15 Things You Need to Know About Ruin Porn

Hauntingly beautiful.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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Ruin porn is a sexy name for a contentious genre of photography. It consists of images of abandoned places, photos that are hauntingly beautiful, that take us inside off-limits structures and let us lust over hot and wet images of decay. Like real porn, it has been called exploitative, amoral, a form of prostitution, and just plain wrong. But doesn't that just make you want to look at it even more?

When Detroit declared bankruptcy, ruin porn moved from a cult Internet obsession to a mainstream fad. People couldn't get enough of shots of the destitute Packard Plant or images of the city's run-down Michigan Central Station. To familiarize you with this visual obsession, here's 15 Things You Need to Know About Ruin Porn. Go ahead, feast your eyes on these beauties.

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As legend goes, the term "ruin porn" first came from the mouth of a Detroit blogger in 2009

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But it's roots go all the way back to Renaissance Italy

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Andrew Moore's photos book of decay in Detroit established the genre as fine art.

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Ruin porn isn't just about Detroit, however.

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The Internet is responsible for the ruin porn fetish.

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And this online obsession has lead to unofficial (often illegal) tourism.

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Ruin porn and food porn are like second cousins-they're related, but its ok if they hook up.

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The same goes for real porn.

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And it makes us uncomfortable because it reminds us of death, but we're still into it.

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Surprise! Not everyone is ok with ruin porn.

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Still, it has made it to the big screen.

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Detroit is fighting back against the image of ruin porn.

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And it might be working.

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But Detroit just can't catch a break.

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Despite all the criticism, could ruin porn actually be good?

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