Isn’t Game of Thrones Really Just Porn?

This is not exactly news, but in case you live in a cave, Game of Thrones (GOT) may be the biggest thing to hit TV since The Sopranos and Breaking Bad.

And, consequently, as the series heads into its last season, there are a ton of questions surrounding it. Stuff like…

Who will live and who will die?
Does Jon Snow really prefer Starbucks over Dunkin Donuts?
Who will sit on the Iron Throne and does it even matter?

And then you have these questions too…

How many sex scenes will there be?
Isn’t Game of Thrones really just porn?

Of course, the last question mostly comes from the Christian or religious audiences.

First, let me tell you I can’t answer most of these but I can kinda answer the last one.

Isn’t Game of Thrones really just porn?

In a word, no.
Not technically.

It certainly doesn’t fall into the “genre” of porn. I’m pretty sure the porn industry would agree with that one.

Admittedly, it is well cited that the series has leveraged the prolific use of sex over its past 7 seasons, even hiring six different “porn stars”  to handle some of the more graphic sex scenes.

But while this might be distasteful to some, the reality is that “sex sells” and the creators of Game of Thrones are simply just taking full advantage of that marketing truism. That doesn’t make GOT officially “PORN.”

So then if GOT isn’t porn, what exactly is porn?

After all, we have hardcore porn, softcore porn, racial porn, gay porn, straight porn, even food porn.

There are practically more categories for porn than there are characters in GOT.

So what is it?

I can’t tell you how many times we at XXXchurch hear this question.

Is [X] porn?
What about [Y]? Is that porn?
If it’s not porn, then is it okay to watch?

And on and on.

We love to put labels on things and classify everything by a type or genre. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple with porn.

Porn isn’t so easily defined.

There is no checklist.

And to be honest, usually, the REAL question behind these questions is this… “Can I get permission to watch this or not?”

So, here is what I would offer as a practical definition for porn.

Porn is anything you use (watch, read, hear, or imagine) that’s used to elicit sexual arousal outside of your spouse.

In other words, if something gets you excited, then that thing is porn for you.

So, movies can be porn even if they aren’t rated XXX.

TV shows can be porn even if they are on regular cable channels or network TV.

Magazines can be porn even if you don’t have to unwrap them or stand on your tippy-toes to get them off the top rack.

Books can be porn, even if they are called “romance novels.” (Does that ring a bell, ladies?)

Talk radio can be porn even if it’s not on the Playboy channel.

Social media can serve as porn for many.

Your imagination can even be porn.

Now, I don’t say this because I’m trying to label everything as porn or because I want you to go out and sanitize your life of all “worldly influences.” I don’t want you to cancel your HBO, delete your Facebook account (although that might not hurt for some people), and throw out your satellite radios. That’s not my point.

I bring this up because there is a better question than “What is porn?” That question is: “What is porn for me?”

This is the question we need to be asking ourselves.

If you struggle with porn, sex, masturbation, or whatever – take your pick – and you need to ask yourself whether something is porn or not, then there’s a good chance it’s porn for you.

I struggled with porn for many years, and in those days there was a lot that served as “porn” for me that wouldn’t be porn for other people. There were many things that could trigger my desire to go, well, you know.

Stop trying to classify everything.

I hate how we need to denounce something as “porn” in order to place rules on someone else.

Maybe instead of asking these black and white questions, we need to be asking better questions.

Questions that breed responsibility and honesty.
Questions that provoke self-examination.
Questions that get to the real heart of the matter.

Stop labeling everything in an attempt to have super-defined boundaries.

Life isn’t like that. More often than not, we live in the gray, not the black and white, and our struggles are not all the same.

So next time you stumble upon something that stirs those lower regions ask yourself, “Is this porn for me?”

Examine your heart, your mind, and your motives, and if the answer is “yes” then shut it off. Even if it’s Game of Thrones.

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