Porn and Erotica, What are the Differences?
What exactly is the difference between porn and erotica you ask? Well, we all know that accessing porn is incredibly easy these days; we’re never more than a few key strokes and a click away from free tube sites with hundreds of thousands of porn videos ready for our enjoyment. Something that is almost just as accessible, but less advertised is the amount of free erotica across the web. So what if you’ve got some really specific scenarios in mind and or just wanted to use your imagination?
The difference between porn and erotica books online is completely different person to person. It’s way too simple to say that porn is visual; that it has to be videos or images of sex acts, while erotica is written, it’s non-visual, mentally stimulating – maybe perhaps less ‘vulgar.’ It’s difficult to keep the two completely separate categorically as there is a plethora of explicit, filthy, obscene writing out there. Maybe the difference is having these scenarios playing out in your private mind, as opposed to real people being paid to act them out? Personally, I’ve read some erotic writing that would be banned worldwide if it were to be made into a motion picture.
On that note, mainstream pornography which constitutes the bulk of porn available online is a business. It’s produced under a whole stack of regulations for professional conduct and health standards for actors. This includes union-esque industry rules, contracts, sets of working conditions and last but certainly not least – a whole chunk of money. Of course there is a soaring amateur market; people filming home movies with their phones and sites dedicated to free cams are everywhere. Basically any adult with a webcam can log on and easily begin to make money broadcasting themselves. Cam girls are a popular type of porn as they are live and visual. It’s erotic, sure, but is it erotica?
Erotica is defined as being literature or art dealing with the sexually stimulating or arousing. Interpreting the ‘art’ as meaning visual depictions, you could say that any type of sexual photo or video is erotica. Yet, putting it that way makes it a blanket term, slightly implying that there isn’t a difference between erotica and pornography – rather that erotica is a broad, sexual umbrella and porn falls under that umbrella. However, as we mentioned earlier that erotica is considered more literature than art. This might explain why few people think of porn as art, despite pornstars relabelling themselves as ‘adult actresses’. There are also a number of ‘artistic’ porn companies nowadays that implement soft lighting, less penetration close-ups and no one breaking a sweat or being called a dirty whore. This is also the kind of stuff aimed at women because supposedly, women want to see arty, gentle sex. So why not just read erotica?
Erotica is not big-budget, it’s not everything-ends-with-a-climax, and the story line or premise of the writing is usually instrumental to its eroticism. Sounds more mature, doesn’t it? I vividly remember the Literotica app – which was sadly removed from app stores for a while, but has since returned. This free app holds over 250,000 adult stories and poems on every topic imaginable; from BDSM/bondage, cuckholding, anal, lesbians and voyeurism, to erotic horror, ghosts, aliens, mind control and of course – romance. Take any sexual concept, combine it with something completely strange and that story will be on Literotica.
The written erotica definitely takes more thought. Erotica takes more effort to sort through quality writing on your chosen topic, where as porn is usually quite upfront about quality and content. So tickle your brain for a change, read some sexy stories and let your imagination run wild. Feel the power of literature.
