Eroticism

[bookworm69]

https://i.postimg.cc/cZWMcRjy/IMG-4136.gif

Love her final two movements shown in the gif: not mere acceptance of his merger, but primal affirmation, which is so erotic!

 

[lucy_anne21]

https://i.postimg.cc/hD3xFTjB/IMG-4161.gif

 

[TryingTooHard]

This may not be eroticism as such...but thank you!

Well, she looks like she's conjuring up erotic thoughts.

 

[softbird]

Well, she looks like she's conjuring up erotic thoughts.

They would be lustful thoughts, or perhaps no thoughts at all.

 

[EarOfCorn]

They would be lustful thoughts, or perhaps no thoughts at all.

Just pure pleasure!

 

[EarOfCorn]

Just pure pleasure!

What would be the next move?

 

[Mickyb9669]

https://i.postimg.cc/hD3xFTjB/IMG-4161.gif

Oh my thats is just so erotic

 

[Anon_shy]

Do I fit here? Shych1vette.xyz

 

[lliicckkss]

i do

 

[Rodlicker57]

https://i.postimg.cc/WVSwgCZc/IMG-3516.gif

Love to do this RIGHT NOW!

 

[softbird]

Beyond the face, beyond the soul, the body is its own constellation, its own narrative.

Model: Aubern Âme
Photographer: Daniel Heon

 

[softbird]

She is as old as the world itself, bureid in the sediment of time, shaped, carved by the churning embers of earth's crust. Gaia.

Model: Minh-Ly
Photographer: pgl05

 

[lucy_anne21]

https://i.postimg.cc/dqGGyqcs/IMG-4158.gif

 

[lusciouslottie]

So, I think there is a difference between Eroticism and pure sexuality. While the sexual can also be erotic, the erotic is often not necessarily sexual.
George Battaile said once that eroticism as thriving when it breaks prohibitions, goes beyond the physical, into something else, something we can’t express but feel. Perhaps, he is referring to o something similar to what the Romantics called the sublime.

So this thread is about the erotic, moving away from the sexual to something being it, something more sublime.

Hopefully we can work out what eroticism actually is.

I wonder whether eroticism is so difficult to define because it is not really a thing in itself, but a particular way of experiencing the world. I appreciate that the erotic and the sexual are not identical. The sexual can certainly be erotic, but there are also experiences that feel deeply erotic without being overtly sexual at all. A voice can be erotic. A piece of music can be erotic. A lingering glance, a certain quality of light, a subtle touch, a passage in a novel, even a silence between two people can carry an erotic charge.

What these experiences seem to share is not sexuality, but fascination. Perhaps eroticism begins where imagination enters desire. Sexuality seeks satisfaction; eroticism seems content to linger in anticipation. It lives in suggestion rather than disclosure, in what is hinted at rather than revealed. The moment everything is exposed, something of the erotic often disappears.

For that reason, I wonder whether mystery is a more useful concept than sexuality when thinking about eroticism. We are drawn not simply to another body, but to another consciousness. Another person always remains partly hidden, partly unknowable. No matter how intimate we become, there is always something that escapes us. Eroticism seems to reside in that space.

This may also explain why eroticism often appears in art and literature. Great love stories are rarely about possession. They are about longing, tension, distance, possibility. The erotic is often strongest not at the moment of fulfilment, but in the charged interval before it, when imagination is still free to wander.

So perhaps eroticism is the pleasure of remaining enchanted, the awareness that there is always something more to discover, something that resists complete understanding. At least, that is closer to my experience of the erotic than anything purely sexual.

 

[liqueur]

I wonder whether eroticism is so difficult to define because it is not really a thing in itself, but a particular way of experiencing the world...
I wonder whether mystery is a more useful concept than sexuality when thinking about eroticism. We are drawn not simply to another body, but to another consciousness

Everything you've said here is so spot-on. But these lines in particular.

In literary analogy, eroticism relates to pornography a little like poetry relates to novels.
In psychology, the comparison is a bit like comparing the numinous to the mundane.
There is always overlap, sometimes a considerable overlap, and the distinction is undefinable. But it exists.

