Is a hot sex short story classified as Erotica or Pornography?

1. 79

   NewHorizonsposted 12 years ago

   Is a hot sex short story classified as Erotica or Pornography?
   
   What about the sins that a writer of such steamy stories tempt people to make?  Isn't that something to consider before putting pen to paper?

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2. 75

   kittythedreamerposted 12 years ago

   It really depends on the content of the "hot sex short story". If it is using blatant words and not metaphors, etc. it is probably considered pornography. If it uses inuendos and is a little more tasteful, it is considered erotica. I don't think that erotica or pornography is bad...if the person is tempted to go out and cheat just because they read a book, then that is their problem and not the writer's fault.

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3. 76

   jenniferrpoveyposted 12 years ago

   There are several ways the difference is defined. Some people pretty much say if its any good, its erotica.
   
   One definition I like, from an erotica writer I know: Erotica is not about the motions, its about the Emotions.
   
   That is to say, erotica is about the relationship between the people, centered on the sex. Pornography is JUST about the sex.
   
   As for tempting people into sin. If somebody is the type to cheat or sleep around, then they don't need pornography to give them the idea. On the other hand, many couples use erotica or pornography to get themselves in the mood or to get ideas to spice up their sex life. I also know people who use erotica to help them deal with being in a long term relationship with a disabled person who is not up to sex often...or at all. In that case, erotica can help *keep* somebody from cheating.

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4. 62

   MatthewLeo1701posted 12 years ago

   I agree with the others in that a steamy story is considered to be held under the blanket term erotica. Honestly "erotica" can be used to refer to any media that very descriptively focuses on sex, nudity, as their primary focus. Pornography is a more selective term that focuses primarily on the visual aspects of sexual media such as in magazines or in video.
   
   Depending on what type of context you wish to bring your meaning to light should govern your choice on how you wish to categorize it. The term "erotica" has a more mild and positive sounding context when used in conversational labeling, while pornography has the stigma as something to be avoided and ashamed of by society's label.
   
   As far as writing steamy stories, consider your storyline to be the meat of your prose, not the actual sexual motions. It is more titillating to build the suspense of bringing your characters together for the sexual act, rather than filling the story primarily with sexual acts.
   
   We are all responsible for our own actions, regardless by what environmental stimuli we have been exposed to. Remember the old roleplaying argument, where young teen boys committed murder and blamed it on Dungeons & Dragons. Now the world is filled with roleplayers, and 100% of them are not murderers. Write your story with conviction to tell a good story and do not worry about what they choose to do with it. They will read what they choose to, and do what they choose to, and they will have to accept or pay for whatever consequences they reap.

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   1. 67

      TheScarletPlagueposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      wrong button!

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5. 65

   Viva Jonesposted 11 years ago

   As someone who writes erotic fiction I've asked myself this question a few times.  I really like jenniferrpovey's response - that it's about the emotions, rather than the motions of sex.  That sums it up really well, a story just doesn't work if it's about people getting together for sex without any  background, character portrayal, set-up, hopes, desires, etc etc.  Darn it, I wish I'd thought of that!

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6. 67

   TheScarletPlagueposted 10 years ago

   The difference between erotica and pornography is simple: porn is on the screen through a visual medium and erotica is the written word.
   
   The difference between them is no different than that difference between movies and books. Books are more personal because the story exists between the words on the page and the reader's mind-- allowing for self-insertion and private interpretation, where movies are images already imagined for you and you're just observing the event. Lots of people are commenting that erotica is more emotional, but I that's not true. Porn can be emotional, and erotica can be raunchy as hell. Also "emotional" is relative because that boils down to how a reader or viewer interprets what s/he sees. You're mixing up the word "emotional" with the personal experience of reading I described above.
   
   So, to answer your question: a hot sex short story is erotica, because it uses words to titillate and audience, not visuals.

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