Does nudity=porn? I was called a pervert!

[chicagodisneyfan]

Ok I have had a very weird day yesterday. So I was working from home when I hear screaming. Turns out a neighbor girl cut herself and was dripping blood. Neighbor runs over and asks if I can watch 4 year old son while mom and girl go get stitches. Sure no problem.

We play with my cat, eat chicken nuggets, walk to the park. You know typical watch a kid for a few hours. He uses the bathroom a few times and I think nothing of it. After a couple hours mom comes and takes him home - thanking me for my help.

Last night the dad shows up at my door - I open it and he shoves his way in and proceeds to start screaming at me about how I showed his son pornography and that he was going to call the police on me!!!!!!! I was like huh - he said I had pictures of naked people all over my walls!

My bathroom has photographs from the artist Allen Teger from his bodyscapes collection. He does close ups of naked people with miniature figures on them- a guy fishing with the belly button as the pond, a mountain climber scaling a breast etc. No big deal to either me or my husband - it is nudity not porn!

So I take this lovely neighbor man to show him the artwork and he is still proceeding to call it porn!! There is nothing sexual about it - it is the human body. He banged out of my house still threatening to call the cops.

Of the countless dinner parties and guests I have had in my house - including my senior citizen parents - no one has ever spoken badly of them. I have children in the house all the time and host the family Christmas eve party and everyone comes.

So DISers - do I just have a very cool group of family and friends - or is nudity the same as porn.

 

[Master Mason]

Tell him to call the cops, they would get a good laugh out of it

 

[MushyMushy]

No good deed goes unpunished. The guy sounds like a nutter.

 

[storzo]

I guess I would have to see them, but what you describe doesn't sound like porn to me.

 

[Evil Genius]

I think it's all how you were raised. Alot of people are not comfortable with the naked human body and really don't want their child subjected to it.

Not to worry though, because I don't think you'll be watching their son anytime soon.

 

[SpecialK]

Your neighbor's a nutcase. I would have no problem with my children seeing artful nudes. You'd think he'd be coming over to say thank you.

 

[tfc3rid]

People are way oversensitive nowadays... Maybe you should have had him see what you were talking about...

Either way, people really need to get a life...

I wouldn't worry about it...

 

[SwedishMeatball]

I think your neighbor sounds like a whacko. Now I'm off to google.

 

[akhenaten]

i just looked them up online..... interesting....
porn..no way...
but you do have cool senior parents if they like them...my mom would not ....

which one do you have?

The mountain climber was interesting.....
others ..i did not like as much....

 

[Poohgirl]

Some people are just, well anal... I have seen the artist's work and am not surprised the child was attracted to looking at it (my son does the same to naked mannequins in the store!) but I see nothing wrong with it.

 

[akhenaten]

I think it's all how you were raised. Alot of people are not comfortable with the naked human body and really don't want their child subjected to it.

Not to worry though, because I don't think you'll be watching their son anytime soon.

hahaa i don't think so either....

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

It doesn't sound like porn to me.

 

[Hoodie]

I looked at his stuff and it's not my cup of tea, but I don't think I'd call it porn. Some are amusing, but some of his stuff I really wouldn't be comfortable having around a child.

Reminds me of a friend of mine who got written up for sexual harrassment because he wore a tie with Botticelli's Birth of Venus on it. Art critics are everywhere.

 

[Mickeyluver37]

I don't think I would consider it porn, but I do have to admit the photos made me giggle. Do you have the "crane" one? And no, I wouldn't care if my 4 y.o. saw it.

ETA: Oh my...the big turtle...LOL...I seriously can't imagine having that in my living room.

 

[Heidict]

I looked the pictures up on google. No, they are not porn. It least in my mind. Sure you many see a nipple in a couple of shots, but that seemed to be about it.

Sounds like he jumped to conclusions and flew off the handle. Let him call the cops, I don't forsee them hauling you off in cuffs though.

 

[Handbag Lady]

He's a nutcase.

My mom had a few Victorian pictures in her bathroom of lovely ladies bathing with their hair up in Gibson do's. I always found them pretty and feminine, not pron.

 

[java]

Geez louise. What happened to Thanks for watching my child. Personally I wouldn't chose that kind of art just because it's not my taste. If my 3 or 5 year old were over your house and they saw it I don't think they would have noticed it. Seems like he has nudity issues. Too bad you were naked when he came over.

 

[Maleficent13]

Soooooo....he expected that when his justifiably frantic wife came over and asked you to sit her son, you were supposed to quickly redecorate your house for him? Interesting.

I think your neighbor sounds like a whacko. Now I'm off to google.

<---me, shocked

 

[PghLybrt]

We had the neighbor yell at us! His 14 year old was mowing our lawn and came in to get paid. Well dad came over with him once to get paid and went ballistic over our artwork. All original art that my Girlfriend does. Well there is a lady's breasts in one and a very abstract view of another lower region in another. He went ballistic!! I don’t think the kid ever saw them before that day!


On a lighter note my friends 7 year old has informed us that the 2nd painting is of a snow man who fell down on his side!!

 

[MushyMushy]

I like the male image with the crane.

Thanks for pointing those out to me.

Anyway, I can understand why you're upset by his reaction. I had something similar happen to me years ago when I was 21. I'd never been around kids before and a neighbor child came over to my house for me to watch her for an hour or so and was looking through my books. I had one about witchcraft and it had nudity and things like that in it. It was more of an artsy book. Anyway, kid told mom and mom came over screaming at me -- how could I be so stupid and irresponsible, blah blah blah.

They'll get over it. It does suck to be confronted, though.