 

[softbird]

I wonder whether eroticism is so difficult to define because it is not really a thing in itself, but a particular way of experiencing the world. I appreciate that the erotic and the sexual are not identical. The sexual can certainly be erotic, but there are also experiences that feel deeply erotic without being overtly sexual at all. A voice can be erotic. A piece of music can be erotic. A lingering glance, a certain quality of light, a subtle touch, a passage in a novel, even a silence between two people can carry an erotic charge.

What these experiences seem to share is not sexuality, but fascination. Perhaps eroticism begins where imagination enters desire. Sexuality seeks satisfaction; eroticism seems content to linger in anticipation. It lives in suggestion rather than disclosure, in what is hinted at rather than revealed. The moment everything is exposed, something of the erotic often disappears.

For that reason, I wonder whether mystery is a more useful concept than sexuality when thinking about eroticism. We are drawn not simply to another body, but to another consciousness. Another person always remains partly hidden, partly unknowable. No matter how intimate we become, there is always something that escapes us. Eroticism seems to reside in that space.

This may also explain why eroticism often appears in art and literature. Great love stories are rarely about possession. They are about longing, tension, distance, possibility. The erotic is often strongest not at the moment of fulfilment, but in the charged interval before it, when imagination is still free to wander.

So perhaps eroticism is the pleasure of remaining enchanted, the awareness that there is always something more to discover, something that resists complete understanding. At least, that is closer to my experience of the erotic than anything purely sexual.

Sure, which is what I’ve been saying this whole thread

 

[softbird]

In literary analogy, eroticism relates to pornography a little like poetry relates to novels.

I am not sure i agree here, since poetry and prose are two forms of a very similar artistic impulse. Whereas, eroticism and sexuality are two differing planes of experience. Think of eroticism as the romantic sublime, and sexuality as visceral experience.

 

[liqueur]

And there you see, where the terms can't be definitively... defined (“define”, in its Latin root, meaning “to limit”) it's difficult to have a meaningful argument.

I am not sure i agree here, since poetry and prose are two forms of a very similar artistic impulse.

As a poet who has tried their hand at novel writing, and even knowing well how these forms overlap, I don't find this to be true. Both can be accomplished simultaneously but— at least in my own case— they rise out of very different impulses.

Whereas, eroticism and sexuality are two differing planes of experience.

Some wit once said, “the difference between erotic art and pornography is whether the subject is naked or nude.” Obviously I don't think it's so simple. For the same reason, I can't accept that the experience of eroticism and sexuality (as you say), of even pornography (as I say), are entirely distinct from each other.

 

[bookworm69]

I wonder whether eroticism is so difficult to define because it is not really a thing in itself, but a particular way of experiencing the world. I appreciate that the erotic and the sexual are not identical. The sexual can certainly be erotic, but there are also experiences that feel deeply erotic without being overtly sexual at all. A voice can be erotic. A piece of music can be erotic. A lingering glance, a certain quality of light, a subtle touch, a passage in a novel, even a silence between two people can carry an erotic charge.

What these experiences seem to share is not sexuality, but fascination. Perhaps eroticism begins where imagination enters desire. Sexuality seeks satisfaction; eroticism seems content to linger in anticipation. It lives in suggestion rather than disclosure, in what is hinted at rather than revealed. The moment everything is exposed, something of the erotic often disappears.

For that reason, I wonder whether mystery is a more useful concept than sexuality when thinking about eroticism. We are drawn not simply to another body, but to another consciousness. Another person always remains partly hidden, partly unknowable. No matter how intimate we become, there is always something that escapes us. Eroticism seems to reside in that space.

This may also explain why eroticism often appears in art and literature. Great love stories are rarely about possession. They are about longing, tension, distance, possibility. The erotic is often strongest not at the moment of fulfilment, but in the charged interval before it, when imagination is still free to wander.

So perhaps eroticism is the pleasure of remaining enchanted, the awareness that there is always something more to discover, something that resists complete understanding. At least, that is closer to my experience of the erotic than anything purely sexual.

Truly, a thoughtful discussion.

