Urbandictionary definition of 'Erotica'

I don't know how many of you use Urban Dictionary. It is great for when you hear a new piece of slang and have no idea what it means. You can type it in and not give away your uncoolness.

Basically people enter definitions and then viewers vote for the ones they agree with. However both of the entries for 'erotica' are hopeless. Anyone feel like adding a better one -- I promise to vote for it!

www.urbandictionary.com/d...rotica&r=f

How about something like this:

Literature which takes an artistic view of sex as content. When read, it may lead to arousal, but the primary function is the creative and poignant description of love-making and human relationships in all their forms.

We can tweek it a bit, make it a board project!

I like this but I would go for a more 50/50 porn/literature thing like:

Literature which takes an artistic view of sex as content. When read, it should lead to arousal but its real function is the creative and poignant description of love-making and human relationships.

?

I think veinglory's definition is about right, with the balance of arousal and artistic content. I don't like "erotic" being shunted off into a definition that's got nothing to do with enjoying sex.

I was thinking about this and felt a rant coming on. I hate it when people try to insist that for erotica to be "artistic" (whether it's literary, visual or film) it has to be completely unarousing. That seems to be like saying that artistic comedy shouldn't be funny. Of course it's not some guy telling mother-in-law jokes, just as erotica isn't basic porn, but artistic comedy should make you laugh, and artistic erotica should make you - react however you do. At the same time as making you think.

OK, end of rant.:jump

I think is just compensating for the opposite assumption. Everyone who writes erotica does now it has to be hot, but try telling people is proper 'writing' too and you are generally in for an argument...

I was suggesting that, in the traditional definition, arousal is a secondary characteristic of erotica, not a primary function, where as with pornography, arousal is the primary characteristic. Of course, artistic merit and arousal should not, and by any normal person, can not be separated.

How about try it this way.

Romance concentrates almost exclusively on the romantic aspects of attraction. Concerning itself with love, caring, cherishing, affection, commitment, with little or no emphasis on sex even when it is present.

Pornography concentrates almost exclusively on the physically sexual aspects of attraction with little or no concern for love, affection, or caring, and may even be antonymic to it, showing aggression, lack of care or feeling for the partner, and no commitment.

Erotica recognizes both the sexual and the romantic impulses involved in attraction. It does not deny, demean, or ignore either one nor the other, but enthusiastically embraces both.

Can I post that definition at UD? It looks very thorough to me.

Sure, why not. I'll even vote for it if a non member can vote.

I love that as a definition. I could quibble that it's only relatively recently that romance has started ignoring sex - medieval & renaissance romance took it for granted that the goal of attraction was sex. But it's certainly true of modern romance, and I like the way erotica is place right in the middle.

Veinglory, I looked today to see if you had posted the new definition at UD. I didn't see it. How long does it normally take to pop up?

It should be showing by now, I must have done something wrong :huh

Still not there.

I tried to re-enter it and got "That definition was already submitted for Erotica"-- so I guess theu just tale for-bloody-ever to post new definitions.

On a related note here is an interesting essay: www.writing-world.com/rom...tica.shtml

That is hilarious.

I mean, like they really monitor the board to make sure nothing indecent, obscene, immoral, or fattening gets published.

Gotta admire that frame of mind.

But when you see how many bigoted comments and personal insults get on it doesn't make much sense. Looks like they have the worst of both words; long delayes and poor quality control.