley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jb_farley)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2001, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-child-pornography-illegal/48764/26 "2001-01-08T23:02:25Z")
how come it’s “harmful to the physiological, emotional, and mental health” of a thirteen year old to take explicit naked photos of her, but not to force her to make sweaters and sneakers for pennies on the dollar? How come it’s illegal to buy and possess those photos, but not the clothes? jb ---
**Author:** ![SuaSponte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SuaSponte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuaSponte)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2001, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-child-pornography-illegal/48764/27 "2001-01-08T23:30:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by rastahomie \* > Well, in order for me to view a VHS tape of somebody having sex with a child, _somebody has to have sex with_ a child. It may seem painfully obvious, but I think the idea is that if there is one less reason for a person to have sex with a child, then that’s a good thing. Prohibition on child porn goes beyond depiction of sexual activity. Nude shots or even in some cases clothed shots (where the genitalia, even if covered, is prominently displayed - not going to describe what I mean, as I can’t think of a clinical way to do it) constitutes illegal child porn. The rationale is the same as in _ferber_. Even w/o sexual activity, making a child pose in such a manner is considered harmful to the child. Sua ---
**Author:** ![SuaSponte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SuaSponte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuaSponte)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2001, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-child-pornography-illegal/48764/28 "2001-01-08T23:35:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jb\_farley \* > \*\*how come it’s “harmful to the physiological, emotional, and mental health” of a thirteen year old to take explicit naked photos of her, but not to force her to make sweaters and sneakers for pennies on the dollar? > > How come it’s illegal to buy and possess those photos, but not the clothes? > > jb \*\* The simplest answer is that sweaters and sneakers **can** be made without the involvement of the 13-y.o., but the child porn can’t. Thus, the buying and possessing of child porn helps create and maintain the market for an illegal activity (the making of child porn), while the buying and possession of clothes helps create and maintain the market for clothes - which are not illegal. [hijack]Child labor is not such a bad thing compared to starvation.[/hijack] Sua ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2001, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-child-pornography-illegal/48764/29 "2001-01-09T00:34:20Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by Egad \* \*\* > [@](#): > > But I think there’s a big difference between a 15 year old having sex with a 15 year old and a 30 year old with a 15 year old. Like **handy** said. My $0.02 anyway… \*\* Oh, man. I couldn’t agree more, and I’m SO sorry that in posting my musings, I didn’t articulate that part very clearly. Cartooniverse ---
**Author:** ![David377](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@David377](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David377)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-child-pornography-illegal/48764/30 "2015-01-07T03:30:02Z")
What about things like nudist websites? Are those illegal or not? ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-child-pornography-illegal/48764/31 "2015-01-07T03:40:41Z")
> [@David377](#): > > What about things like nudist websites? Are those illegal or not? I’d steer clear of this thread until it turns 18. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-child-pornography-illegal/48764/32 "2015-01-07T03:49:21Z")
I knew this had to be a zombie thread when I saw the VHS reference early on. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-child-pornography-illegal/48764/33 "2015-01-07T03:57:51Z")
> [@Flywheel](#): > > I’d steer clear of this thread until it turns 18. Well, it’s almost 14 already. ---
**Author:** ![JohnClay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c37758/32.png) [@JohnClay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnClay)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-child-pornography-illegal/48764/34 "2015-01-07T05:14:00Z")
> [@David377](#): > > What about things like nudist websites? Are those illegal or not? I was doing a search for naturist/nudist and found some photos of nude kids… ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-child-pornography-illegal/48764/35 "2015-01-07T12:23:48Z")
> [@David377](#): > > What about things like nudist websites? Are those illegal or not? Need answer fast? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-child-pornography-illegal/48764/36 "2015-01-07T13:19:57Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Need answer fast? Any time in the next 5-10 years. ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-child-pornography-illegal/48764/37 "2015-01-07T14:37:43Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > Well, in order for me to view a VHS tape of somebody having sex with a child, _somebody has to have sex with_ a child. How many actors were really shot to death to make the James Bond movies? ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-child-pornography-illegal/48764/38 "2015-01-07T17:36:40Z")
> [@Flywheel](#): > > I’d steer clear of this thread until it turns 18. > [@Honey](#): > > Well, it’s almost 14 already. You know what they say. “Eight is too late.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-child-pornography-illegal/48764/39 "2015-01-07T19:21:02Z")
> [@Honey](#): > > Well, it’s almost 14 already. Close enough. ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-child-pornography-illegal/48764/40 "2015-01-08T04:32:37Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > You know what they say. “Eight is too late.” 😃 “Who says that?” “[They](http://babysimpson.co.uk/gallery/frames/2/7f20/167.jpg) do.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-child-pornography-illegal/48764.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-child-pornography-illegal/48764.md?page=3)