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28-524: Curiosa may refer to: Curiosa (erotica) , erotica and pornography as discrete, collectable items, usually in published or printed form Curiosa (film) , a 2019 French film directed by Lou Jeunet, with actress Amira Casar Curiosa Festival , a 2004 concert tour by the English rock band The Cure Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with

56-432: A heterosexual, lesbian and separatist point of view, respectively, seeing eroticism as both a political force and cultural critique for marginalized groups, or as Mario Vargas Llosa summarized: "Eroticism has its own moral justification because it says that pleasure is enough for me; it is a statement of the individual's sovereignty". Audre Lorde , a lesbian Caribbean-American writer and outspoken feminist , called

84-453: A more plausible depiction of human sexuality than in pornography. Additionally, works considered degrading or exploitative tend to be classified by those who see them as such, as "porn" rather than as "erotica" and consequently, pornography is often described as exploitative or degrading. Many countries have laws banning or at least regulating what is considered pornographic material, a situation that generally does not apply to erotica. For

112-694: A topic that is hotly debated. Pornography is often far less regulated than sex work and has fewer legal barriers to production, though it is still a morally controversial profession to some. In the United Kingdom, the Obscene Publications Act of 1857 made the selling of "obscene" materials a statutory offense. This act has been criticized heavily, not just in retrospect, but at the time of enacting. Topics of erotic media have been brought to U.S. state and federal courts for centuries. Some notable cases include People v. Freeman , in which

140-416: A transgression that dissolves the rational world but is always temporary, as well as that, "Desire in eroticism is the desire that triumphs over the taboo. It presupposes man in conflict with himself". For Bataille, as well as many French theorists, "Eroticism, unlike simple sexual activity, is a psychological quest...eroticism is assenting to life even in death". Queer theory and LGBTQ studies consider

168-415: A woman and as an artist was foundational for modern-day feminist erotic media. A distinction is often made between erotica and pornography , although some viewers may not distinguish between them. A key distinction, some have argued, is that pornography's objective is the graphic depiction of sexually explicit scenes. At the same time, erotica "seeks to tell a story that involves sexual themes" that include

196-416: Is Playboy , a men's magazine founded in the 1950s that helped to shape the modern Western perception on sex and sexuality in the media. Pornographic magazines could also include boudoir photography or pin-up models , though pin-up models are not definitively sexual by nature. Erotic film has evolved greatly with modern filmmaking capabilities, including developing a large subgenre of cartoon pornography ,

224-555: Is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire , sensuality, and romantic love . That quality may be found in any form of artwork , including painting , sculpture , photography , drama , film , music , or literature . It may also be found in advertising . The term may also refer to a state of sexual arousal or anticipation of such – an insistent sexual impulse , desire , or pattern of thoughts. As French novelist Honoré de Balzac stated, eroticism

252-515: Is applied to everything with a connection to the love of the sexes; one employs it particularly to characterize...a dissoluteness, an excess". Libertine literature such as those by John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester evoked eroticism to the readers. Because eroticism is wholly dependent on the viewer's culture and personal tastes pertaining to what, exactly, defines the erotic, critics have often confused eroticism with pornography , with anti-pornography activist Andrea Dworkin saying, "Erotica

280-461: Is dependent not just upon an individual's sexual morality , but also the culture and time in which an individual resides. Because the nature of what is erotic is fluid, early definitions of the term attempted to conceive eroticism as some form of sensual or romantic love or as the human sex drive ( libido ); for example, the Encyclopédie of 1755 states that the erotic "is an epithet which

308-466: Is derived from the feminine form of the ancient Greek adjective: ἐρωτικός ( erōtikós ), from ἔρως ( érōs )—words used to indicate lust , and sexual love . Curiosa are curiosities or rarities, especially unusual or erotic books. In the antiquarian book trade, pornographic works are often listed under "curiosa", "erotica" or " facetiae ". Erotica exists in many different forms, both modern and ancient. Erotic art dates back to

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336-426: Is from pain." Steinem's argument hinges on the distinction between reciprocity versus domination, as she writes: "Blatant or subtle, pornography involves no equal power or mutuality. In fact, much of the tension and drama comes from the clear idea that one person is dominating the other." Eroticism Eroticism (from Ancient Greek ἔρως ( érōs )  'love, desire' and -ism )

364-414: Is often taboo in modern culture, especially in media. Censorship is an issue often faced by creators of erotic work, be it art, film, or literature. The legality of creating and publishing erotic works differs in different parts of the word, but it is not uncommon to see heavy regulations placed on the publication of erotic or pornographic media. The legality of cartoon pornography or animated erotic films

392-452: Is one of the most controversial aspects of erotic censorship. This is because of the gray area surrounding the portrayal of animated, fictional minors engaging in erotic or sexual acts. The legality of pornography with non-animated individuals is only slightly more definitive. Legal and moral issues regarding pornography and erotica can tie into arguments regarding the legalization or decriminalization of prostitution and sex work at large,

