Porn and erotica? What's the difference?

[KillerMuffin]

It's a question I seem to feel like asking every six months or so. What's porn? What's erotica? How can you tell the difference? Can it be porn to one person and erotica to another? Are there some works that are distinctly porn to nearly everyone or distinctly erotica to nearly everyone? Barring the fundamentalist right of any religion, what qualifies anyone to decide if it's porn or erotica? This is very subjective, I think. People decide for themselves whats pornographic and what's erotica, but what's the basis for that? When you judge something porn or erotica, how do you decide?

There is no assumption that porn is better or worse than erotica. Just different. The question is, what's the difference?

 

[Ravenswing]

I have no idea...

...so I looked it up at mirriam-webster online.

Dictionary definitions-wise, erotica is something depicting the erotic, and erotic is "devoted to or arousing sexual love or desire." Pornography is depictions of erotic behaviour designed to cause sexual excitement, or material doing that, or the sensational depiction of acts so as to arouse intense emotional reaction.

So, apart from the fact that pornography doesn't have to have anything to do with sex, the two terms are the same. The fact the pornography is viewed as bad and erotica as, well maybe not good, but acceptable, is a typical linguistic double standard. It's like 'enchantress' and 'witch': every man wants to go to bed with an enchantress, but the witch is ugly, has warts, and will probably make him impotent. Both could probably turn men into beasts, a la Circe (not that there's usually a great deal of change required), but there's that weird difference in perception.

I consider what I write to be erotica, but I'd be willing to have someone argue it's porn. I'd just have to wither their sexual organs with this poppet I've got handy. (Just kidding. Honest.)

 

[Wyatt]

I write porn.I leave erotica to the pseudo intellectuals around here.Tried to write "erotica".Bah!!Turned into a bad Mills and Boon romance.Judging by replies to my stories the only people who are interested in erotica inhabit the boards.The rest seem more interested in um... shall we call it instant gratification.

 

[T.H. Oughts]

Erotica would have them coming home from work, cooking dinner together and touching each other sensualy. While eating the dinner, eating off each others forks, then half way through dessert, having each other on the table, then finishing dessert in each others arms in afterglow listening to great music.....

Porn is them just going for it on the table.. no build up or afterglow.......

 

[English-Passion]

Erotic Porn or Pornographic Erotica?

It is a non argument. No two people have the same baseline of understanding.

It is like saying 'which is wetter: wine or beer?'

Both are socially misunderstood, both make you drunk, both can make you misbehave, both can make you feel good, both can be harmless, or harmful. But which is wetter? Who cares!

Porn, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.

Sadly though, there are some people who want everyone else to see the same narrow world as they do. Those are the ones who cry 'Porn!' as if it is a protective mantra to assuage their own guilt at daring to read such a thing.

Do I write porn or erotica? Make up your own mind. I write stories.

English-Passion

(Passionate about porn, Ecstatic about erotica)

 

[MaxSebastian]

they're spelt differently!

*groans from the audience*

 

[Weird Harold]

It's a question I seem to feel like asking every six months or so.

Actually, I think this question gets asked about once a month around here.

Erotic: from the God Eros -- The god of love

Pornographic: from the same root as pornae, the roman word for the lowest class of prostitute.

In practical terms, a story that deals with impersonal body parts doing what impersonal body parts do is Porn, a atory that deals with people making love is Erotic.

 

[Jake Marlow]

For the pretentious it's erotica, for the rest of us it's porn. I think the people who think it's erotica are the people who wouldn't want to be reading "porn" because it's too base.

But I know when I tell someone what I write I say "erotica" because it sounds classy.

Jake

 

[JUDO]

Pornotica

I think you can tell the exact same story with either porn or erotica. It's really a matter of how the author decides to pitch their voice with the material.

What kind of sentence structures? Simple? Complex? What kind of descriptions? Ornate? Curt? How do the characters speak? From the street? From the Ivory Tower?

With most of the money in the world being contained by the fewest people, I think that the majority of us like to read material where the lines are crossed. The characters are from all walks of life and they interact with characters they wouldn't due to circumstance beyond their control. Somwhere in the middle - pornotica or eroporno (hmm, sounds Greek).

If an author writes of a world that is not experienced by many of us, then we are the character who gets to step in that world and the thrill of the arena pulls us forward. I get that from KillerMuffin's stories often.

Some of us may describe the difference as residing in the explicit character of the sex act descriptions. "They fucked." "They made love." The old X versus PG.

But I think that true erotica comes from how well the author can tease the reader's mind to open up and see what they want. Just enough action, description and motivation, but not too much.

 

[Carla Regon]

Porn versus Erotica

Though new here I would like to add my comments to this thread on whether its pornography or erotica.

Do I have tits or breasts?
Am I a whore if I insist on dinner and a show before I screw?
Am I a whore if I insist on cash money before I screw?
Is Norman Rockwell an illustrator or an artist?
If one man's freedom fighter is another man's terrorist then how do you tell a big prick from an endowed man?

