--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He made no distinction between…" description: "\"“He made no distinction between pornography and science fiction, often wondering out loud why they confiscated the one and not the other.”\" — Jeff Vand..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02d/jeff-vandermeer-1366_fiction_he-made-no-distinction-between-pornograp_422152.png" --- # He made no distinction between pornography and science… ![“He made no distinction between pornography and science fiction, often wondering out loud why they confiscated the one and not the other.” quote by Jeff VanderMeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02d/jeff-vandermeer-1366_fiction_he-made-no-distinction-between-pornograp_422152.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02d/jeff-vandermeer-1366_fiction_he-made-no-distinction-between-pornograp_422152.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02d/jeff-vandermeer-1366_fiction_he-made-no-distinction-between-pornograp_422152.png) > ““He made no distinction between pornography and science fiction, often wondering out loud why they confiscated the one and not the other.”” [Jeff VanderMeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Pornography and sci‑fi are treated differently despite similar speculative content. **In simple terms:** Society judges similar media differently. Key Takeaway Question media double standards. Themes culture media hypocrisy Mood critical thought‑provoking Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - film criticism - policy debate - artistic expression Key Concepts censorship genre theory Questions to Reflect On - Why is one genre more stigmatized? - What criteria should define censorship? A Different Perspective Legal definitions vary across cultures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Pornography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pornography/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Science fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-fiction/) ## Related quotes > [“But I was not a domesticated animals...The dirt and grit of a city, the unending wakefulness of it, the crowdedness, the constant light obscuring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/but-i-was-not-a-domesticated-animals-the-dirt-and-grit-of-a-city-the/) [Jeff VanderMeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/) > [Cross-pollination and "contamination" is really important to the health of fiction, and sometimes it's a literal conversation, too, in that writers who might never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/cross-pollination-and-contamination-is-really-important-to-the-health/) [Jeff VanderMeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/) > [There are trappings of science fiction which I kind of embrace, but there are also cliches which I run from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-twohy/there-are-trappings-of-science-fiction-which-i-kind-of-embrace-but/) [David Twohy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-twohy/) > [I wish you a wrestling match with your Creative Muse that will last a lifetime. ... I wish craziness and foolishness and madness upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/i-wish-you-a-wrestling-match-with-your-creative-muse-that-will-last-a/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“Listen: Common sense doesn't mean what it used to mean." -Matthias Chalmers, STAIRWAY2 HEAVEN”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaz-thompson/listen-common-sense-doesn-t-mean-what-it-used-to-mean-matthias/) Chaz Thompson > [My briefest ever definition of science fiction is 'Hubris clobbered by Nemesis.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-aldiss/my-briefest-ever-definition-of-science-fiction-is-hubris-clobbered-by/) [Brian Aldiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-aldiss/) > [I'd always wanted the show to be more reality based science fiction, something along the lines of The Day the Earth Stood Still, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-gerard/i-d-always-wanted-the-show-to-be-more-reality-based-science-fiction/) [Gil Gerard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-gerard/) > [Nearly all the writing of our time is likely to disappear in a hundred years. Certainly most readers - and nearly all critics -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/nearly-all-the-writing-of-our-time-is-likely-to-disappear-in-a/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [You can tell the date of an old science fiction novel by every word on the page. Nothing dates harder and faster and more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-can-tell-the-date-of-an-old-science-fiction-novel-by-every-word/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [As a result of reading science fiction when I was eight, I grew up with an interest in music, architecture, city planning, transportation, politics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/as-a-result-of-reading-science-fiction-when-i-was-eight-i-grew-up/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“What we've done is make the categories of science fiction and fantasy larger, freer, and more inclusive than any other genre of contemporary literature.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/what-we-ve-done-is-make-the-categories-of-science-fiction-and-fantasy/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Science fiction and fantasy, though they seem to be about the future or fictional worlds, are always at their core really about the problems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-joseph-adams/science-fiction-and-fantasy-though-they-seem-to-be-about-the-future/) [John Joseph Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-joseph-adams/) > [“The ultimate aim of reality is to become science fiction!