Erotica 9301 226013644 2008-07-16T13:11:36Z Atomaton 1217613 [[WP:UNDO|Undid]] revision 225988560 by [[Special:Contributions/Madison Hayes|Madison Hayes]] ([[User talk:Madison Hayes|talk]]) [[Image:Agelou22.jpg|thumb|150px|''Fernande'' (1910-1917) by [[Jean Agélou]].]] {{Otheruses}} '''Erotica''' (from the [[Greek language|Greek]] ''[[Eros (love)|Eros]]'' - "desire") or "curiosa," works of art, including [[erotic literature|literature]], photography, film, sculpture and painting, that deal substantively with [[eroticism|erotically]] [[sexual stimulation|stimulating]] or [[sexual arousal|sexually arousing]] descriptions. ''Erotica'' is a modern word used to describe the [[representation (arts)|portrayal]] of the [[human anatomy]] and [[sexual activity|sexuality]] with high-art aspirations, differentiating such work from commercial [[pornography]].<ref>[http://uk.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761568395/Pornography.html Pornography - MSN Encarta<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> "Curiosa" is generally used to refer to erotica and pornography as discrete, collectible items, usually in published or printed form. Various sub-genres of erotica exist. As with fiction as a whole, there are erotic stories with a [[science fiction]], [[fantasy]], [[Horror fiction|horror]] or [[Romance novel|romance]] focus. Additionally, erotica can also focus on specific sexual behavior or [[fetish]]es such as [[BDSM]], wearing [[uniforms]], [[cross-dressing]], [[polygamy]] and [[sexual promiscuity]]. [[Fan fiction]] featuring characters engaging in male homosexual acts has become known as [[slash fiction]]. ==Erotica and pornography== [[Image:S&M Dungeon 9 by David Shankbone.jpg|thumb|[[Erotic photography]]: A [[Scene (BDSM)|scene]] at a [[BDSM dungeon]].]] [[Image:Francisco de Goya y Lucientes 011.jpg|thumb|''The Naked Maja'' (c. 1800-1803) by [[Francisco de Goya]].]] Distinction is often made between erotica and [[pornography]] (as well as the lesser known genre of sexual entertainment, [[ribaldry]]), although depending on the viewer they may seem one and the same. Pornography's objective is the graphic depiction of sexually explicit scenes.<ref name=MIT>[http://www-tech.mit.edu/V116/N65/erotica.65l.html Erotica is Not Pornography], William J. Gehrke, ''The Tech'', December 10, 1996</ref> Pornography is often described as exploitative or degrading.<ref name=MIT/><ref name=India>[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/815524.cms Don't confuse erotica with porn], Jug Suraiya, ''[[The Times of India]]'', August 15, 2004.</ref> Erotica, on the other hand, seeks to tell a story with sexual themes.<ref name=MIT/> It attempts to explore desire through mystery and intrigue.<ref name=India/> In December of 2007 one of the world's largest collections of pornography and erotica, the ''L'Enfer collection'' housed at the [[Bibliotheque Nationale]] in [[Paris, France]], was opened for the public.<ref name=Ind>[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/europe/sex-please-were-french-pariss-dirty-secret-761348.html Sex please! (we're French): Paris's dirty secret], John Lichfield, ''[[The Independent]]'', December 3, 2007.</ref> Marie-Franoise Quignard, one of the collection's curators, tried to distinguish between the different elements in the collection: <blockquote>"There is a photograph of an act of oral sex by the artist [[Man Ray]].... For some reason, I find that this goes just too far. Perhaps because it is a photograph and so real, while engravings or lithographs, give you a certain distance and idealisation. Man Ray confronts you point-blank here with something which should, perhaps, better remain intimate."<ref name=Ind/></blockquote> The [[Canadian Supreme Court]] wrestled with the line between pornography and erotica going back to 1962's case ''[[Brodie v. the Queen]]'', which involved [[D. H. Lawrence]]'s erotic classic ''[[Lady Chatterley's Lover]]''. In its decision on whether Lawrence's book was obscene, the court noted that it "has none of the characteristics that are often described in judgments dealing with obscenity --dirt for dirt's sake, the leer of the sensualist, depravity in the mind of an author with an obsession for dirt, pornography, an appeal to a prurient interest, etc."<ref name=NP>[http://www.nationalpost.com/loveandsex/story.html?id=296028 Today's porn in it for the big titillation], Joseph Brean, ''[[National Post]]'', February 11, 2008.</ref> In 1992, the Canadian high court changed its 'dirt for dirt's sake' test until it ruled in the case of [[sex shop]] operator [[R. v. Butler]] that a work is pornographic if it is "degrading and dehumanizing."<ref name=NP/> This remains the central test in Canadian courts. In [[Ukraine]], the national expert commission on public moral protection derived criteria on how to distinguish pornography from erotica.<ref name=Mig>[http://mignews.com.ua/en/articles/244656.html Order How to Distinguish Pornography from Erotica], Mignews.com.au, February 27, 2007.</ref> According to the order, pornography is a detailed image of [[coitus]] and naked genitals for sexual stimulation without any artistic or educating aims. For an image to be considered erotica, the number of images can not exceed 20 percent of the total, nor 50 percent of the whole of an image. Erotica is a portrayal “without open visualization of genital interaction”. Pornography, according to the national expert commission, is a portrayal of group and homosexual intercourse, scenes of sexual violence and/or sexual perversions.<ref name=Mig/> ==See also== *[[Adult theater]] *[[Erotic art]] *[[Erotic literature]] *[[Eroticism]] *[[History of erotic depictions]] *[[History of erotic photography]] *[[List of authors of erotic works]] ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== {{commonscat|Erotic}} * [http://www.glbtq.com/literature/erotica_pornography.html "Erotica and Pornography"] by Edmund Miller, ''glbtq: An Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Culture'' (website), New England Publishing Associates, 2002. * [http://www.aliceineroticland.it "Alice in EroticLand"] Erotica in Art and Photography * [http://www.pepekanavis.com.ar "Pepe Kanavis"] Erotic and Digital Art {{sex}} [[Category:Erotica]] [[Category:Human sexuality]] [[Category:Sex industry]] [[Category:Genres]] [[bg:Еротика]] [[ca:Erotisme]] [[cs:Erotika]] [[cy:Erotica]] [[da:Erotik]] [[de:Erotik]] [[et:Erootika]] [[es:Erotismo]] [[eo:Erotismo]] [[fr:Érotisme]] [[id:Erotisme]] [[ia:Erotica]] [[it:Erotismo]] [[he:ארוטיקה]] [[lt:Erotika]] [[nl:Erotiek]] [[ja:エロティカ]] [[no:Erotikk]] [[pl:Erotyka]] [[pt:Erotismo]] [[ro:Erotism]] [[ru:Эротика]] [[simple:Eroticism]] [[sr:Еротика]] [[fi:Erotiikka]] [[sv:Erotik]] [[tr:Erotizm]] [[fiu-vro:Erootiga]] [[zh:情色]]