Perhaps sexuality conforms to an urge; whereas eroticism awakens or informs a feeling, which may or may not be sexual in nature.

 

[lusciouslottie]

Sure, which is what I’ve been saying this whole thread

Good to know we’re on the same page. I hadn't gotten to reading all the 713 posts prior to my response yet.

 

[lusciouslottie]

Perhaps sexuality conforms to an urge; whereas eroticism awakens or informs a feeling, which may or may not be sexual in nature.

I think there is something in that distinction. An urge seeks expression or fulfilment. A feeling, however, can be sustained, deepened, reflected upon. Perhaps sexuality is often directed toward an object, whereas eroticism is a quality of experience itself.

An erotic moment does not necessarily compel action. One can remain within it. It may take the form of fascination, anticipation, enchantment, or simply a heightened awareness of another person. In that sense, eroticism seems less concerned with satisfaction than with intensification. It enlarges experience rather than resolves it.

Something can feel erotic without being overtly sexual. What is awakened is not always physical desire, but a feeling that the ordinary has somehow become more vivid, more meaningful. Perhaps that is why eroticism is so difficult to define. It is less an appetite than a state of attention. It is the feeling of being drawn toward something that cannot be entirely possessed, explained, or exhausted.

So perhaps sexuality asks for fulfilment, while eroticism asks for attentiveness. One tends toward an end; the other lingers within a feeling.

 

[bookworm69]

I think there is something in that distinction. An urge seeks expression or fulfilment. A feeling, however, can be sustained, deepened, reflected upon. Perhaps sexuality is often directed toward an object, whereas eroticism is a quality of experience itself.

An erotic moment does not necessarily compel action. One can remain within it. It may take the form of fascination, anticipation, enchantment, or simply a heightened awareness of another person. In that sense, eroticism seems less concerned with satisfaction than with intensification. It enlarges experience rather than resolves it.

Something can feel erotic without being overtly sexual. What is awakened is not always physical desire, but a feeling that the ordinary has somehow become more vivid, more meaningful. Perhaps that is why eroticism is so difficult to define. It is less an appetite than a state of attention. It is the feeling of being drawn toward something that cannot be entirely possessed, explained, or exhausted.

So perhaps sexuality asks for fulfilment, while eroticism asks for attentiveness. One tends toward an end; the other lingers within a feeling.

Wow. A very neat assessment. I could not have said it better. Earlier I assayed (page 1, #11 of this thread):

Eroticism makes the brain slow down; sexuality ... the brain and hormones are more impulsive.

Eroticism suggests; sexuality grabs hold.

But I like your views better, that is, sexuality is directed -- at an object (or physical kink); eroticism "enlarges experience rather than resolves it." Eroticism instead of grabbing, only asks for attentiveness.

Thanks for your well-developed thoughts.

 

[lusciouslottie]

Some wit once said, “the difference between erotic art and pornography is whether the subject is naked or nude.” Obviously I don't think it's so simple. For the same reason, I can't accept that the experience of eroticism and sexuality (as you say), of even pornography (as I say), are entirely distinct from each other.

A nude painting, a love poem, a kiss, or even pornography can all contain erotic elements. The question is not necessarily what is being depicted, but how it is experienced. Eroticism seems to arise when desire becomes intertwined with imagination, anticipation, mystery, or emotional resonance. Sexuality may be present throughout, but it is no longer the whole story.

To borrow your example, the distinction between naked and nude has always struck me as less about clothing than perception. A naked body is simply exposed. A nude body is being contemplated. Something has been added—not physically, but imaginatively.

Perhaps that is why the erotic can never be reduced entirely to the sexual, even though the two are often inseparable. The erotic seems to emerge when desire acquires depth, when another person becomes more than an object of appetite and instead becomes a source of fascination.

Perhaps the more interesting question, then, is: What happens to desire when imagination enters it?

 

[liqueur]

I love this. Lots to think about. Too early to “say” about.

 

[liqueur]

An erotic moment does not necessarily compel action. One can remain within it. It may take the form of fascination, anticipation, enchantment, or simply a heightened awareness... It enlarges experience rather than resolves it.

This.