The beholder - Erotica and pornography

Extract

[...] Pornography is not about what you think, it's about what you see and what you can derive from that. Its ingenuity is in its simplicity. Erotica is sensual and pornography is lecherous. One is about fulfilling deep desires and the other is about immediate gratification. While similar in meaning, they are different in practice. Both are popular in our culture and even though one is more highly regarded in society, one is not better than the other. A person tastes lie in the eye of the beholder, just like art. [...]

[...] The Beholder Erotica and pornography are terms that are often used interchangeably. Their definitions are certainly similar; they are both materials which depict erotic behavior and are meant to cause sexual excitement. However, while they're defined as similar, the way they carry out these definitions are different. Erotica and pornography may be synonymous, but how artful they are determines how they are different. Unlike pornography, erotica is regarded as an art form. To know why this makes them so different, we first have to know what it means for something to be “art”. [...]

[...] It is about relishing the experience of sex and all the intricacies of it. It is meant to not just sexually excite, but to conjure a deeper satisfaction in the percipient that fulfills them on not just a surface level, but also an emotional, spiritual, and intellectual one. Pornography is a genre which is all about fulfilling needs on a surface level. The disparity between erotica and pornography can be seen in how greatly lacking pornography is when it comes to quality. The sexuality it depicts is of a graphic and carnal nature. [...]