[LINK] why calm, rational thought is required....

[Karl Auer]

On Thu, 2007-02-15 at 08:09 +1100, Craig Sanders wrote:
> it's OK to have your own private definitions
> 
> $ dict erotica
> [...etc...]

Sure - and we've already seen other sources, including other online
dictionaries, define the two terms differently. If it were as simple as
that, we wouldn't be having this discussion.

This is wikipedia on pornography:

"Pornography [...], more informally referred to as porn or porno, is the
explicit representation of the human body or sexual activity with the
goal of sexual arousal. It is similar to, but distinct from erotica.

"In general, "erotica" refers to portrayals of sexually arousing
material that hold or aspire to artistic or historical merit, whereas
"pornography" often connotes the prurient depiction of sexual acts, with
little or no artistic value. The line between "erotica" and the term
"pornography" (which is frequently considered a pejorative term) is
often highly subjective. In practice, pornography can be defined merely
as erotica that certain people perceive as "obscene." The definition of
what one considers obscene can differ between persons, cultures and
eras."

And this is wikipedia on erotica (with which I disagree on a few points,
including their use of the terms "proponent" and "opponent", and the
inclusion of commerciality as a defining element):

"Erotica (from the Greek language Eros - "love") — refers to works of
art, including literature, photography, film, sculpture and painting,
that deal substantively with erotically stimulating or arousing
descriptions. Erotica is a modern word used to describe the portrayal of
the human anatomy and sexuality with high-art aspirations,
differentiating such work from commercial pornography.

"The distinction between erotica and pornography is difficult to
identify, if not completely impossible. Proponents for erotic art argue
that such work is intended to arouse aesthetic rather than erotic
feelings, and is therefore not pornographic. Opponents see this as a
pretentious stand, as they believe that erotic art shares the same
purposes as pornography. Stephen Gilbert once remarked "The difference
between erotica and pornography is simple. Erotica is what I like.
Pornography is what you like, you pervert!" [citation needed] One common
joke is that "the only difference between art and pornography is a
government grant." Another is: "Erotica is when you use a feather.
Pornography is when you use the whole chicken."

"The issue of whether a distinction can be made between erotica and
pornography raises multiple complicated questions. These questions
include whether aesthetic and erotic feelings are mutually exclusive,
how the level of commercialism and tastefulness in an artwork can be
objectively measured, and at what point they make the work
pornographic."

Regards, K.

-- 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Karl Auer (kauer at biplane.com.au)                   +61-2-64957160 (h)
http://www.biplane.com.au/~kauer/                  +61-428-957160 (mob)