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-of-kittim/the-ultimate-aim-of-reality-is-to-become-science-fiction/) [Eli Of Kittim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-of-kittim/) > [I do think that theater is a great venue for science fiction, and not just adaptations but also original work. I also think some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-einhorn/i-do-think-that-theater-is-a-great-venue-for-science-fiction-and-not/) Edward Einhorn > [The thing about science fiction is that it's totally wide open. But it's wide open in a conditional way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/the-thing-about-science-fiction-is-that-it-s-totally-wide-open-but-it/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) ## More by Jeff VanderMeer > [“Perhaps only I could truly make Wick a person, by forgiving him, and if I forgave him, if I showed I forgave him, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/perhaps-only-i-could-truly-make-wick-a-person-by-forgiving-him-and-if/) [Jeff VanderMeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/) > [“I knew these elements were intended for me and me alone. There were no endearments, but I understood in part because of this restraint.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/i-knew-these-elements-were-intended-for-me-and-me-alone-there-were-no/) [Jeff VanderMeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/) > [“What if an infection was a message, a brightness a kind of symphony? As a defense? An odd form of communication? If so, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/what-if-an-infection-was-a-message-a-brightness-a-kind-of-symphony-as/) [Jeff VanderMeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/) > [That's how the madness of the world tries to colonize you: from the outside in, forcing you to live in its reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/that-s-how-the-madness-of-the-world-tries-to-colonize-you-from-the/) [Jeff VanderMeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/) > [What I envy about musicians is, they have this more direct relationship with the audience. They don't have to go through words. Sure, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/what-i-envy-about-musicians-is-they-have-this-more-direct/) [Jeff VanderMeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/) > [“In college, what had always stuck with him in Astronomy 101 was that the first astronomers to think of points of light not as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/in-college-what-had-always-stuck-with-him-in-astronomy-101-was-that/) [Jeff VanderMeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/) > [“But I was not a domesticated animals...The dirt and grit of a city, the unending wakefulness of it, the crowdedness, the constant light obscuring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/but-i-was-not-a-domesticated-animals-the-dirt-and-grit-of-a-city-the/) [Jeff VanderMeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/) > [Dreams, though, are just one kind of inspiration - no more or less special than something in a newspaper article or from the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/dreams-though-are-just-one-kind-of-inspiration-no-more-or-less/) [Jeff VanderMeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/) > [“All of the things that wore you down, even as that was balanced by the electric feeling of being on the side of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/all-of-the-things-that-wore-you-down-even-as-that-was-balanced-by-the/) [Jeff VanderMeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/) > [There simply aren't enough constitutional safeguards in place to protect against a rogue president.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/there-simply-aren-t-enough-constitutional-safeguards-in-place-to/) [Jeff Vandermeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/) > [There are some beautiful creatures in the ocean that seem very alien at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/there-are-some-beautiful-creatures-in-the-ocean-that-seem-very-alien/) [Jeff Vandermeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/) > [Even a dream as inspiration doesn't mean anything unless you then find that it's sparked an actual story with a plot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/even-a-dream-as-inspiration-doesn-t-mean-anything-unless-you-then/) [Jeff VanderMeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/) > [I had learned so much about the world that I had decided to withdraw from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/i-had-learned-so-much-about-the-world-that-i-had-decided-to-withdraw/) [Jeff VanderMeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/) > [“Do you think Area X builds spaceships, too? Do you think Area X traverses interstellar space? Wormholes? Think of something more subtle, something peering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/do-you-think-area-x-builds-spaceships-too-do-you-think-area-x/) [Jeff VanderMeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/) > [“A sudden flash of his partner Wyte, telling him he was compromised, him replying, "I don't have an opinion on that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/a-sudden-flash-of-his-partner-wyte-telling-him-he-was-compromised-him/) [Jeff VanderMeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/) [Explore all 247 Jeff VanderMeer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/) ## More Fiction quotes > [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/) Phil Hogan > [The thing about science fiction is