Erotic literature

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Erotic literature is a literary genre that either takes the form of erotica written to arouse the reader, or to give instruction in sexual technique. Much classic erotic literature is of novel length, although there are also erotic short stories. Some poetry has been classed as erotic.

Contents

[edit] Erotic fiction

Erotic fiction is the name given to fiction that deals with sex or sexual themes, generally in a more literary or serious way than the fiction seen in pornographic magazines and sometimes including elements of satire or social criticism. Such works have frequently been banned by the authorities.

[edit] History

Classic erotica from the Roman period includes the Satyricon of Petronius Arbiter (later made into a film by Fellini)

From the Medieval period we have the Decameron (1353) by Giovanni Boccaccio (made into a film by Pasolini) which features tales of lechery by monks and the seduction of nuns from convents. This book was banned in many countries. Even five centuries after publication copies were seized and destroyed by the authorities in the USA and the UK. For instance between 1954 and 1958 eight orders for destruction of the book were made by English magistrates[1].

The Decameron inspired many similar works of erotic fiction, such as the Heptameron of Marguerite de Navarre, first published in 1558.

The rise of the novel in 18th century England provided a new medium for erotica. One of the most famous in this new genre was Fanny Hill by John Cleland. This book set a new standard in literary smut and has often been adapted for the cinema in the 20th century.

French writers at this time also wrote erotica. One example is The Lifted Curtain or Laura's Education, about a young girl's sexual initiation by her father, written by the Comte de Mirabeau.

In the late 18th century the theme of sado-masochism was explored by the Marquis de Sade in such works as Justine, or the Misfortunes of Virtue. The Marquis de Sade's work was very influential on later erotica and he (together with the later writer Sacher-Masoch) lent his name to the sexual acts which he describes in his fiction.

In the Victorian period, the quality of erotic fiction was much below that of the previous century — it was written by 'hacks'. However, some contained borrowings from established literary models, such as Dickens. It also featured a curious form of social stratification. Even in the throes of orgasm, the social distinctions between master and servant (including form of address) were scrupulously observed. Significant elements of sado-masochism were present in some examples, perhaps reflecting the influence of the English public school. These works were often anonymous, and undated, and include such classics of the genre as:

In 1870 the erotic novella Venus in Furs by Austrian author Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, brought the attention of the world to phenomenon of masochism, named after the author.

Towards the end of the century, a more 'cultured' form of erotica began to appear by such as the poet Algernon Charles Swinburne who pursued thenes of paganism, lesbianism and sado-masochism in such works as Lesbia Brandon and in contributions to The Whippingham Papers edited by St George Stock, author of The Romance of Chastisement. This was associated with the Decadent movement, in particular, with Aubrey Beardsley and the Yellow Book. But it was also to be found in France, amongst such writers as Pierre Louys, author of Les chansons de Bilitis (1894) (a celebration of lesbianism and sexual awakening).

Twentieth century erotic fiction includes such classics of the genre as:

Lolita and The Story of O were published by Olympia Press, a Paris-based publisher, launched in 1953 by Maurice Girodias as a rebadged version of the Obelisk Press he inherited from his father Jack Kahane. It published a mix of erotic fiction and avant-garde literary works.

[edit] Contemporary erotic fiction

Romantic novels are sometimes marketed as erotica — or vice versa, as "mainstream" romance in recent years has begun to exhibit blatant (if poetic) descriptions of sex.

Erotic Romance is a relatively new genre of romance with an erotic theme and very explicit love scenes, but with a romance at the heart of the story.

Artist's books[2] explore relations between the literary, poetic, comic, and artistic representations of sex.

Erotic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy fiction and utilizes erotica in a fantasy setting. These stories can essentially cover any of the other subgenres of fantasy, such as high fantasy, contemporary fantasy, or even historical fantasy.

Erotic fantasy is often very similar to romantic fantasy, but is far more graphic and goes into much more detail when describing sex scenes.

Erotic fantasy can also be found in Fan Fiction. Erotic fan fiction focuses on using existing fantasy characters such as Galadriel or Éowyn from the Lord of the Rings novels and movies. Many recent works of erotic fan fiction use characters from the settings made popular by Dungeons & Dragons such as Dragonlance, and to a lesser extent Forgotten Realms. The nature of these erotic fantasy fiction varies widely, and include Slash fiction, and Elf porn.

