--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Experiences aren't pornographic; only…" description: "\"Experiences aren't pornographic; only images and representations - structures of the imagination - are.\" — Susan Sontag" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/337/susan-sontag-332_imagination_experiences-aren-t-pornographic-only-ima_1378359.jpg" --- # Experiences aren't pornographic; only images and… ![“Experiences aren't pornographic; only images and representations - structures of the imagination - are.” quote by Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/337/susan-sontag-332_imagination_experiences-aren-t-pornographic-only-ima_1378359.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/337/susan-sontag-332_imagination_experiences-aren-t-pornographic-only-ima_1378359.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/337/susan-sontag-332_imagination_experiences-aren-t-pornographic-only-ima_1378359.jpg) > “Experiences aren't pornographic; only images and representations - structures of the imagination - are.” [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Only visual representations are labeled pornographic; lived experiences are not, highlighting a distinction between image and reality. **In simple terms:** Images can be pornographic, experiences cannot. Key Takeaway Distinguish image from lived experience. Themes media perception reality Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical media studies When to use this quote - art criticism - education - media literacy - psychology Key Concepts visual culture imagination ethical representation Questions to Reflect On - How do images influence your understanding of experience? - Can we ever fully separate image from reality? A Different Perspective It may downplay how images shape perception of reality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Experiences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experiences/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Pornography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pornography/) [Representation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/representation/) [Structure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/structure/) ## Related quotes > [The universe is an enormous direct product of representations of symmetry groups.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/the-universe-is-an-enormous-direct-product-of-representations-of/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [All representations of a thing are inherently abstract.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/all-representations-of-a-thing-are-inherently-abstract/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Performance's only life is in the present. Performance cannot be saved, recorded, documented, or otherwise participate in the circulation of representations of representations: once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-phelan/performance-s-only-life-is-in-the-present-performance-cannot-be-saved/) [Peggy Phelan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-phelan/) > [People learn who they are by the images of themselves, the representations that they seek.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-lennix/people-learn-who-they-are-by-the-images-of-themselves-the/) [Harry Lennix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-lennix/) > [One of the reasons I always come back to representations of loneliness in plays, films, and literature is that they give us specific examples…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-l-dumm/one-of-the-reasons-i-always-come-back-to-representations-of/) [Thomas L. Dumm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-l-dumm/) > [If you understand something in only one way, then you don't really understand it at all. The secret of what anything means to us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/if-you-understand-something-in-only-one-way-then-you-don-t-really/) [Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) > [I do think there's something about the digital age that is increasingly dehumanising us. We're in this very weird place where we're being pulled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-j-abrams/i-do-think-there-s-something-about-the-digital-age-that-is/) [J. J. Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-j-abrams/) > [When it comes to experiences that aren't mine, I try to shut up and listen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-victor/when-it-comes-to-experiences-that-aren-t-mine-i-try-to-shut-up-and/) [Eva Victor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-victor/) > [“I know that many people won’t believe that a child not yet eleven is capable of such feelings. It is not to those people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/i-know-that-many-people-won-t-believe-that-a-child-not-yet-eleven-is/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Experiences aren't given to us to be 'got over,' otherwise they would hardly be experiences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-fitzgerald/experiences-aren-t-given-to-us-to-be-got-over-otherwise-they-would/) [Penelope Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-fitzgerald/) > [When I was a teenager, in the '80s, it was 'Dynasty.' It was 'Beverly Hills, 90210.' And those were fantasies. Those weren't reflective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilson-cruz/when-i-was-a-teenager-in-the-80s-it-was-dynasty-it-was-beverly-hills/) [Wilson Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilson-cruz/) > [“Having bad experiences sometimes helps; it makes it clearer what it is you should be doing. I know that sounds very Pollyannaish but it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-cameron/having-bad-experiences-sometimes-helps-it-makes-it-clearer-what-it-is/) [Peter Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-cameron/) > [People who have only good experiences aren't very interesting. They may be content, and happy after a fashion, but they aren't very deep. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-cameron/people-who-have-only-good-experiences-aren-t-very-interesting-they/) [Peter Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-cameron/) > [“And if college is all wrong for you, if you really don't like it in the way you fear, well - it won't be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-if-college-is-all-wrong-for-you-if-you-really-don-t-like-it-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Our painful experiences aren’t a liability—they’re a gift. They give us perspective and meaning, an opportunity to find our unique purpose and our strength.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-eger/our-painful-experiences-aren-t-a-liability-they-re-a-gift-they-give/) [Edith Eger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-eger/) ## More by Susan Sontag > [the appetite for thinking must be regulated, as all sensible people know, for it may stifle one's life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-appetite-for-thinking-must-be-regulated-as-all-sensible-people/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [We are ruled by quotations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/we-are-ruled-by-quotations/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Unfortunately, moral beauty in art - like physical beauty in a person - is extremely perishable. It is nowhere so durable as artistic or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/unfortunately-moral-beauty-in-art-like-physical-beauty-in-a-person-is/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Like the collector, the photographer is animated by a passion that, even when it appears to be for the present, is linked to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/like-the-collector-the-photographer-is-animated-by-a-passion-that/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [ Anthropology has always struggled with an intense, fascinated repulsion towards its subject… \[The anthropologist\] submits himself to the exotic to confirm his own inner… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/anthropology-has-always-struggled-with-an-intense-fascinated/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [“Why not eliminate schooling between age 12-16? It’s biologically + psychologically too turbulent a time to be cooped up inside, made to sit all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/why-not-eliminate-schooling-between-age-12-16-it-s-biologically/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [To