How to tell the difference between porn and erotica

To tell the difference between porn or erotica, you’ve probably read stuff about blondes and brunettes, bedsheets, and other things equally hard to pin down.

There is a line between porn and erotica. Finding it, following it, and defining it is tricky. It seems that porn is in the eye of the beholder.

It is a discussion that connoisseurs of porn and erotica the world over will have. Since we’re a top porn site that has a strong line in erotica too, we’re going to explore the question, porn or erotica?

To get to the bottom of the question, we’re going to look at:

• How porn and erotica audiences differ
• Why people make erotica and porn
• Where money comes into the porn or erotica discussion

And finish up with some examples of the two.

Porn or Erotica: Who is it for?

The main difference between porn and erotica is who will consume and why.

Erotica is intended to stimulate your sexual urges psychologically whilst porn is there to help you get your rocks off. Erotica can and does give people something to masturbate to, but it’s not the whole purpose.

Think about lewd photographs compared to a two-minute clip of a woman masturbating. The photos give you an idea of sexiness but you’re forced to use your imagination to really understand them. In the video, you know she’s cumming and it’ll probably make you cum too.

People don’t always use erotica to be aroused. It can be about aesthetics and appreciating the physical form of a naked body or the idea of sex being represented. On the flip side, no one’s watching porn to appreciate the script and the cinematography.

To put this succinctly, erotica is for people who want to look at sexy things. Meanwhile, porn is for people who want to watch sexy things and have an orgasm.

Why do people make porn and erotica?

People make erotica to see beauty in sex; people make porn to watch others have sex.

Of course, porn can be visually really nice with lush sets, great lighting, good editing, and a script that’s not the cheesiest thing ever. At the end of the day, it’s a person or people fucking on film. It’s not sugar-coated – porn is sex that is made to make people want to have sex.

People make erotica to see something interesting. The artist, director, actors, or models aren’t there to make you want to have a quick wank; they want to feel an appreciation for what you’re seeing.

Creating pornography is all about finding a way to create a directly physical response. That could be an erection, getting wet, wanting to go have sex – that’s the start- and end-point of porn.

What does the law say?

It’s this point – the reason the film or photos or whatever are made – that really sets apart porn from erotica. The UK has some pretty funky laws about porn, but their definition is pretty straightforward:

“[porn is] of such a nature that it must reasonably be assumed to have been produced solely or principally for the purpose of sexual arousal“

In the states, there was that famous declaration by a judge in 1964 when trying to define porn said “I know it when I see it”. Quite.

The US finally settled on a legal definition of porn which again focuses on the reason it was made:

• Whether the average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest…
• Whether the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.

The other reason people make porn or erotica is to get paid – or not – so let’s look at how money defines the two.

Porn or erotica? Follow the money

When determining if something you’re watching, reading, or looking at is porn or erotica, the financial situation is a good indicator.

Erotica is art. Artists do make money, sometimes millions, but they’ll always tell you it’s not about the money, but the cash is a nice little off-shoot. How much you buy into that is up to you. It is, however, true that a lot of artists make little or no money off their erotic output, too.

Porn, meanwhile, is a multibillion-dollar industry. No one makes porn purely for fun. Yeah, it can be enjoyable, especially if you’re making content to sell on your own pages and doing what makes you feel good.

If the primary reason for filming sex or anything else kinky and sexual is to bring in bank, then it’s porn. If the primary reason is to make people think and respond and appreciate the forms they’re seeing, then it’s erotica.

Examples of porn or erotica

That’s the words and ideas about porn and erotica, let’s take a look at some examples to see what you reckon.

This piece of art by Goya is the first time in Western art we got to see a hairy pussy – although the lips are nicely tucked away. It’s from around 1800 and caused quite a stir, but do you reckon he wanted you to fap off to it?

 “The Dream of the Fisherman’s Wife” by Katsushika Hokusai is very clearly about the woman getting off with an octopus licking her pussy. Why not? The fact it’s by a famous Japanese artist keeps it on the artistic side of things.

This is just masturbation in pencil, right? It’s actually Gustav Klimt and honestly, we reckon this is probably porn. It’s hot, it’s sexy, and if it doesn’t provoke a sexual response, well… Maybe that’s just us.

Porn or erotica, what’s the difference?

The line between porn or erotica is a fine one. Generally speaking, the people who are making it, watching it, and profiting from it are how you can tell the two apart.

Neither is better than the other – porn is glorious at what it does!