420-479: Is simply high-class pornography; better produced, better conceived, better executed, better packaged, designed for a better class of consumer." This confusion, as Lynn Hunt writes, "demonstrate[s] the difficulty of drawing... a clear generic demarcation between the erotic and the pornographic": "the history of the separation of pornography from eroticism... remains to be written". Audre Lorde recognises eroticism and pornography as “two diametrically opposed uses of

448-676: The Paleolithic times, with cave paintings and carvings of female genitalia being a point of immense interest to prehistorians. Ancient Greek and Roman art depicted erotic acts or figures, often using phallic or erotic imagery to convey ideas of fertility. Modern depictions of erotic art are often intertwined with erotic photography , including boudoir photography , and erotic film . Discussions of modern erotic art are also often merged with discussions on pornography . More specifically, erotic photography found its mass-market roots in pornographic magazines . The most iconic of these magazines

476-424: The anti-pornography activist Andrea Dworkin , "Erotica is simply high-class pornography; better produced, better conceived, better executed, better packaged, designed for a better class of consumer." Feminist writer Gloria Steinem distinguishes erotica from pornography, writing: "Erotica is as different from pornography as love is from rape, as dignity is from humiliation, as partnership is from slavery, as pleasure

504-419: The concept from a non-heterosexual perspective, viewing psychoanalytical and modernist views of eroticism as both archaic and heterosexist , written primarily by and for a "handful of elite, heterosexual, bourgeois men" who "mistook their own repressed sexual proclivities" as the norm. Theorists like Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick , Gayle S. Rubin and Marilyn Frye all write extensively about eroticism from

532-468: The eighteenth century, dictionaries defined the erotic as that which concerned love...eroticism was the intrusion into the public sphere of something that was at base private". This theme of intrusion or transgression was taken up in the twentieth century by the French philosopher Georges Bataille , who argued that eroticism performs a function of dissolving boundaries between human subjectivity and humanity,

560-578: The erotic a source of power specifically identified with the female, often corrupted or distorted by oppression, since it poses the challenge of change. "For women, this has meant a suppression of the erotic as a considered source of power and information within our lives". In "The Uses of the Erotic" within Sister Outsider , she discusses how the erotic comes from the sharing of joy, "whether physical, emotional, psychic, or intellectual" and provides

588-468: The idea of the nude female figure from an object of sexual pleasure to a symbol for a woman's sexual liberation. Martha Edelheit was a pioneer of modern women's erotica, flipping the genre on its head by focusing her art on the nude male figure. It was not unusual for a man to be seen as an object of sexual desire in erotic media, but these portrayals were often found in gay pornography , and were often created or published by another man. Edelheit's work as

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616-421: The mid-twentieth century. In the 20th century, a cadre of female artists, authors, and other creatives began to create a new kind of erotica. Women's erotica exists to cater for the sexual gratification of women consuming erotic material. Feminist erotic media often centers female pleasure instead of catering to the male gaze . Feminist erotic art had a boom in the mid-20th century, most iconically transforming

644-540: The most popular form of which is Japanese hentai . Erotic film is the form of erotica most often seen as interchangeable with pornography due to their similarities in form and function. Erotic literature also dates back to ancient times, though not quite as far. Arguably the most iconic erotic piece of literature, the Kama Sutra is a Sanskrit text largely describing and depicting ideas of sex, sexuality, love, and human emotion. Eroticism in ancient Greece and Rome

672-629: The sexual”, defining the erotic as “a measure between the beginnings of our sense of self and the chaos of our strongest feelings.” In her 1978 essay, Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power , Lorde identifies the erotic as a source of creative power that is deeply rooted in a spiritual plane of unrecognised or unexpressed feeling and sensation. Influenced by Sigmund Freud , psychotherapists have turned to Greek philosophy for an understanding of eros' heightened aesthetic . For Plato , Eros takes an almost transcendent manifestation when

700-451: The state of California upheld that hiring actors to engage in sexual activity for the sake of creating erotic films was not considered pornography, and Miller v. California , in which the idea of erotic work providing serious artistic or literary value was introduced to the legal sphere. A majority of erotica centers women as the object of sexual desire, demonstrated in the sharp rise of popularity of pornographic magazines centering women in

728-484: The subject seeks to go beyond itself and form a communion with the object/other: "the true order of going...to the things of love, is to use the beauties of earth as steps...to all fair forms, and from fair forms to fair actions, and from fair actions to fair notions, until from fair notions he arrives at the notion of absolute beauty". Modern French conceptions of eroticism can be traced to the Age of Enlightenment , when "in

756-468: The title Curiosa . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Curiosa&oldid=1108147503 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Curiosa (erotica) The term erotica

784-594: Was not contained to only visual art, as poets such as the Greek Sappho and the Roman Catullus and Ovid wrote erotic verse and lyrical poems. Modern erotic literature, often called 'smut', is quite popular, especially among women. In the 21st century, fan fiction erotica has gained popularity. Stories on online websites like Archive of Our Own and FanFiction.Net account for a large percentage of modern erotic fan fiction literature. The topic of sex

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