that it's totally wide open. But it's wide open in a conditional way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/the-thing-about-science-fiction-is-that-it-s-totally-wide-open-but-it/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [I do think that theater is a great venue for science fiction, and not just adaptations but also original work. I also think some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-einhorn/i-do-think-that-theater-is-a-great-venue-for-science-fiction-and-not/) Edward Einhorn > [Fiction is a way of exploring possibilities present but undreamt of in the living of a single life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/fiction-is-a-way-of-exploring-possibilities-present-but-undreamt-of/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [I love writing fiction and can do it anywhere - I once even missed a flight because I was so engrossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prue-leith/i-love-writing-fiction-and-can-do-it-anywhere-i-once-even-missed-a/) [Prue Leith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prue-leith/) > [“The fiction will seek the real.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coheed-and-cambria/the-fiction-will-seek-the-real/) Coheed and Cambria > [I think that most of us, anyway, read these stories that we know are not "true" because we're hungry for another kind of truth:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-think-that-most-of-us-anyway-read-these-stories-that-we-know-are/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [The danger that may really threaten (crime fiction) is that soon there will be more writers than readers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/the-danger-that-may-really-threaten-crime-fiction-is-that-soon-there/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [There's always that discussion about fiction about how do you market it - these are books for boys, these are books for girls, these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-a-weatherly/there-s-always-that-discussion-about-fiction-about-how-do-you-market/) [L.A. Weatherly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-a-weatherly/) > [Inspiration comes from so many sources. Music, other fiction, the non-fiction I read, TV shows, films, news reports, people I know, stories I hear,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trudi-canavan/inspiration-comes-from-so-many-sources-music-other-fiction-the-non/) [Trudi Canavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trudi-canavan/) > [I'm not interested in making a diagnostic novel or a concern. I'm 100 percent committed in fiction to the pleasure principle - that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-m-not-interested-in-making-a-diagnostic-novel-or-a-concern-i-m-100/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [“His hands on my waist he gently pulled me n embrace. I could feel his breath on my face our lips were about to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-eglinger/his-hands-on-my-waist-he-gently-pulled-me-n-embrace-i-could-feel-his/) [Nicole Eglinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-eglinger/) > [In early drafts, one of the trickiest things for me to do was to realize that the techniques and devices that make readable and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-rooney/in-early-drafts-one-of-the-trickiest-things-for-me-to-do-was-to/) [Kathleen Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-rooney/) > [I don't think it's always a sign of respect for persons (inside or outside of fiction) to pretend to be able to represent, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-don-t-think-it-s-always-a-sign-of-respect-for-persons-inside-or/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [Metafiction says something. It has to do with taking a large fiction itself and writing within it; that kind of self-reflecting writing that emerges…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-coover/metafiction-says-something-it-has-to-do-with-taking-a-large-fiction/) [Robert Coover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-coover/) [Browse all 7,410 Fiction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He made no distinction between pornography and science fiction, often wondering out loud why they confiscated the one and not the other.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jeff VanderMeer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/he-made-no-distinction-between-pornography-and-science-fiction-often/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fiction" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/he-made-no-distinction-between-pornography-and-science-fiction-often/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02d/jeff-vandermeer-1366_fiction_he-made-no-distinction-between-pornograp_422152.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02d/jeff-vandermeer-1366_fiction_he-made-no-distinction-between-pornograp_422152.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02d/jeff-vandermeer-1366_fiction_he-made-no-distinction-between-pornograp_422152.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He made no distinction between pornography and science fiction, often wondering out loud why they…” — Jeff VanderMeer", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jeff VanderMeer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“He made no distinction between pornography...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/he-made-no-distinction-between-pornography-and-science-fiction-often/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/he-made-no-distinction-between-pornography-and-science-fiction-often/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```