Porn vs. Erotica

[CunningLinguist]

What are your thoughts on porn? Hardcore and softcore?

Is there certain things you find distasteful, things that bother you?

Should it be banned?

What about erotica? (Obviously, most people here wouldn't have a problem)

The reason I ask is because I see a lot of threads on other boards where men who watch pornography are called dirt perverts and the general advice to dump/divorce any man who watches pornography. But at the same time "erotica" is vehemently defended as it stimulates the mind, doesn't give a false Hollywood image of beauty, or just plain hypocrisy.

So yeah. Just trying to get some debate going or not.

:devil:

[Oldfart]

Each has it's moment.

It's one of those things like eccentricity. The line between charmingly odd and barking mad is individually drawn, just as the line where erotica stops and porn starts. "I don't know if it's art but she has big tits."

There is a bronze statue of a naked, barely pubescent girl sitting in a chair in an outdoor gallery in Washington DC. Art or a training aid for paedophiles?

The lines are not absolute, but all nestling in your head.

[Lilith]

One person's erotica is another's porn. Smutt is in the eye of the beholder.

[scotzoidman]

Smutt is in the eye of the beholder.
Sorry, I think I have something in my eye...

[Casperr]

It's a question of definition. I consider 'pornography' to be material that is designed to be offensive. So I consider things like rape videos, snuff films and Days of Our Lives to be pornography.

Problem with that definition, of course, is who's to say what the intended effect of the material is, and who takes offense?

[gekkogecko]

Well, the difference between "pronography" and "erotica", and what is "offensive" always comes down to the principle of:

There's nothing wrong with mind control and censorship, as long as they're *my* brands of mind control and censorship.

[Jax]

In my opinion...Erotica is considered more acceptable than Porn. It implies soft core or something designed to be stimulating in a healthy way. Whereas "Porn" has come to mean Explicit, XXX, hardcore etc..

That being said, I subscribe to the Different Strokes for Different Folks theory and am okay with whatever (provided the subject matter is not to weird or creepy etc).

[VeryLonelyMan]

Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't. Sometimes you feel like some stimulation, and sometimes you just wanna watch a dirty movie. At least that is my thoughts.

[lakritze]

Just about anything that bring sexuality to the public's collective mind these days is considered "pornographic" by someone or another. There are already laws in place to deal with that which is unacceptable to all of us,like child porn or a "snuff" film. For anyone wishing to ban pornography, should stop and consider what they are asking for. Erotica on the other hand,is something I'm trying to get involved in writting.

[Loulabelle]

I don't think there are many people out there who think that men who enjoy porn are 'perverts' and therefore bad husbands, but men who become so preoccupied with it that they spend their whole day looking at it, ignoring their wives and kids to surf the net continually etc do have a problem that will probably only get addressed when their wives threaten to leave.

I don't really see that there's a difference between porn and erotica. I think the two words simply represent the speaker's attitude towards what they are looking at. I'm sure there are paedophiles out there who would call something as offensive and wrong as child porn, 'erotica' as the word serves the purpose of somehow making it seem less graphic.

The same could be said for 'making love' versus 'fucking'. It's the same thing, but people have different perceptions of one from the other, which depends, even on the context of the act. If I were to talk about the conception of our son to someone who wasn't there, I'd use the words 'making love' but I remember distinctly at the time that I was urging Fussy to 'fuck me'.

[Oldfart]

Lou,

There is a statue in the window of a shop here of a slim girl in a 1920's flapper outfit which sits just so. You know that if you were faced with that girl "in the life" you'd just have to reach out and fondle.

That's erotica, not porn.

[Loulabelle]

But if she's showing her ankles, then that would have been porn to a Victorian and may still be considered porn to the orthodox Muslim community. As I said before, it depends on your attitude to what you're seeing, and often says more about the viewer than what is being viewed.

[Oldfart]

Sheep pre or post shearing?

Is a train entering a tunnel pornographic?

[scotzoidman]

Is a train entering a tunnel pornographic?

Not so much, but it does remind me of a girl I once knew...

[CunningLinguist]

I don't think there are many people out there who think that men who enjoy porn are 'perverts' and therefore bad husbands, but men who become so preoccupied with it that they spend their whole day looking at it, ignoring their wives and kids to surf the net continually etc do have a problem that will probably only get addressed when their wives threaten to leave.

Well, I spend most of my time posting on a religion/spirituality board and in there Sexual Ethics forum this topic comes up quite a bit usually in the forum of a young wife seeking advice because she just found out her husband (gasp) masturbates, and (gasp) isn't thinking of her!

And I see quite a few where she is pretty much ready to walk out the door on a 20 year marriage because of this, and these women do get some support. (Note: I'm not saying the gender roles couldn't be reversed of course, but men do typically look at porn.)

My general rule of thumb is that unless it is something illegal or completely degrading there is nothing to worry about. However, try to see if you can make watching dirty movies together and spice up your love life (does this actually work? I'd like to say I learned what and where the clitoris is from lesbian porn, but come on.)

