Erotica and Pornography

Erotica and Porn: A polite request for clearer distinctions to be made — and how you can help :)

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I. EROTICA = PORN…NOT!

I recently came across a blog post titled Survival Tips for the Pornocalypse. 

The latest news is that books by (some) erotica and erotic romance writers are being filtered and excluded from Amazon’s “All Department” search feature.

The post also mentions that porn is what sold Kindles. Direct quote from the post:

“Porn. Face it, Jeff Bezos [founder of Amazon]. You owe the success of Kindle to me, and to every erotica writer out there making a living writing ‘porn’.”

But…what about the readers and writers who like erotica that’s more artistic and/or personal than pornographic?

“Erotic” Photography by Phillip Ritchie

I host a (sporadic, but in-depth) series of erotic interviews on my 4:Play blog. Those writers write erotica but have their works categorized together with pornographers because there’s little differentiation in the marketplace.

I would really like to see the mainstream retailers come up with an elegant solution to make a clear genre separation between “erotica” and “porn”, when it comes to reading material. Especially in the era of digital publishing, where anyone can write and publish whatever they desire.

I’ll rely on a couple of images in the next section. Time needn’t be wasted showing the clear distinction between porn and erotica.

II. WHY PORN ISN’T THE SAME AS EROTICA

The above picture is a “pornographic” picture.  Here is a link to the uncensored version of the image.

In the above image, I blanked out the explicit parts in order to showcase the point that commercial pornography is about explicitness (and making money via the customer’s arousal at the graphic content). This applies to pornographic literature/books as well.

This is a lovely painting by Malcolm T. Liepk.

Doesn’t it make you want to slow down and let your senses take in the scene?

While there’s nudity, this image is more sensuous/erotic than pornographic.

Let’s go through a few word definitions.

(1) Sensuous: Relating to or affecting the senses rather than the intellect.

(2) Pornographic: Sexually explicit pictures, writing, or other material whose primary purpose is to cause sexual arousal.

(3) Erotica: Erotica has high-art aspirations, differentiating it from commercial pornography. The value is in the story and how it’s told, not the number of explicit sex scenes.

There is a powerful difference between each of these terms. Society is not going to progress much in terms of intellect or sexuality if people are not educated or motivated enough to separate erotica from porn.

Quality erotica is a genre I’ll always be passionate about because I believe in the following quote:

“. . .it is vital for good erotica to be published, so that we can see for ourselves the difference between the life-enhancing, and the sordid and destructive.”

~ From Erotica: An Illustrated Anthology of Sexual Art and Literature, by Charlotte Hill and William Wallace

III. SO, WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP?

I sent the following email to BISG’s customer service. It is a polite request for clearer distinctions to be made with regards to erotica and porn.

BISG is the organization that compiles the BISAC Subject Codes List — the official genre categorization used by major companies and retailers. I have listed contact pages of various retailers at the end of this post.

Feel free to copy and paste so that you can be heard too :) It is the total sum of everyone’s efforts that really matters in the end.

EMAIL SUBJECT:
Request for Division between Erotica and Pornography

Dear Sir/Madam:

I would like to request for a separate genre category for “erotica” and “pornographic” books.

I am making this suggestion as the two genres are distinct from each other. Pornography focuses on explicitness and commercial value, while erotica focuses on artistic merit that isn’t defined solely by explicit content.

It is confusing and distressing for both readers and writers when genre categorization is unclear.

Separating “erotica” from “porn” would have a threefold effect:

(1) Readers of both genres get to FIND and BUY what they WANT,

(2) Retailers retain the customers of both genres, and

(3) Authors of both genres can continue to do what they do without having their books banned, missing from search results, or lumped with works that don’t serve the same readers.

Please refer to this blog post on Erotica Vs. Pornography:

http://jesscscott.wordpress.com/2013/05/03/erotica-pornography

Thank you for your time and consideration.

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[1] CONTACT: BISG (Book Industry Study Group)

BISG (compiles the official BISAC Codes List — the genre classification standard used by major companies and retailers):

Website | Twitter

[2] CONTACT: RETAILERS

Amazon USA: www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/contact-us

Amazon UK: www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/customer/contact-us

Amazon KDP (authors): www.kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/contact-us

Amazon (authors): www.authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/help/contact-us

Amazon CS (authors): www.createspace.com/Member/Support.do

Barnes and Noble: www.barnesandnoble.com/customerservice/contactus

Smashwords (click the customer support link at top of page): www.smashwords.com

iBookstore: ibookstore@apple.com

Kobo: www.kobo.com/help/customer-care-phones/

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[3] FURTHER READING (brought to you by JCS / jessINK)

Art of Erotic Writing (promo eBook by Jess C Scott on erotic fiction — literature which deals openly and excitingly with sexuality as a part of human experience)

“Quality Erotica” Series (recommended books — fiction, non-fiction, poetry, erotic art)

Interviews with Erotica Writers (blog series)

Pornography Vs. Erotica (jessINK)

Media Mentions re: Erotic Writing (jessINK)

Censorship and Artistic Integrity

Introducing the first installment of Primal Scream.