In other words you can take all the philosophical balderdash and reduce the porn v. erotica debate down to two simple statements.

If I read it and think of bedding my spouce it's erotica.

If I read it and think of bedding my spouce's brothers, sisters, friends or all ten its pornography.

..... and that's it, fuck fans.

 

[alltherage]

Porn is a quickie. Not much meaning but sometimes satisfying.

Erotic is a meal. It lingers longer and leaves you feeling full.

Now that's a dumb answer! lmao

 

[Karlynn]

LOL.."They're spelt differently?" LOLOL..funny.

Anyway, to me, erotica has lovvvvvve, and romance and FEELINGS (iknow i know...mushy). Porn is just nasty and raw.

They're both equally fun!

karlynn

 

[Mickie]

Porn focuses with the bodies of the characters.

Erotica focuses on the minds of the characters.

Erotica tends to have a plot. Porn tends to have nothing but the sex and a half-assed reason to be having sex.

Porn authors tend not to care much about the mechanics of story telling, but they'll often ask about using other words for 'cock' and 'pussy'. Erotica authors don't need to ask for words because they don't have to name the parts in every sentence.

Mickie

 

[Sadici]

The Greeks have three words for love. We have two words for..."pornotica", was it? Catchy phrase, that. I think I'll start using it. Anyway, words are just symbols after all; what's interesting is not that there's a difference between porn and erotica, but that we choose to make a distinction.
That having been said...

Originally posted by Mickie
Erotica tends to have a plot. Porn tends to have nothing but the sex and a half-assed reason to be having sex.
Porn authors tend not to care much about the mechanics of story telling, but they'll often ask about using other words for 'cock' and 'pussy'. Erotica authors don't need to ask for words because they don't have to name the parts in every sentence.

Porn gets to the point. Erotica tends to be about sentiment and half-assed reasons why sex should be sentimental.
Erotica authors will often ask about using euphemisms for "cock" and "pussy" while porn authors don't need to ask because they say it like it is.

So there.

Okay, seriously though, I really did resent the comment about not caring about the mechanics of storytelling--I think that's just the difference between a good and bad story--not porn and erotica.

-Porn Author
(That was JUDO that coined "pornotica.")

 

[Couture]

Judging from these posts, I think the difference between the two is that erotica writers think they are better than porn writers. LOL!

 

[Mickie]

Just telling it from experience, Sadici. Porn tends (not is, just tends) to be written by people who really don't care about the writing, just the sex. It focuses on what goes where and who does what to whom. Well-written porn is written by people who know how to use the language of porn effectively. I haven't run across a lot of well-written porn, but I do run across it every once in a while.

Erotica tends to be written by authors who are more concerned about how to tell a story. Sex is just part of the story, and not the entire thing. Focusing on the story forces the author to concentrate on the story structure, instead of placing the setup for sex as a beginning, the in's and out's of sex as the middle, and the climax of sex at the end. If all you want to do is describe the sex act, then it becomes, not a story, but a scene, or a collection of scenes loosely related to each other.

As for erotica authors being better than porn authors -- Nope. Not better, just more focused on story-telling rather than scene description. I think there are a lot more people writing porn who merely dabble in the craft of writing than there are in the erotica genre. It gives the whole genre of porn a bad image of poor writing and even worse story structures.

My problem isn't with people who write or like porn, it's with the hobbyist writers who think that, because they've put something out there for people to read, no matter how good or bad it is, they claim it's good enough and nothing needs to be done to improve their writing, whether porn or erotica. They'll even go to bat for their 'story' and claim that they're being unfairly attacked if someone doesn't like it. There are fewer hobbyists attempting real erotica, but they're there, too. Most of them, though, give up on erotica and try to make it into a badly written romance with extra sexual zing.

Yes, I'm generalizing. It's a bad habit of mine. As usual, you can take my opinion to heart or you can toss it out with the trash. Doesn't make much difference to me.

Mickie

 

[Carla Regon]

After reading many of these posts I'm beginning to think that the argument sounds very much like the definition of Norman Rockwell. Was he an "artist" or an "illustrator?" The poor, downtrodden artiste thought he was nothing more than an illustrator, one step above draftsman. The successful, money making artist thought that Rockwell was an equal, because Rockwell was one of the most successful, i.e., money making, artists in the country.

By its very nature pornography is harder to write than erotica, especially if you want to sell it. Do you know how hard it is to turn out a script for a one hour porno flick. Limited budget, limited talent, limited resources, limited time but at least three major sex scenes all based on no serious character development nor setting of the scene. (First three minutes of film -- She's at home, looks out window, there's the pool man, fuck. Continue.)

Erotica, meanwhile can take pages to set the scene and develop the characters. Neither does the writer actually have to describe the totality of the sexual action. He can hint and describe the surroundings. (She unhooks her bodice, deep pants, he feels his animal urges developing.)

