I was out drinking… and eating… and talking… Before I could stop myself I blurted out, “Then you can’t have read Jeremy Edwards!”
Oh yes, that started the fun… discussing the difference between how men and women view sex, view porn, and what makes porn different from erotica. Everyone had their own opinion… usually degrading pornography and elevating erotica.
Interesting… especially when you consider that the general sense was porn was for men and erotica for women. Another thing that seemed to arise that indicated a dividing line between porn and erotic was story. Erotica told a story, or a more complex story than boy meets girl for sex.
So I went surfing and found some delightful definitions of porn and erotica…
Pornography: creative activity (writing or pictures or film etc.) of no literary or artistic value other than to stimulate sexual desire.
Hmmm…. So, this would include all those “man walks into x and sees woman (or women) and commences to have sex”. Or alternatively “man opens door and sees woman (or women) and commences to have sex”.
Erotica: works of art, including literature, photography, film, sculpture and painting, that deal substantively with erotically stimulating or sexually arousing descriptions.
So really… the difference between erotica and porn is in the eye of the beholder. What did Justice Stewart write regarding an obscenity trial in 1964? “…I know it when I see it.” The funny thing is, that was 1964. In 1969 Midnight Cowboy received an X rating for its portrayals of sex and drugs. I just watched it and there is more nudity and drugs in the average teen flick these days let alone Sex and the City.
But back to Jeremy Edwards.
For anyone who thinks that women write better erotica – please check out Mr. Edwards. One of his latest short pieces is in the archives at Clean Sheets and his blog is here.
Enjoy!
Licks!
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