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Pornography or Erotica? On Art’s Function, Purpose, and Essence

March 18, 2024

art, criticism, experience, experiencing, love, philosophy, sexuality, society

The topic might sound unusual and, ironically enough, this too is part of the theme. Namely, we should be able to explore a topic as ubiquitous as human sexuality. The differentiation between pornography and erotica (erotic art, that is) is problematic. United States Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart notoriously said he couldn’t define it but he knew it when he saw it.

That isn’t good enough.

I want to define it and I want to understand it. I’ve had some discussions on the topic with my friend Igor, and I decided to take my side of the emails we exchanged, edit it for length and focus, and turn it into a post.

But here’s an important caveat: My main interest isn’t in defining pornography (or erotica). Rather, I want to create a more general theoretical framework that talks about the differences between art’s function, purpose, and essence. So while there will be a fairly in-depth discussion on pornography, erotica, and their differences, my ultimate focus will divert to art in general.

pornography vs erotica. Image of young woman — Erotica doesn’t even need to display nudity to be erotic. Though, funnily enough, even nudity *itself* can be a matter of definition (i.e. historical/cultural contexts). Is the woman of the photo nude (a little? a lot?) or not? Ask a twenty-year old secular, liberal person in present-day Helsinki and a Victorian prude like Christina Rossetti, and you’ll get very different answers!

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The Devil and Femininity: the Promethean Liberation of (Wo)man

January 16, 2023

Criticism, Philosophy

ambiguity, criticism, defiance, duality, feminism, humanity, Igor Livramento, philosophy, sexuality

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The title is a mouthful, I know. The Devil and Femininity might be the only two concepts that come across as clear. Ironically enough, that’s a problem. In this post, neither the Devil nor Femininity are what you think they are.

Though all this might sound overwhelming, the post is easy to follow. The reason? It’s based on an ongoing discussion I’m having with Igor da Silva Livramento, friend and fellow writer, academic, and creative-writing advisor. He’s also a composer, music theorist, and producer. You can find him on LinkedIn, and also take a look at his blog and his page on Bandcamp.

And so, in this discussion of ours, we’ve been talking about how the Devil and Femininity, when examined outside the usual conceptual chains imposed by sociocultural norms, allow us to see a different reality. A reality where the Femininity of the Devil holds the key to a better, more inclusive understanding of the human experience.

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How to Write Sex Scenes: Why It’s Hard and How to Do It

September 26, 2022

Fiction Writing Tips, Writing

creativity, descriptions, fiction, literature, sexuality, writing

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Yes, there are many puns to be made about sex, so I couldn’t resist one with the title – a low-hanging fruit, really. However, the truth is that sex scenes in fiction are a very serious thing. For reasons we’ll speculate about in this post, even experienced writers can make a total cock-up of sex scenes (uh-oh, another pun). More importantly, I’ll offer you some ideas on how to write sex scenes for your novel in a way that does justice to the narrative.

Here’s an early disclaimer: Sex in fiction is as diverse as sex in real life, with the added complexity genre brings into the picture. In other words, you would write sex scenes in romance fiction in an entirely different way compared to literary fiction. I’m certainly not an authority in the former; I can’t stand it.

Ultimately, as with every other writing-tips post I’ve written, this is a set of ideas. Some of them might be something you find useful, others less so. You are the authority on your work, so approach what you find here with the proper skepticism and use it to your benefit.

How to Write Sex Scenes — Sometimes, less is more. Just as this stock photo exemplifies, to write a sex scene that serves your narrative, you don’t have to always be explicit

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