My definition of porn, which I
By my definition, a great deal of Romance constitutes porn. Women (and men) read it for, among other things, the arousal of hot sex scenes. That doesn't mean it isn't also romantic, but I don't think romance and porn are necessarily exclusive. But some of the commenters on the Romance Junkies blog definitely feel otherwise, and would be insulted if the Romance they read or write, was called porn.
I'm not. I write erotica. If you want to call it porn, I don't mind. It definitely qualifies under my definition--it's arousing to read, and arousing to write. That's one of the reasons I write it. I enjoy that.
Part of the issue, I think, is that what many people think of as porn--purely mechanical show n' tell about the slippery friction of mucus membranes--is bad not because it's arousing, or even because it's explicit, but because it's bad writing. The focus of any good story is how it affects the characters, how they feel about the events they're experiencing. Even some letters to Penthouse and other magazines about the characters' sexual exploits are remarkably well written and give us a clear sense of the characters involved and their feelings about it all--it's definitely intended to arouse, but it's also well written. So it's porn, but not just porn.
Purely mechanical Tab-A-into-Slot-B porn lacks that component. Sometimes by design, but mostly because the writers either don't know any better, or don't care. But that's equally true in any genre. A lot of people have been turned off of science fiction, for instance, because the stories they read were all about the ideas and the characters lacked humanity. Lots of military fiction could just as easily be called "violence porn"--the characters engage in explicitly described violence with as little feeling or meaning as the characters engaging in meaningless but explicit sex in bad porn.
So, how do you define porn?
This is a very thought provoking subject Gail...I don't write erotica- because I don't seem to have the skill it takes to write it convincingly- as you so obviously do.
ReplyDeleteErotica- porn- adult fiction- all it really means is there is explicit sex scenes in the story, and there's a market for it. It's just another genre really.I agree just because a story has erotic themes- doesn't make it any less of a romance-
Other wise you could say a sweet romance was boring because it frowns upon sex scenes...but that doesn't make it any less of a romance just because it limits it's sex scenes does it.It's just another genre.
"Porn" is clearly a charged topic. Some folks would be insulted if their work was called porn, but as I wrote, I have no problem with that. I think it has to do with the connotations 'porn' has in some peoples' minds. If you think of it as a lesser form (or at least substantively different form) of fiction than romance, then having your romance referred to as porn would be considered insulting.
ReplyDeleteIf you see porn as simply erotic content in addition to romance or action, it isn't insulting, any more than having someone point out that your work includes graphic violence. True enough, and it doesn't necessarily mean the work doesn't have other value.
Great topic! At RWA I heard one of the writers (wish I could remember who) say she preferred the term "pornography" to "erotica" to describe her writing, because "erotica" seemed sort of prissy. But of course a lot people who write erotica would be offended by the porn label.
ReplyDeleteKathleen Sullivan, a law professor at Stanford, describes obscene material as that which both "turns you on and grosses you out." Personally, that's more like what I think of with pornography.
Mucus menbranes, eww. Hahaha.