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Erotica vs. Porn Redux

Thread starter dangerousbill
Start date Aug 28, 2011

dangerousbill

Retired Illuminatus

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Aug 28, 2011

#1

I found this while sorting files today. I have no idea where I got it from:

Erotica vs Porn

Porn makes me go "Ewwwwwwwwwww!" and erotica makes me go "Ooooooooooooo!"

Not every pizza delivery dude gets laid in erotica.

A question I ponder as I write about erotica, if my Mama can read it and say, "that's a nice story baby", it's love, if she shakes her head and goes "ump. ump. ump", then its erotica, and if she throws my manuscript at me, it's definitely porn.

Erotica uses feathers, Porn uses the whole damn chicken.

Any other rules of thumb?

Maryn

I Tried

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Aug 28, 2011

#2

For me, the dividing line is whether it exists only to arouse or if there's actual character and story there, too.

Oh, and fake boobs = porn to me.

Maryn, not usually all that visual

Wayne K

Banned

Aug 28, 2011

#3

The biggest difference IMO is that I've never starred in erotica

Maryn

I Tried

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Aug 28, 2011

#4

What, I'm not allowed to cast you as the leading man in the mental movie that runs while I write?

Maryn, not usually that visual except for the sex scenes

jennontheisland

the world is at my command

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Aug 28, 2011

#5

Has nothing to do with the characters, the plot, the story, the amount of sex, type of sex, or the author's intentions.

It's about the reader's perceptions. If I'm reading it to get off, it's porn.

tedi.s

Demigods, wolves, & Vamps... Oh my!

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Aug 28, 2011

#6

I figure if you take away the sex and there is still a plausible, enjoyable story then it is erotica. If there is no real story, then its porn.

dangerousbill

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Aug 28, 2011

#7

tedi.s said:
I figure if you take away the sex and there is still a plausible, enjoyable story then it is erotica. If there is no real story, then its porn.

But that implies that the sex is just layered on top, like cream icing on a carrot cake. The cake is still cake without the icing, just not as sweet.

I think that in erotica, sex has to be integral to the plot. Otherwise, it's genre or mainstream with sex scenes pasted in to sell the book.

In porn, there is no plot, or it's contrived, and the characters rarely have depth.

See? This distinction will never be resolved. And that's probably the way it should stay.

tedi.s

Demigods, wolves, & Vamps... Oh my!

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Aug 28, 2011

#8

Well, I agree with you that sex is an integral part of Erotica. And not just sex acts but innuendos and hints throughout. I was trying to be succinct; maybe I should work on that

Fruitbat

.

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Aug 28, 2011

#9

Ummm, erotica includes the boring parts in between the sex scenes?

:chair

:chair

Last edited: Aug 29, 2011

Bookewyrme

Imagined half of it.

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Aug 28, 2011

#10

Just to muddy the waters further, I think you can have genre/mainstream fiction with sex scenes which are integral to the plot/story/character development (as opposed to just inserted to sell books) but do not count as either erotica or porn. So, erotic, porn, X-rated genre fiction...all different but probably all in the eye of the beholder. :tongue

:tongue

Sentosa

Banned

Aug 29, 2011

#11

Bookewyrme said:
Just to muddy the waters further, I think you can have genre/mainstream fiction with sex scenes which are integral to the plot/story/character development (as opposed to just inserted to sell books) but do not count as either erotica or porn. So, erotic, porn, X-rated genre fiction...all different but probably all in the eye of the beholder.

I hope so!! That's the way I write.

If it's integral to my story (plot or subplot) I don't analyse where it's porn or erorica, because That's in the readers' minds.

If it meets my requirement to be integral, in it goes. If not, it's out.

dangerousbill

Retired Illuminatus

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Aug 29, 2011

#12

jennontheisland said:
If I'm reading it to get off, it's porn.