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With all the drama going on, I thought I’d scribble down some quick thoughts here (I’m about 50% done with Rockstar — the easier the reading is, the harder the actual writing -_-).

Quick Summary: Amazon started banning/deleting incest erotica in Dec 2010; PayPal suspended my account in March 2011 for selling incest-themed stories directly from my website (that’s my deduction, since none of the retailers give specific reasons for their actions); and B&N is suspected to be currently “fiddling around” with the rankings of erotica books (such that they no longer have high rankings and visibility in the B&N store).

Sooooo to avoid all this trouble, I think I’ll continue to focus on the story > explicit scenes (though I might throw in a little bit of the latter, now and then…).

Fashion Icon is the “special edition” of Incestiable. In the special edition, the characters are established as “step relatives.” Now the fact that they are step relatives cancels out the incestuous relations (they’re no longer blood-related). I include a note to the reader at the beginning of the book to “please use your imagination,” if the reader/customer enjoys incest-themed fiction.

I’ve been feeling quite tired/burned out lately, so I’ve been a bit out of focus for the past week or so.

It was partly due to the Amazon + PayPal “censorship” issues, and re-categorizing/re-branding my ‘erotica’ titles as ‘erotic fiction’ (since most buyers who are seeking commercial erotica are seeking the eroticism in the form of explicit content, which isn’t what my erotic fiction is about).

I sometimes wonder if I wasted all my time writing deliberately deviant / not neatly commercially categorizable fiction, but in the long term, I think it’ll be okay. My erotic fiction contains, maybe, a ratio of 20% of explicit content to 80% of “the story,” so if ALL the retailers decided to ban all “erotica” titles one day, I’ll be able to tweak the material and present it as “contemporary/erotic fiction” (which is what I’ll do with future material).

I like sidestepping / doing new things, and I understand it’s “problematic” for the major retailers.

For this reason, the Primal Scream full anthology will showcase an, uh, interesting “range” of content (from some explicit content, to erotic love, to very subtle/implicit eroticism). It reflects what I started out with (stories with some explicit scenes), to something more “lyrical/complex,” to something less lyrical/less complex (on the surface), but that still deals with contemporary issues in a contemporary way.

The less discerning commercial erotica/smut readers/customers are likely to scoff at my brand of erotic fiction.

But the erotic life is not defined by explicitness. Pornography is. And my goal has never been to produce porn.

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I received three emails this week (won’t name any names!):

Email #1:

Hello, Jess…

Nothing irritates me more than useless crap we shovel into our brains to pretend to forget how fucked we are.

Have Anne Rice’s vampire works stood the test of time? No, and neither will Meyer’s, because they are by no means Bram Stokers. Just another flash in the pan, she’ll be elbowed out by someone else when this Vampy love bullshit fizzles out.

Sad part is, the people in the indie scene who got the attention of the big wigs are writing the same kind of shit they big presses are shoveling.

I took a look at your site, and I must say I find it sad that we, in a modern world in 2011 haven’t figured out what pornography is. I’ll probably face the same amount of shit for my next book. It’s sexually explicit and contains graphic scenes of bondage, blood play and mutilation…I guess we’ll see what happens.

I would like to read a book of yours but at the moment I am finishing up my next book and it will probably another month or so until the final draft is done. I’d like to read your cyberpunk book, though.
– from, A Male Author

Email #2: Correspondence with reader/customer:

Dear Jess C,

I just finished reading “Spinning Around,” and I really enjoyed it.  However, I am somewhat surprised that it was not longer and not more intimately detailed.  I absolutely love Father-Daughter erotica…and I’m not sure why.  Of course I must keep this secret to myself, as no one would understand.  I love finding a good story to read when my wife is not around, (we are lesbians), and slowly start getting aroused, and finally start touching myself, and eventually have multiple powerful orgasms!   I so want to seduce my Dad….he is so freaking hot.

Please write more father-daughter stories!!!!!!!

Sincerely,
A Female Reader/Customer

My reply:

Hi xxxxxx,

Thanks so much for your email — it’s always nice to hear from readers!

I was planning on a longer version of “Spinning Around,” and I might work on it some time in future. I’ll be presenting my future erotic fiction as “contemporary/erotic fiction,” because the major retailers (Amazon, B&N, and PayPal) are always targeting “erotica” books (especially those with incestuous content — I don’t understand how incest is more “offensive” than rape and bestiality, but apparently that seems to be the case).

Amazon started banning/deleting incest erotica in Dec 2010; PayPal suspended my account in March 2011 for selling incest-themed stories directly from my website (that was my deduction, since none of the retailers give specific reasons for their actions); and B&N is currently “fiddling around” with the rankings of erotica books (such that they no longer have high rankings and visibility in the B&N store).

Sooooo to avoid all this trouble, I think I’ll continue to focus on the story > explicit scenes (though I might throw in a little bit of the latter, now and then…).