Also, often the problem is not the actual viewing of pornography, but the lying about it.

I don't really see that there's a difference between porn and erotica. I think the two words simply represent the speaker's attitude towards what they are looking at. I'm sure there are paedophiles out there who would call something as offensive and wrong as child porn, 'erotica' as the word serves the purpose of somehow making it seem less graphic.

Well, one of the anti-pornography crusaders I've met also writes erotica, and is working on a novel about a Contractor who does a little more than just fix the single mother's backdoor if you know what I mean. Anyways, this person is also having problems in her marriage becuase she found out her husband watches those Girls Gone Wild videos.

The same could be said for 'making love' versus 'fucking'. It's the same thing, but people have different perceptions of one from the other, which depends, even on the context of the act. If I were to talk about the conception of our son to someone who wasn't there, I'd use the words 'making love' but I remember distinctly at the time that I was urging Fussy to 'fuck me'.

My ex girlfriend said "make love" instead of "fuck me" only once, and that was only because she felt guilty about having sex outside of marriage. :-(

Oh and certain positions are always fucking. There is no making love in doggy style or reverse cow girl.

[Oldfart]

Just as an aside, I find that a lot of modern plastic formula porn is not at all erotic.

[CunningLinguist]

Just as an aside, I find that a lot of modern plastic formula porn is not at all erotic.

I think they are supposed to be comedy. Yeah it's comedy.

[scotzoidman]

Tomato, to-mah-to...

[SaintGeOrgie]

Be careful about using words like that while we have someone in office that was trying to RE-WRITE the Constitutioin of the United States in order to take away our Civil Rights. We live in a country that Used to be FREE, but little by little you see the Federal Government chipping away our rights. These are the same rights that people in other countries wish they could have.

The Freedom of Speach, Freedom of Press, Freedom of Relegion, Freedom to bear arms, Freedom to peacefuly DISSAGREE with the leader of our country without loosing our lives. That is what our forefathers fought for. That is why we CELEBRATE the 4th of July. That is why our way of life is envied by so many millions of people worldwide.

Once you start telling others what they can read, write, believe, and the way they exist; where would you stop? I'm sure that sometime in the future science will have the technology to have people THINK a certain way. Maybe used to rehabilate those in prison so they won't be inclined to behave like criminals. Hell we're giving our kids Retlin to get them to think and act more CALMLY already!

The stories that we have at this Web Site would get the authors killed in some countries. Take a look at the newspapers of our guys fighting over in Iraq. They were FORBIDDEN to take Playboy, Penthouse, Hustler, etc into the WAR ZONE because the civilians over there might find them and start THINKING for themselves and overthrow their own leaders. (Hmmm, that would mean that our guys wouldn't have to be there... lol)

Once you start talking about taking away MY Rights, the rights that the veterans of WWI, WWII, Korean War, Vietnam, Gulf War, and Bay of Pigs; sacrificed life and limb to preserve, is about the time you start packing your bags to move to one of those countries that WILL take away those rights. You will live in FEAR of those in office, because you wanted them to have the right to make you do anything that THEY want. You will feel like a slave to the state and probably will be.

If you are a female citizen of the United States of America where you can do just about anything you want. You have Power. You have a say as to what your government can and can't do. Look at how your sisters in the middle East are treated and live. They have to be covered in a sack to go shopping, no portion of their flesh to be exposed to the public eye. They don't know what how to read, do math, work in an office, because it was against the law for the females to go to school. They risk their lives for minor offenses. Their Father's, Uncle's, Grandfathers, arrange their marriage while they are still in diapers. If they dissagree with the arrangement when they get older and understand what has been done about their future, their Father or Brother has the RIGHT to Kill them to save the honor of the family.

You might want to think about these things when you use the word "Ban".

I don't like his publication much, but I am PROUD of all that LARRY FLYNT went through in order to DEFEND OUR FREEDOM OF THE PRESS. Just because you don't like something doesn't mean you have the RIGHT to BAN if for others. They wanted to take books from the libraries and burn them because they were disturbed of how the people in the stories interacted with those of another race. I thought it was redicules to destroy the works of such wonderful authors as Mark Twain, Sir Author Connon Doyle, Edgar Rice Burroghs, etc. Just sit back and relesh those Freedoms that you seem to take for granted. THINK of what your world would be like if those Freedoms were taken from you, how it would feel to be a second or even third class citizen if you are a FEMALE.

[WildIrish]

You'd be hard pressed to find someone that posts regularly to this site that would be in favor of banning porn.