Well, that leaves me with Beatrix Potter, Moby Dick (except for the title) and parts of the Bible.

veinglory

volitare nequeo

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Aug 29, 2011

#13

I lost interest in the distinction because these days I only see writers use "porn" in a derogatory way. That means it is not a real category of literature, just an insult--often on based on explicitness. To me, its all basically the same thing: sex writing.

sailor

still new

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Aug 29, 2011

#14

I agree with Veinglory. If people consider what I write to be erotica, that's fine by me. If they call it porn, that's fine too. Everyone has their own interpretation. I call my stuff smut.

Maryn

I Tried

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Aug 29, 2011

#15

veinglory said:
I lost interest in the distinction because these days I only see writers use "porn" in a derogatory way. That means it is not a real category of literature, just an insult--often on based on explicitness. To me, its all basically the same thing: sex writing.

Amen, sister.

"I write erotica. My competitors write porn." Seems to be the main difference. I almost never see the word "porn" without it being a value judgment made by someone who does not consider his/her work porn.

Personally, I would not be comfortable thinking of myself as a pornographer, but as an erotica writer? No problem.

Maryn, sure no one here writes porn unless they choose that label themselves

HarryHoskins

Straw-fed

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Aug 29, 2011

#16

I dunno what I write, but I know what I like.

tedi.s

Demigods, wolves, & Vamps... Oh my!

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Aug 29, 2011

#17

Maryn said:
Personally, I would not be comfortable thinking of myself as a pornographer, but as an erotica writer? No problem.

Maryn, sure no one here writes porn unless they choose that label themselves

Well there you have it. It's all in what we want to call ourselves

Piper Brooks

Registered

Aug 29, 2011

#18

In my mind, I associate erotica with a plot. Basically a story with more emphasis on explicit sexuality than in other genres. The sex serves to enhance the plot. With porn, in my perception, there is only a superficial plot that serves to facilitate sex.
Of course, if my mother were to accidentally read my work, she would probably think it was porn! :tongue

:tongue

Anne Lyle

Fantastic historian

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Aug 29, 2011

#19

To me, erotica is an exploration of issues around sex, with lots of sex scenes to illustrate the author's point. In porn, there is no story, just a scenario to act as "wallpaper" to the sex. It's not a dichotomy so much as a spectrum, and everyone has a different idea on where the dividing line falls.

If the story isn't about the sex per se, it's neither.

veinglory

volitare nequeo

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Sep 5, 2011

#20

I think that is true of you go with the "porn as an insult" model. But I it might be fairer to say porn gives sex primacy, erotica pairs sex with another literary motive (literary, romantic, etc).

DiloKeith

Doesn't scare easily

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Sep 5, 2011

#21

veinglory said:
I think that is true if you go with the "porn as an insult" model. But I it might be fairer to say porn gives sex primacy, erotica pairs sex with another literary motive (literary, romantic, etc).

My first thought was that this works well, but as I try to apply it, I come back to thinking that making a distinction is a faulty exercise. Sex writing can be better described by its objective characteristics (e.g, explicitness), not a label.

Xelebes

Delerium ex Ennui

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Sep 5, 2011

#22

To me, porn = erotica. Erotica is just a larger word, including paintings of Venus and Cupid; statues of Artemis and Actaeon; saucy tales of the nixies, pixies, ydessen and faeries and what not.

Last edited: Sep 5, 2011

Fallen

Stood at the coalface

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Sep 7, 2011

#23

I've read shite, good, and friggin' excellent erotica, but never come across porn.

Maryn

I Tried

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Sep 7, 2011

#24

I got some porn as gag gifts at a bridal shower. My favorite was the novel "Teenage Gang Bang," which had no teenage characters and no group sex. Or maybe my favorite was "The Sale of Two Titties," which was awful but had a fun title at least.

Maryn, who hasn't seen either book for many years

allenparker

Naked Futon Guy

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Sep 7, 2011

#25

To me, porn is denoted by the specific drive to have sex and that the characters are based as sexual beings in a world where sex is the norm.

Erotica is the built on the passion and feelings that elevate to sexual desire and ultimately to carnal pleasures, whether there is an element of romance or not.

Erotic romance is defined by the wife becoming happy with the low down dirty guy she married, feathers, handcuffs and all.

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