[edit] Erotic Memoirs

Erotic memoirs include those of Casanova from the eighteenth century, 'Walter's My Secret Life from the nineteenth and Frank Harris's Life and Loves from the twentieth.

[edit] Sex Manuals

Sex manuals such as the Kama Sutra are some of the best known works of erotic literature. The Ananga Ranga is a lesser known one, aimed specifically at preventing the separation of a husband and wife.

Directories of prostitutes and their services have also historically served as a sexual education in print, such as Harris's List of Covent Garden Ladies (1757-1795).

From around the late 1970s, many sex manuals have been published and openly sold in the western world, notably The Joy of Sex. Sex manuals specifically written for sexual minorities are also now published.

[edit] Legal status

There is a substantial overlap between legal erotic literature and illegal pornography, with the distinction traditionally having been made in the English-speaking courts on the basis of perceived literary merit. This was particularly true of works aimed at men, which generally use explicit descriptions of sexual acts. Many banned books have been suppressed because they also contained erotic visual images, which has traditionally been easier to prosecute than text.

In the USA, the First Amendment gives protection to written fiction - although in one case, a man pled guilty and was convicted for writing unpublished stories (these were works of fiction concerning sexually abusing children) that were contained only in his personal and private journal. That conviction was later overturned on appeal.[3]

In the UK purely textual pornographic texts, with no hint of libel, have not been prosecuted since the Inside Linda Lovelace trial collapsed in 1976.

Importing books and texts across national borders can sometimes be subject to more stringent laws than in the nations concerned. Customs officers are often permitted to seize even merely 'indecent' works that would be perfectly legal to sell and possess once one is inside the nations concerned. Canada has been particularly notorious for such border seizures.

In some nations, even purely textual erotic literature is still deemed illegal and is also prosecuted.

[edit] Internet erotic fiction

The Internet and digital revolution in the history of erotic depictions, has blurred older forms of representing scenes of a sexual nature, although research indicates erotic literature was available among the poor and performed at public readings in 1700s Britain.[1]

Readers of erotic fiction in most of the world's liberal democracies are now able to indulge their fantasies in the comfort and privacy of their homes, without the social and legal restrictions of a pre-digital era. Online bookstores now legally carry a range of professional, commercial and non-commercial erotic writing.

The Web also serves as a hub for non-profit story distribution, offering readers the opportunity to become authors, writing anonymously and posting their own stories. Most online authors adopt a colorful pseudonym (and can develop cult fan followings within their genre), though a small number use (or claim to use) their real names. Among transgendered authors, it's common practice to adopt a feminine alter-ego, although it's not unheard of for a writer to use his own first name.

Over the years, many non-profit sites have limited themselves to a particular sub-genre (or fetish). Other websites have started and then vanished (or have never been updated or properly maintained). Similarly, many part-work stories have been started but then never progressed beyond "part 1". Just a few of the more widely known free sites that have endured over the years include:

