Well letters don't really have a single canonical shape. There are many acceptable ways of rendering each. While two letters might usually look the same, it is very possible that some shape could be acceptable for one but not the other. So, it makes sense to distinguish between them in binary representation. That allows the interpreting software to determine if it cares about the difference or not.
Also, the Unicode code tables do mention which characters look (nearly) identical, so it's definitely possible to make a program interpret something like a Greek question mark the same as a semicolon. I guess it's just that no one has bothered, since it's such a rare edge case.
I think you're missing the point of the -porn suffix. Its not supposed to convey "the study of" or "images of". Its meant to convey that viewing it is satisfying in some primitive/emotional/aesthetic way. NaturePorn isn't just "pictures of nature", it's "pictures of nature that suck me in and make me want to see more". In that regard, the comparison to sex is intentional.