09-21-2003, 04:07 PM
Hi,
There is a difference between erotica and porn.
Only in the eye of the beholder. Let's see what M-W has to say ( http://www.m-w.com/ )
pornography: the depiction of erotic behavior (as in pictures or writing) intended to cause sexual excitement.
erotica: literary or artistic works having an erotic theme or quality.
erotic: of, devoted to, or tending to arouse sexual love or desire <erotic art>.
So, both are some kind of work which aims for sexual arousal. The difference: you like one and don't like the other. Gays kissing might be "pornography" to the homophobe and "erotica" to the homosexual. How much you put on which side of the line is more a reflection on how much society has twisted your mind about matters sexual than it is about the actual content.
There is NO difference. The "I know it when I see it" criterion is nothing more than formalized prejudice. And as to having "no socially redeeming value", hell that makes 99.9% of TV and 90% of movies porn.
One of my main points throughout this tread was to test. Had I made the comments that I did and used the word "erotica" instead of porn, most would have agreed. Their mental image would have been of something that they found enjoyably titillating. By using the word "porn" I conjured up images of what they found repelling, even disgusting. Would the loungers, normally a very tolerant group, be able to "disagree with the opinion but fight to the death for the right of it being held?"
Some did.
--Pete
There is a difference between erotica and porn.
Only in the eye of the beholder. Let's see what M-W has to say ( http://www.m-w.com/ )
pornography: the depiction of erotic behavior (as in pictures or writing) intended to cause sexual excitement.
erotica: literary or artistic works having an erotic theme or quality.
erotic: of, devoted to, or tending to arouse sexual love or desire <erotic art>.
So, both are some kind of work which aims for sexual arousal. The difference: you like one and don't like the other. Gays kissing might be "pornography" to the homophobe and "erotica" to the homosexual. How much you put on which side of the line is more a reflection on how much society has twisted your mind about matters sexual than it is about the actual content.
There is NO difference. The "I know it when I see it" criterion is nothing more than formalized prejudice. And as to having "no socially redeeming value", hell that makes 99.9% of TV and 90% of movies porn.
One of my main points throughout this tread was to test. Had I made the comments that I did and used the word "erotica" instead of porn, most would have agreed. Their mental image would have been of something that they found enjoyably titillating. By using the word "porn" I conjured up images of what they found repelling, even disgusting. Would the loungers, normally a very tolerant group, be able to "disagree with the opinion but fight to the death for the right of it being held?"
Some did.
--Pete
How big was the aquarium in Noah's ark?