  • The Erotic Woman.com, established in 2006, is home to a large and ever expanding archive of high quality examples of short, contemporary erotic fiction. Also included on the site are various galleries (erotica, hunks, sealed section), audio erotica, poetry, articles, columns, reviews, horoscope and much more. A sensually designed and free site without excessive advertising or security risks, The Erotic Woman.com is one of the most complete erotica-based sites online.
  • The Scarlet (magazine) website has a selection of erotic stories under the heading 'Cliterature'. [2] These stories have usually appeared in the magazine so they have been sub-edited and are to a high standard.
  • The alt.sex.stories Text Repository, or ASSTR, began as a small FTP site in 1996 for tabulating and hosting the output of A.S.S.'s members. It has since expanded into a free hosting site, similar to GeoCities or Angelfire but specializing in erotica. It now hosts the erotic literature of nearly two thousand authors, including some of the biggest and most well-loved in the field.
  • Storiesonline.net: A large archive, founded in early 1998 by its owner Lazeez as a personal hobby site. Its evolution over the years turned it into a general submission site and an easy-to-use alternative to ASSTR with a sophisticated search engine. It accepts all types of submissions including science fiction, non-sexual stories and the ever present erotic stories.
  • The Nifty Erotic Stories Archive has archived homosexual/alternative-sexuality erotica since 1993 and permits non-published amateurs to submit, provided the story does not portray graphic violence, abusive situations, etc., but it does permit stories depicting sexual activities among minors and between minors and adults. As of 2007, "Nifty" archived more than 100,000 stories comprising 2.2GB.
  • Fictionmania, founded in late 1997, archives the works of any writers (amateur or professional), provided the story involves transgendered erotica. In 2002, Fictionmania averaged 161 new story submissions each month.
  • The advent of web 2.0 has led to new interactive sites like Lush Erotic Stories where users can submit, vote for, embellish, and comment on erotic stories.
  • Open-submissions sites such as Literotica, C-S-S-A, Sex Stories Sites, Sex Stories Post, Sex Stories Blog, Electronic Wilderness Publishing, BDSM Library,mindspired.com Erotic Stories, Sex Stories Links, and The Wolf Pub publish a wide variety of erotic literature. Literotica, in particular, is one of the most popular erotic text sites in existence, with nearly 25,000 registered authors (as of late 2005) contributing about 100,000 stories, poems, essays, illustrated stories and audio stories in a huge variety of categories. Electronic Wilderness Publishing , Or EWP for short, was the youngest of these sites until The Wolf Pub or just The Pub. EWP and The Pub was created by Net Wolf.
  • Erotic Stories at mindspired.com - The mindspired.com Project [Erotic Stories to stimulate your mind], provides free access to original erotic literature. The archive is moderated and provides unrestricted access to erotic stories [fiction/non-fiction/poetry] as well as writer's resources, discussion forums for members and a very open real-time chat room.
  • The Erotica Readers and Writers Association, established in 1996, is a moderated online archive of erotic fiction, poetry and non-fiction articles, as well as an association for writers of erotica. It also includes articles about authorship, author resources, calls for submissions, and publishing opportunities.
  • OystersandChocolate.com, co-owned and co-edited by Jordan LaRousse and Samantha Sade, is a sex-positive women's erotica site that features artwork, photography, columns, erotic product reviews, a readers' forum, and erotic fiction categorized as Vanilla (heterosexual couples), Licorice Whips (BDSM), Dirty Martini (voyeurism, fetish and other kinks), and All About the Oysters (lesbian tales). The site also accepts unsolicited writing and art submissions as well as hosts quarterly writing contests. Note that not all submissions are automatically accepted for publication at OystersandChocolate.com as it is not a repository site. Every submission will go through a rigorous evaluation process by the editors.
  • Samarelart.com, owned by world renowned digital erotic artist Samarel, is a free erotica site that features original artwork, adult stories and poetry, sex guide, and a weekly updated webzine.
  • Literotica.com A free site featuring member submitted content. For more information, see Literotica.

With the advent of podcasting and MP3s, it is possible that erotic literature will find new outlets in the form of an Internet-based market in downloadable audio books.

  • Sex Audio.com provides free erotic audio.
  • Hypnotic Dreams provides a collection of erotic hypnosis audio recordings for women.
  • RedWordSaid is a collection of downloadable erotic audio stories produced with sex soundscapes. (strictly commercial site, nothing is free.)
  • Elliquiy role playing - While there are sizable story sections, Elliquiy focuses on 'collabarative fiction' - ie sexual roleplaying via its forums and chat, and is the most active forum devoted to erotic roleplay on the Internet. Membership is by approval process only, though it is completely free.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ H. Mongomery Hyde (1964) A History of Pornography: 71-2
  2. ^ Science and the Artist's Book. Retrieved on 2006-10-05.
  3. ^ Ohio man convicted for "obscene" stories in his private journal. Retrieved on 2006-10-05.

[edit] Bibliography

  • Phyllis & Eberhard Kronhausen: Pornography and the Law, The Psychology of Erotic Realism and Pornography New York: Ballantine Books 1959
  • Phyllis & Eberhard Kronhausen: Erotic Fantasies, A Study of Sexual Imagination New York: Grove Press 1969
  • Encyclopedia of erotic literature, ed. by Gaëtan Brulotte; John Phillips, New York, NY [etc.]: Routledge, 2006
  • Susan Sontag (1969). The Pornographic Imagination in Styles of Radical Will. Picador. ISBN 0-312-42021-8. 
  • Patrick J. Kearney (1982), A history of Erotic Literature
  • Michael J. Weller (2005), "The Secret Blue Book", Home'Baked Books,[5], London.
  • Linda Williams, Hardcore: Power, Pleasure, and the 'Frenzy of the Visible', (University of California Press, 1999)