Pornography or Erotica?

[TheLobster]

I try to write stories that make the reader wipe their brow, their eyes and/or their fingers.

All of us are deep in the pocket of Big Tissue.

 

[AG31]

Erotica implies the naughty bits, but doesn't detail them.

Interesting to explore in another thread. Why are those bits considered "naughty?"

 

[Spicylady22]

That's a really good question. I've debated that too about my stories. In the end I just describe them as filth.

 

[AG31]

Erotica = sex is part of the story.
Porn = sex IS the story.

In my mind, they're not the same, and often determine whether I'm interested in reading the story or not. I want feelings with sex, as a reader. Maybe I'm too emotional?

Then a huge proportion of "main stream" fiction is erotica. What distinguishes main stream fiction with sexy scenes from what we find in Literotica.com?

 

[AG31]

- Erotica has better production values.

I'd go with this, with the caveat that good production values don't necessarily involve attention to plot and character.

- Erotica is brunettes in silk, pornography is blondes in nylon.

I think whoever said this is on to something.

 

[Statius]

What qualities make that one story erotica?

The story isn't, it's one scene at the end. It's emotional, less showing, not in your face graphic, and not absurd.

 

[EmilyMiller]

because pornography was originally the depiction of prostitutes

And not the men who paid them, of course . Some things never change.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Erotica is what people claim they write when they are too embarrassed to admit they write pornography. It’s all splitting hairs.

If I’m feeling all arty, I might say that I compose erotic literature. But I know I’m really scribbling pornography.

 

[Statius]

And not the men who paid them, of course . Some things never change.

It's never men's fault. Ever. Women push this stuff on men. Ask Adam.

 

[Justplainjeff]

As Justice Potter Stewart said in 1964, "I can't define pornography, but I know it when I see it" Ambiguous, isn't it?

 

[Kasumi_Lee]

Okay, you turned on my pedantic side. The greek root graphos (γραφοσ) means writing. Think about biography. It's not a picture of a person's life. It is the story, the written story, of their life.

Whoops, I've been outnerded. Touché.

 

[EmilyMiller]

It's never men's fault. Ever. Women push this stuff on men. Ask Adam.

 

[EmilyMiller]

graphos (γραφοσ)

To be 100% accurate - it means to write or to draw.

 

[StillStunned]

To be 100% accurate - it means to write or to draw.

When I was at school, the only meaning we learned was "to write". And let's face it, that was so long ago that they'd barely buried Plato.

 

[Statius]

Whew! Nervous posting that

 

[Baztrachian]

Do you consider what you write “pornography” or not? How about what you read? Is some erotica “pornography” while other erotica is not? Is there a meaningful distinction in your mind between erotica and porn? I’d be fascinated to read some genuine thoughts on the matter.

Funny, sometimes I set out to write porn and it ends up being erotica or even romance.

Other times I set out to write a romance or erotica and it ends up as gratuitous porn.

In general the distinction between porn and erotica has always been weighted by the plot.

If the plot is background for sex then it is porn.

If the sex is just a supporting aspect of the plot then it is romance or erotica.

 

[EmilyMiller]

When I was at school, the only meaning we learned was "to write". And let's face it, that was so long ago that they'd barely buried Plato.

In Greek, "graphos" (graphē) primarily means "writing" or "drawing," and it is the root for many English words related to writing, describing, or recording. It can also be a suffix, like in "poly-graphos" (meaning "many writings") or "autographos" (meaning "written by one's own hand")

 

[Baztrachian]

If the sex is just a supporting aspect of the plot then it is romance or erotica.

To expand on this I think of several movies of the past fifty years in which sex and even sexual assault were germane to the plot and I do not think of them as porn. Some of them are not even erotica or romance.

For example, Jodie Foster's movie The Accused featured a traumatic gang rape scene that while it may have included sexual acts it was neither porn, erotica, or romance.

 

[GuiltyCowboy]

And not the men who paid them, of course . Some things never change.

Yes, quite. In all honesty though, I'm not sure how much any of us would actually want to see depictions of the men who pay!

 

[UncleJunior]

Sometimes I write to titilate, to trigger an emotion or response more than to write a narrative. When I write horror I'm doing exactly the same thing so I don't feel like shooting for that is a "lesser" form of writing. Sometimes when I write horror I want the audience to look deep inside themselves and ask hard questions they may not be ready to answer, sometimes I just want to ruin their sleep for the weekend.

Sometimes I want my erotica to make the reader ask questions of themselves they may not be ready to answer. Other times I just want to ruin their sheets. Sometimes I build characters around a shared desire, other times the story is purely about "dat ass".

 

[gunhilltrain]

Erotica depicts sex that is based on love. Porn depicts sex that only happens because people are being paid to do it.

That’s the original definition, I believe.

How we use that to distinguish what’s written here, frankly, I have no idea. I suspect most people would say they’re writing porn but actually it’s erotica. Which is quite sweet, really.

Live performers / paid performers are not necessary. People have been painting, drawing, and writing about sexual matters for centuries. (I'm staying clear of the erotica versus porn question. Let's just call it sexual topics or sexual descriptions.) Sometimes they sold it, sometimes a wealthy patron commissioned it, sometimes people just did it for their own satisfaction.

The invention of photography and then motion pictures just gave it a new technique. From what I've read about porn movie shoots, they are just as fragmented as any other film. It's really in the editing room that a movie is created from many pieces of footage or video that an audience perceives as "real" while watching it.

 

[iwatchus]

In Greek, "graphos" (graphē) primarily means "writing" or "drawing," and it is the root for many English words related to writing, describing, or recording. It can also be a suffix, like in "poly-graphos" (meaning "many writings") or "autographos" (meaning "written by one's own hand")

Well the basic vocabulary for classical greek (what I learned) predates the written language. Is I guess originally, it had to mean draw, because the greeks didn't write yet. Of course they had known the Minoans earlier and could have seen Egyptian hieroglyphs. But drawing and writing did start out as the same thing.

Like StillStunned, I learned graphos as writing specifically, but that was many decades ago.

 

[gunhilltrain]

That's a really good question. I've debated that too about my stories. In the end I just describe them as filth.

Reminds me of an early Woody Allen movie (Take the Money and Run?). A woman asks him, "Do you think sex is dirty?" and he replies "Only if it's done right."

 

[Beholders_Eye]

I use these amateur definitions for myself:

Porn is hamburger.

Erotica is Prime Rib.

 

[gunhilltrain]

And not the men who paid them, of course . Some things never change.

An interesting take on this how the customers appear to the prostitute. Not too flattering, I guess. It's a job, it's about money, not about love or even affection. As I have one say when asked for an extra "freebie" by a john: "I'm running a business here, not a charity for horny dudes."