photograph people is to violate them, by seeing them as they never see themselves, by having knowledge of them that they can never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/to-photograph-people-is-to-violate-them-by-seeing-them-as-they-never/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [One set of messages of the society we live in is: Consume. Grow. Do what you want. Amuse yourselves. The very working of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/one-set-of-messages-of-the-society-we-live-in-is-consume-grow-do-what/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Currently intellectuals in Western Europe and North America are extremely demoralized and shaken by the rise of a virulent conservative tendency (which some have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/currently-intellectuals-in-western-europe-and-north-america-are/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [With the modern diseases (once TB, now cancer) the romantic idea that the disease expresses the character is invariably extended to assert that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/with-the-modern-diseases-once-tb-now-cancer-the-romantic-idea-that/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [As objects of contemplation, images of the atrocious can answer to several different needs. To steel oneself against weakness. To make oneself more numb.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/as-objects-of-contemplation-images-of-the-atrocious-can-answer-to/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [The creative phase of an idea coincides with the period during which it insists, cantankerously, on its boundaries, on what makes it different; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-creative-phase-of-an-idea-coincides-with-the-period-during-which/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Photographs objectify: they turn an event or a person into something that can be possessed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/photographs-objectify-they-turn-an-event-or-a-person-into-something/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [I'm not interested in giving aid and comfort to the neo­-Conservatives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/i-m-not-interested-in-giving-aid-and-comfort-to-the-neo-conservatives/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [The feminist movement has been important to me because it's made me feel less odd and also because it has made me understand some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-feminist-movement-has-been-important-to-me-because-it-s-made-me/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) [Explore all 644 Susan Sontag quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) ## More Experiences quotes > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [“The experiences of camp life show that man does have a choice of action… There were enough examples, often of a heroic nature, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-frankl/the-experiences-of-camp-life-show-that-man-does-have-a-choice-of/) [Viktor Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-frankl/) > [It isn't necessary to seek out adventure. Opening to what is around you will produce the most extraordinary experiences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-b-lewis/it-isn-t-necessary-to-seek-out-adventure-opening-to-what-is-around/) Edward B. Lewis > [I've had difficult experiences and obviously there's been the birth of my son.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ward-prowse/i-ve-had-difficult-experiences-and-obviously-there-s-been-the-birth/) [James Ward-Prowse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ward-prowse/) > [Some jobs you do, they're just jobs. Others are life experiences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strong/some-jobs-you-do-they-re-just-jobs-others-are-life-experiences/) [Mark Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strong/) > [From my experience, I don't have the luxury to trust anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sirivi/from-my-experience-i-don-t-have-the-luxury-to-trust-anyone/) Sirivi > [I've gotten to go to far-off places in the world, have very unique, isolated, intense experiences for four or five months at a time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/i-ve-gotten-to-go-to-far-off-places-in-the-world-have-very-unique/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [London's where I grew up and had most of my experiences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dizzee-rascal/london-s-where-i-grew-up-and-had-most-of-my-experiences/) [Dizzee Rascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dizzee-rascal/) > [New experiences give you new perspectives on life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hunt/new-experiences-give-you-new-perspectives-on-life/) [Sam Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hunt/) > [“I’m just happy to have experienced life; to have had a beautiful son and to have loved.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-b-powell/i-m-just-happy-to-have-experienced-life-to-have-had-a-beautiful-son/) [Aaron B. Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-b-powell/) > [In my own case, I'm an artist, and I'm really interested in expanding the vocabulary of human action, and basically empowering people through interactivity.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/golan-levin/in-my-own-case-i-m-an-artist-and-i-m-really-interested-in-expanding/) [Golan Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/golan-levin/) > [I feel really lucky that I somehow have blagged my way into loads of different experiences. I find making a film fascinating, I find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-flynn/i-feel-really-lucky-that-i-somehow-have-blagged-my-way-into-loads-of/) [Johnny Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-flynn/) > [“The art of being wise is the art of knowing that solutions don’t come from individuals, but rather experiences.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/the-art-of-being-wise-is-the-art-of-knowing-that-solutions-don-t-come/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [We have the philosophy that you can learn from past experiences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodri/we-have-the-philosophy-that-you-can-learn-from-past-experiences/) [Rodri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodri/) > [“When we observe how some people know how to manage their experiences--their insignificant, everyday experiences--so that they become an arable soil that bears fruit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/when-we-observe-how-some-people-know-how-to-manage-their-experiences/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) [Browse all 1,156 Experiences quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experiences/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Experiences aren't pornographic; only images and representations - structures of the imagination - are.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Susan Sontag" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/experiences-aren-t-pornographic-only-images-and-representations/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Experiences" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/experiences-aren-t-pornographic-only-images-and-representations/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/337/susan-sontag-332_imagination_experiences-aren-t-pornographic-only-ima_1378359.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/337/susan-sontag-332_imagination_experiences-aren-t-pornographic-only-ima_1378359.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/337/susan-sontag-332_imagination_experiences-aren-t-pornographic-only-ima_1378359.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Experiences aren't pornographic; only images and representations - structures of the imagination - are.” — Susan Sontag", "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": "Susan Sontag", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Experiences aren't pornographic; only images and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/experiences-aren-t-pornographic-only-images-and-representations/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/experiences-aren-t-pornographic-only-images-and-representations/#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 } } ] } ```