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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