The Trouble with Literary Erotica

In literature, “erotica” has been winning acceptance as a somewhat more respectable and, in a literary sense, more meritorious form of expression than pornography. Presumably, erotica portrays intimate physical relations with greater finesse and in a less degrading manner than pornography. Erotica, it is said, seeks to educate and gently stimulate, whereas pornography aims at instant gratification.

Reservations on the grounds of class

Eroticism can appear in any context. A horror novel, romance novel, or thriller may well contain erotic elements. If the author so chooses, there can be sexual encounters depicted in lesser or greater detail. The erotic element is not a predominant part of the story – it is an undercurrent, a sub-theme, or perhaps just a way to spice things up in a few places.

Once a writer starts writing erotica deliberately, he or she is targeting an audience looking for material about sexual matters – and that in a stimulating and possibly arousing fashion. With the Internet as the presumed main search mechanism, a search for “erotica” easily leads to pornographic sites, images, advertisements, and other x-rated content sources. So, the person who wants to be “erotically educated” or “erotically stimulated” by an erotic romance story or the like must learn to deliberately filter out all of the hardcore materials as well.

Such a human filtering mechanism just doesn't seem realistic. Hence, the erotica writer must realize that he or she will easily become intermingled with those who produce pornography.

Reservations on the grounds of marketing

Ideally, erotica writing is “purer” in the sense that very explicit sexual images and videos do not appear in them. It would seem that erotica publishers do a good job of keeping book covers etc. “naughty but nice,” in the sense that you will not see certain physical parts and activities depicted on them. Furthermore, some e-book publishers have disabled previews of erotica, which – as far as language – can be very sexually explicit and even profane.

In spite of these differences, it is a fact that publishers and marketers of erotica will harness the Internet to gain an audience, and in so doing they will invariably be competing for the same “digital real estate” as the pornographers. Some websites do not really try to distinguish between erotica and pornography, or they deliberately use “erotica” terminology to lure in people looking for erotic romance, erotic fantasy, or even softcore pornography. A few clicks of a mouse, and these visitors will be viewing titles that are clearly pornographic. Another click of the mouse – on an advertisement, for example – and the visitor will wind up on a pornographic website.

Literotica.com is apparently a market leader with respect to erotica stories posted online. The site does, however, also feature a pay-per-view adult streaming video service, which is plain pornography.

Closing remarks

There is an understandable, perceived need to be able to write sexually explicit stories under a separate pen name, or to even specialize in this kind of fiction. Writers of erotica may well be splendid writers in some cases. The field is crowded, and writing about intimate sexual details is not necessarily a shortcut to literary success at all. Some erotica writers may even have found sophisticated ways to keep their sites “clean” and avoid any direct association with pornography. But as far as their marketing, it may be difficult to avoid being seen as an integral part of the “adult entertainment industry” in one shape or fashion.