Is Erotica your main genera?

Thanks for your imput, Dancing Maenid

DancingMaenid said:

I'm not bothered by the erotica/sex worker comparison. I don't feel like a stripper for writing erotica in general. But I have written stories purely for the purpose of turning somebody on. I've actually written a couple stories on commission because someone liked my writing and really wanted a story about a particular fantasy of theirs. That's obviously not like stripping or prostitution, but I do feel a bit like a sex worker when I do something like that. I feel like the only difference between that and something like being a phone sex operator is that I'm less personally involved. So I think it depends on the type of erotica and the context in which it's written.

I'm actually more bothered by the idea some people have that it's super easy to make money writing erotica, regardless of quality. If you make an effort, that's fine. But I think it does a disservice when it's not taken seriously at all.

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There is nothing at all shameful about doing something for the sole purpose of turning someone on.

kuwisdelu said:

There is nothing at all shameful about doing something for the sole purpose of turning someone on.

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Oh, I agree, totally. That's why I'm not really bothered by comparing erotica to sex work, unless the person doing the comparison means it to sound shameful. I suppose I'd say that "turning someone on" is almost always one of my goals in an abstract sense. But in an objective sense, I find it extremely difficult and trying to write something solely for the purpose of turning someone on who doesn't necessarily share my tastes. Hence why I don't really try to take advantage of popular niches unless they're what I want to write anyway, and why doing erotica by commission is not something I would make a regular habit of. It's not shameful, but it is tedious as hell for me.

So, after spending last night really confused, it occurred to me that somehow my comments were interpreted as "OMG! Don't compare me to a sex worker." Which is funny, because that's not what I said.

However, because of that, it seems my original point (and one that others have made) has been lost.

So. Let's say you (general you) meet Paul McCartney and you're like "Hey. I'm a musician too. But I only play gigs on the weekend and only to pay the rent until my real career takes off. I'll bet you feel the same way. I mean, music? That's not a real job, right?"

I think we can all see why that wouldn't go over very well.

Naturally, each of us has our own reasons for writing erotica (or any genre) but referring to it as a kind of side job while waiting for the "real" writing to take off is offensive to all the folks who consider erotica their "real" genre. It shows an attitude that considers erotica to be somehow less valid and that's disrespectful.

I'm also pretty certain that Charlee didn't mean to be talking down to the erotica authors who aren't just writing on the side while they wait to sell their novel in some other genre. But, if you (general you) want people respect your work, you should consider respecting theirs.

Haha. I've never heard of the fruit-stomping fetish, but I think I'd watch that. I got what you were saying: just that you would feel uncomfortable stripping to pay the bills while trying to make it as an actress, not that everyone who does that should feel cheap.

Fruit stomping is certainly eatter than the version of small animal stomping. It sounds kind of fun, like squishy kink.

IMHO there is nothing wrong with being pragmatic, but by taking that approach to erotica but ennobling other genres is a double standard that is closely associated with sex-shaming. All genres work at a pragmatic and an elevated level.

I sincerely feel that the elevated goals of erotica, a common one being trying to normalize and de-shame all harmless sexual activities, is as important as the elevated purpose of any other genre.

CharleeBeck said:

Oh WOW. Okay, super sorry if I offended anybody. I actually got into writing erotica after a short stint selling my underpants and making videos of myself stepping on various fruits with my freshman year roommate. I didn't make the sex worker comparison to offend anybody, just assumed off the bat that I was speaking to a group of people who were smart enough to not attach negative stigma to sex workers. Also I didn't mean to suggest at all that erotica was a lesser genera. As a horror writer I know how annoying it is to be dissed for writing in a fringe genera, didn't mean to imply at all that people who seriously write erotica weren't writing seriously haha. That's actually why I made the thread in the first place, i noticed a lot of the posters here write really serious, in depth novels and was wondering if there was anybody else doing the more pulp stuff.

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I get what you're saying. And I don't think there's really anything wrong with approaching it in this way. I can totally understand approaching it as sex work/something similar to sex work.

In terms of "serious" vs. "pulp," I think that's really subjective. I think there's serious erotica, and there's definitely pulpy or "light" fiction in other genres. And both types of fiction can be serious to the person writing it. I think maybe some of the misunderstanding/disagreement here is because there's a difference between "serious" writing in the sense that the story deals with complex themes or something, and "serious" in the sense that the writer cares about it and makes a strong effort. I think a lot of us are serious about our erotica in the latter sense, even if it's "just" a fun, sexy story.

But I also don't think that erotica has to automatically be pulpy, either. I think there's definitely room out there for erotic works that are very serious in tone and focus, and that serve a broader narrative function than just creating a hot scenario. Whether there's as much of a market for that is another story. I think stories like that are perhaps more likely to be published as literary fiction.