Fading Line between Erotica & Pornography

Written by Tara Tainton

Friday, 01 July 2005 23:00

The line is drawn and we may never be able to erase it, but at least for those who truly enjoy the art of eroticism, perhaps the point at which erotica becomes pornography is growing further away. Is there really a difference between the two? It's really all in the eyes of the beholder.

erotic art survey

The two terms mean the same: art or literature intended to arouse sexual desire. And sometimes, they're used interchangeably. Still, most (or at least, the vocal majority) love to throw the terms around, deciding between right and wrong, good and bad, and what's erotica vs. what is pornography. To many, they're not the same. Often, one is deemed quality art created by an artist with a true soul and the intention to connect us together as humans while the other is determined to be utter crap requiring no talent or skill to create by an artist that merely wants to make money, spread his evil ideas, corrupt the world, or separated us as human beings. After all, the US adult web world is now under more pressure due to 18 USC 2257: a child pornography regulation, not a child erotica regulation.

It seems that even in the erotica industry, among writers of the genre, everyone's quick to label what is quality and what is not, what it is that they themselves write as opposed to what those others write. They say it's good to be published in some slick erotica anthology sitting on a shelf in a mainstream bookstore, but less of a recognition of your ability if your story is printed in Penthouse magazine that could be sitting on a shelf in that very same bookstore.

art erotic nude

You know my opinion; it's included in "The Tiff: Erotica vs. Porn." I love a good debate, some intelligent discussion, something to make me question or confirm my own beliefs. So, I loved seeing the poll currently sitting on the homepage of Art of Erotica (a wonderful directory to all forms of erotic art, by the way). It asks their visitors to point out where they draw the line between art and pornography. I didn't find an option stating "I refuse to draw lines!" So I had to settle for "Anything goes as long as its 'intended' as art," which I always find humorous because that still leaves folks labeling away, as if they could actually determine an artist's own intention. And I suppose that as the artist myself, I could easily claim, "Oh, I wrote that story for Ho Bag magazine but I intended it as art, so it's 100% pure erotica and nothing close to porn."

fetish art ass

Well, how are the other visitors to Art of Erotica responding to the poll? They're likely a bunch of artists themselves or at least greatly enjoy visual and literary erotica, and as it turns out, they think a lot like me:

art pornography graph

So, it appears that the majority at this site can find the eroticism and artistic value of even forms of degradation. To them, anything an artist creates must be art. And that, makes me feel a little better about the generally conservative world we live in....well, as long as the degraded ones clearly issued their consent.