I often describe the difference between porn and erotica this way:

In porn when the lead "cums" he has an orgasim. In erotica when the lead "cums" it's a mispelling of an action move towards the wind swept seashore where a fantastic beauty, the daughter of the neighboring Lord, is awaiting the opportunity to walk on the sand with him.

OK, porn writers, come and get me.

Carla Regon

 

[susurrus]

Well, at this point, I'm not too concerned whether I'm writing porn *or* erotica (or vice versa). I'm just having fun, and hope other folks are, too.

I don't think it makes any difference if what you're writing is erotica or porn. Life's too short to fret over such things. Tell a story. It doesn't matter if your story is about a long leisurely tease, or a writhing, screaming tussle on the living room floor.

 

[susurrus]

To follow up on what I just said (and here's where I start to rant), there are plenty of good writers for both types of story, but there are just as many - if not more - really *bad* ones. I'm talking about the folks on some of the other sites out there on the web. I've stumbled across stories that might have been really hot, if it wasn't for the fact that the author had apparently flunked second grade spelling, never learned what a homophone is, had no idea how to capitalize, punctuate...

Sorry. Got a little carried away.

I think.

Part of what bugs me about some of those other writers is the reason Lit has the volunteers to help edit stuff (applause from the cheap seats). Stuff still gets by, but what the hell, we're all human.

(Maybe I should have put this over on the arrogance topic)


I don't consider myself perfect. Hell, I know better! I just know that it doesn't matter if it's erotica or porn if it isn't readable. Then it's just crap.

 

[Linda Gilham]

Difference.

they're exactly the same...but in erotica, after everyone's done their business in all manner of the other's parts...someone gets killed.

 

[mlyn]

I call what I write romantica

Now, that sounds silly and pretentious, I guess, but I'm not going to sit around and tell people I write great stuff. I doubt it will go down in history. but I don't tell people I write porn, altho sometimes I joke about it.

I don't think you can say porn uses cock and pussy, and erotica uses pulsing manhood and eager womanhood. I think porn is for one purpose, and that is to tittillate the reader. Erotica is written to arouse the reader but going through the mind to get there.

mlyn

 

[karmadog]

I think the main difference is that erotica must have a story. It doesn't have to be about love and emotion, it could be a story about an anonymous couple having sex in the bathroom of a bar. The important thing is that there will be a reason that they are in the bathroom. We will be curious about the characters in ways other than wondering where he is going to put his penis or whether she will swallow. The characters will be three dimensional.

In short, erotica will demand more of the reader than pornography.

 

[LustyLovers]

Porn vs erotica

Someone gets killed? Huh?? I'm afraid that comment really lost us. If you read the stories we have here, and we do feel that we are capable of writing both porn AND erotica (although we do like to have a good story BEHIND our porn!) we don't see any cases where we kill off a character after a good fuck (porn!) or lovemaking session (erotica!) . As a matter of fact, MOST of the erotica around here does not involve killing any characters off as a result of the sex.

I will warn you, however, that our newest story, "Cyber-Nightmare", is headed your way soon...... and that will blow our entire argument straight to hell!! It's a twisted combination of both erotica AND porn .....although not necessarily in that order!!

It's coming soon.....

Bob & Reb
LustyLovers

 

[VeraGem]

Sex and Violence?

The getting killed comment didn't lose me at all.

I've rented a lot of 'erotic' videos, and I'm almost always disappointed by them - there seems to be a propensity among erotic filmmakers for violence and death endings. It sucks, too - sitting there with a lover, watching some incredibly steamy sex and thinking about acting it out - when all of a sudden, here they come! Jealousy! Guns! Blood!

What's the message of this lame industry? Wild sex will get you killed? Or are they trying to legitimize the film in some way? Bizarre, I tell you, bizarre.

It's a terrible formula - someone needs to slap them and say "Stop it!"

 

[The Sex Master]

It's a question I seem to feel like asking every six months or so. What's porn? What's erotica? How can you tell the difference? Can it be porn to one person and erotica to another? Are there some works that are distinctly porn to nearly everyone or distinctly erotica to nearly everyone? Barring the fundamentalist right of any religion, what qualifies anyone to decide if it's porn or erotica? This is very subjective, I think. People decide for themselves whats pornographic and what's erotica, but what's the basis for that? When you judge something porn or erotica, how do you decide?

There is no assumption that porn is better or worse than erotica. Just different. The question is, what's the difference?

A damn good question!

In my opinion,Pornography would be SOMETHING of a sexual nature that would be revolting for me to see,or participate in whatsoever.

In my opinion,Erotica would be SOMETHING of a sexual nature that I would like to see,or participate in.

Necessarily,the line changes with each individual,*BUT*,ones perspective can be changed by programming,brainwashing,experience,etc.

The MOST important thing I think is to realise that there IS a line for ALL people,and who is justified to say,"Here is the *LINE*,do not move it up or down,and no matter what,dont cross it."

Oh,the rigors of a genius at work !~~~~~~~LMAO