[wyndhy]

^^less so to find someone that wouldn't mind being a slave. :D

welcome to pixies, st georgie.:wave: cunninglinquist was just trying to start a bit of discussion with his queries. i don't think it's fair to berate him so severely based on that, even assuming he actually wants to ban porn. the free country you wonderfully championed allows him to express those beliefs, methinks. (i actually don't know where cunninglinquist lives, he could be a hermit in the mountains of afghanistan for all i know. where the hell are you from cunningliquist, anyway? :D)

here’s what i think cunninglinguist - there’s a huge difference between porn and erotica, namely it’s in the connotation but that doesn’t negate the difference. i don’t think either should be banned or censored unless they depict actual criminal activity (i.e. kiddie stuff, real rape, etc) as opposed to just fantasy stuff. if i don’t like it, i don’t watch it, but far be it for me to take it away from anyone else. i’d judge the hell out of anyone who got off on a story about kiddie rape, or likes it when the of-age boy looks more like an 11 year old than an 18 year old, but i wouldn’t ban it.

[WildIrish]

^^less so to find someone that wouldn't mind being a slave. :D

You know all you have to do is ask. :p

[Oldfart]

"They were FORBIDDEN to take Playboy, Penthouse, Hustler, etc into the WAR ZONE because the civilians over there might find them and start THINKING for themselves and overthrow their own leaders. "

It has more to do with offending the sensibilities of your muslim allies, reinforcing the Taliban claim that America stands for everything Islam finds offensive.

[Mark Vieth]

What are your thoughts on porn? Hardcore and softcore?

Is there certain things you find distasteful, things that bother you?

Should it be banned?

What about erotica? (Obviously, most people here wouldn't have a problem)

The reason I ask is because I see a lot of threads on other boards where men who watch pornography are called dirt perverts and the general advice to dump/divorce any man who watches pornography. But at the same time "erotica" is vehemently defended as it stimulates the mind, doesn't give a false Hollywood image of beauty, or just plain hypocrisy.

So yeah. Just trying to get some debate going or not.

:devil:

Just thought I'd add my bit here.

Well it depends on the person, you see everyone is different and some countries ban porn for god knows what reason. Now if it is to protect underage kids or what not from sexual predators then that makes sense.

Because sex, sexuality, porn and any other related bits and pieces are always linked together it's a bit hard to determine what people like. Me personally I don't mind the good read of erotic fiction as it keeps the mind stimulated which usually leads to other things getting stimulated...... Seriously though some people hate porn other's won't admit that they like it because they think that people might judge them for liking it. I'll give you an example, my ex-wife didn't like watching porn, but yet when we did watch a porno she got really horny and wanted to get into it. At the time I said to her "I thought you said you didn't like porn and yet here you are getting wet and horny?" Of course I was like WTF??? But hey at the time it didn't bother me because it always ended up with us doing things.

To go one step further from this, some women don't like porn but love to read erotic fiction and some don't like to read erotic fiction because the stories can be long but would rather watch a porno. Then there are those who are so prim and proper that they don't do either and end up sexually frustrated or become nuns. :wobbly: :)

Now back in the crusade days, everything was a holy quest for one thing or another. Women and some men who engaged in other sexual activities were deemed heretics and burned. So they had religious fanatics then who thought that what they were doing was for the right of god.

If you take a look at the greeks and the eqyptians, they were more sexually advanced than the anglo saxons of the same time. So then how does the anglo saxon decide to deal with inadequacy? They hide behind the bible because it was "safe" and far easier to deem all other's who didn't agree to the bible as heretics.

So of course that stigma has been carried forward too today. Even though the church doesn't quite hold the water it once did during the crusades, it still has powerful influence. So what happens?...People are led to think that porn is sinful and the devils work and all the usual crap that gets thrown around.

Me, personally don't have an issue with erotica or porn as I stated before, but like most people there are certain "acts" that I don't get into. As a closing argument for this debate, I'll say this, perception is the key to how we see things. If we take sex the way it should be, for fun and because it feels good then that is all that matters. The various different mediums that it covers keeps it interesting. So enjoy!

[Loulabelle]

As far as I know, my leader is not trying to rewrite the constitution of the United States of America, and I never celebrate July 4th.

[wyndhy]

^^that's only cause blair isn't in office anymore. :D

[scotzoidman]

Easy, Lou...Georgie just got himself worked up in a bit of a lather, & either forgot or didn't take time to notice that everyone here is not a US citizen...

While my blood pressure can't take the blustering that Georgie does, anyone here in the US that isn't pissed off And frightened by the goings-on at 1600 Pennsylvania isn't really paying attention...

[citrus]

Porn - Erotica. Hmm
I love Pornography and Erotica. I think with so wide a variety of extreme for middle of road definitions, it would be nearly impossible to give a standard to define what is Erotic and what is Pornographic. Many exclaim umbrage at the mere mention of eros. Many are so decadent and depraved already, that there is no end to what they'll call ordinary. Regardless of its corruptness. or criminal content. I couldn't give you a good definition of one or the other. I can give you this that death and dismemberment is utterly nauseating and should be left out of pornographic definitions. As should depictions of violent sex be not included in Erotica. Youth also should be excluded from eros and porn.