This is a beautiful photo. What I like most is how soft and pale her skin is, her golden hair, her perfectly shaped breasts and overall lovely, alluring curves. The downward glance is evocative but also playful. This shows nudity as a happy experience.

Why do I post so many nudes on this blog? It is simply that I want show that depictions of nudity can be artistic, beautiful and uplifting. Too many in our world immediately label any kind of nude as “porn”, whereas in fact many nudes, whether in photography or painting or drawing, are expressions of deeper things. When it comes to “porn” vs. “erotica”, as I have said before, and what needs to be repeated again and again, is that most porn is pretty trashy. I don’t even like most porn. Most of the mainstream porn is vulgar, boring and overly artificial. However, this does not mean that all erotica is bad. I believe there is a place for good erotic depictions of life, that human sexuality in its entire spectrum can be legitimate and meaningful subject of artistic expression, and I enjoy showing those on this blog.

Beauty, human beauty, is actually a rare thing. Simply look at the world around you, and you will see very few people who could actually be considered physically beautiful. There are many reasons for this, perhaps the most important being that there is in fact a certain symmetry and balance that is required in the face and body for beauty. In addition, youth and healthy body type are also essential. While many people may have certain elements of these, most people lack them to the degree that is required for what has traditionally been considered “beauty”. Beauty is a high standard. It is almost an ideal. Like gold or diamonds, its rarity makes it all the more precious. This is why when we see beauty we find it aesthetically pleasing, for and in both men and women (how many women ogle David Beckham, and how many men actually look like him?).

So I like showing beautiful things. I like showing beautiful women. And even in my more explicit postings, I try to maintain the boundaries of beauty. A depiction of sex can be both hot and beautiful, although most porn is neither. Porn often has that dark, trashy side which I find distasteful (although I suppose it is precisely the forbidden darkness of porn that is part of the appeal: porn that is too “mainstream” has lost some of its power, i.e., it is a hidden, secret pleasure).

When it comes to beauty however, including erotic beauty, there is simply a mysterious pleasure in viewing which is hard to describe.