I have to confess, erotica isn't one of my favourite genres. It mostly just doesn't interest me. That said, I know there's other people who feel the same way about erotica as I do about SF, comics and anime. And there's people who think the same thing about SF, comics and anime as you have described above. And I feel exactly the same way as you do.
Sorry this is a bit garbled, it's been a long day at work, and the fibro fog has been very bad all day.
Really, erotica has the same attraction as any of the fiction genres - we, as human beings, find humanity interesting. Sure, different people are drawn to different aspects of humanity...but a ripping good yarn is a ripping good yarn! Certainly, in any genre, you can find pieces that are more enlightening, more refined than a good yarn...and you can find pieces that are a knotted tangle of mixed fibers instead of a good yarn...but the impulse comes from the same place. We want to say something about humanity; we want to read something about humanity. Maybe something familiar; maybe something escapist; maybe something noble; maybe something repulsive. But it's all of interest because it speaks to our humanity.
It seems to me that the most common dream among adults is to be a writer. That says a great deal about what it is to be human.
I for one think it's more difficult to write decent erotica in many ways than to decently write other forms literature. When I was little, I was extremely sheltered. Now that I'm grown, I find I don't really have confidantes whose sexual experiences I can ask about or whose thoughts on sensuality and sexuality I can discuss. I feel it's important to know about all different preferences and I've found that reading this subject has helped me become a more open person who can honestly say "Your fetish is not my fetish, but it's okay
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Yes! Yes, this. I wouldn't say that erotica is "educational" in a "here's how this works" way or a "here's an example of good communication" way, but it's educational in the sense that it can teach us about ourselves, and it is an example of writing about sex that at least celebrates sex instead of relegating it to a biological function or something forbidden that nobody should ever know about.
I had to educate myself, and porn was instrumental in that. I got some bad ideas, but it was better than nothing, and it certainly didn't damage me. Sometimes I think that having someone around who can answer all your questions is not as important as someone who simply won't judge you just for asking.
I think that bad smut, whether it's written or visual, whether you call it porn or erotica, reinforces negative ideas we already have, which is not good. The good stuff challenges it, or gives you an alternate model. The bad stuff is more visible because there's more of it. I do see that changing, which is good. Those bad ideas are promoted in far more places than porn, and in far more kid-accessible places.
If you're pushing it underground, you're just creating an atmosphere where the worst elements will flourish, so publishing and creating x-rated material should be, as far as I am concerned, as unfettered as possible. If it involves actual humans, some form of monitoring should probably be happening, but the complexities of that are great enough that I personally can't say with any confidence what form that should take. (Requiring all porn made in the US to depict safer sex = porn companies moving to eastern Europe to shoot their porn, where it will be even more unsafe. That sort of thing.) It will take sympathetic people
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I may be an exception to the rule, but having access to erotica and online role playing and frank talk about sex delayed my being sexually active in a good way. I suppose you could think of it as letting off steam, though for me, the pressure was curiosity
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Sorry this is a bit garbled, it's been a long day at work, and the fibro fog has been very bad all day.
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It seems to me that the most common dream among adults is to be a writer. That says a great deal about what it is to be human.
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I had to educate myself, and porn was instrumental in that. I got some bad ideas, but it was better than nothing, and it certainly didn't damage me. Sometimes I think that having someone around who can answer all your questions is not as important as someone who simply won't judge you just for asking.
Reply
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If you're pushing it underground, you're just creating an atmosphere where the worst elements will flourish, so publishing and creating x-rated material should be, as far as I am concerned, as unfettered as possible. If it involves actual humans, some form of monitoring should probably be happening, but the complexities of that are great enough that I personally can't say with any confidence what form that should take. (Requiring all porn made in the US to depict safer sex = porn companies moving to eastern Europe to shoot their porn, where it will be even more unsafe. That sort of thing.) It will take sympathetic people ( ... )
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