I’ve had some emails from people who have incestuous desires (but have to “keep it secret because no one would understand”), so you’re definitely not alone! I personally get the biggest kick out of the brother-sister combination. I’m not sure why either, since I don’t have a brother.

Your wife must appreciate your high sex drive ;) Your dad must work out and eat well. That he’s “in better shape than guys less than half his age” = a huge compliment.

Incest can be a very delicious kink (when it’s consensual) — something most people don’t seem to get (but that doesn’t mean they don’t have “underlying desires,” HAHAHA),

Jess.

Her reply:

Hey, thank you for responding as if we are both real people!  I am sorry to hear about the red tape with the major retailers.  And I agree 100% re the “rate of offensiveness” when comparing incest, rape, etc.  It’s probably safe to say that incest,(including consensual), is hitting too close to home for many, so let’s not even acknowledge this topic:  it’s too real.   Anyway, thank you for everything you do and have stood/stand up for.  (Gotta run, wife is calling for me!)  LOL
Sincerely,
A Female Reader/Customer
PS:   My Dad is an awesome kisser! ;-) And…..

Email #3:

I don’t fantasize so much now but when I was young (say 13-33!) every night was a long fantasy for me. I thought it was a mental disease! I looked down on some of my fantasies as childish and shameful, but I remember many of them now with affection.

If you are brought up in a culture of shame it is exquisite torture that you soon learn to accept. I could write pages and pages about that tension between desire and guilt and the complications that arise from it. I could also write pages on the theme of religion and atheism. By the time I was in my teens, I was definitely an atheist and my convictions were unshakable and very deeply worked out.
– 47 y/o male, USA

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These are the emails/perspectives that keep me going, when I REALLY question why I bother to care about anything in life. I can get extremely cynical at times, but I usually channel all my ego and frustrations and “desperation” (according to a recent fortune cookie) directly into my work (productivity = the antidote).

I mean, holy shit, if incest erotica / incest-themed fiction is indeed being suppressed because people can’t deal with it (according to this comment: “Maybe they want to keep it in the family…), then that only motivates me all the more as an artist to “continue my explorations” with regards to love, life, sex, lust, and desires.

I always focus on the characters + storyline. Obscenity is a subjective matter, so I probably will continue writing incest-themed fiction about step relatives (and whatever else I decide to ponder about).

I’ll just attempt a more sophisticated (and sneaky, but legal) route with upcoming projects. I like the challenge of writing “contemporary fiction with erotic elements” (which Lolita, which features a 12-year-old girl,  is categorized as), not “erotica.”

Suppressing an artist’s imagination is never going to work out. It’s just going to backfire ;)

A few people have questioned my morals (I sometimes reply, in a polite, concise, matter-of-fact way). I can summarize my views with the two points below:

1) My morals are related to writing, not sexual acts (as a writer, my top priority is the story, not literary morality).

2) Desire and committing the act are two completely different things. If you’re going to go around and arrest people for THINKING about SEX, I think most of us are going to end up in jail at one point or another. Just because I write about incest (or whatever else) doesn’t mean I’m telling people to act on their incestuous desires. And if I was involved in something “incestuous” (see my reply in “Email #2″ above about the “brother-sister” combination), a person would first need to have tangible proof and evidence of the fact that the ACT was committed.

And I realize that other people may question my morality (or lack thereof) more than I do. Why’s that? It’s my life, and I’ll deal with the consequences of having lived the way I chose to, after I die. The End.

P.S. Most of the nude figures in Michelangelo’s masterpiece had to be covered with drapery, and the St. Blaise-St. Catherine of Alexandria scene was cut out and redone by a different artist altogether. Also, in the ancient world, sex pervaded every aspect of life. The genitals were not considered to be obscene. Sex was considered an important part of humanity’s existence.

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Footnote #1: From an astrological perspective, I’m a Virgo Sun in the 6th House, Aries Rising, and Mars Cap in the 10th House. Work = my life, REALLY, so censoring what I try to do via my work is something I don’t take lightly. I’m also a Venus Scorpio (end of 7th house / beginning of 8th house). Thinking about sex on a daily basis is an important part of my existence.

Footnote #2: If you enjoy sexual astrology, you might enjoy my factual fiction story, Jack in the Box (a personal favourite of mine).

PayPal Censorship

* UPDATE (2012): PayPal revises their policies to allow legal fiction.

* UPDATE (2013): A quick post on why “erotica” isn’t “porn”!

In the meantime, I’ll be working on a couple of psycho thrillers.

My original post from early 2011 is left below (unedited).

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ORIGINAL POST (March 2011)

In December 2010, Amazon started banning/deleting incest-themed erotica from their website. Several of my erotic stories/collections are thus not on Amazon.

In February 2011, some of the “sample buttons” on my books at B&N went missing (some are still missing, as of this date). Several other authors were hit (especially those writing erotica/erotic romance) — while many of their books’ sample buttons have re-appeared, several of my books are still missing the sample button. No reply from B&N yet There was/is a technical glitch at B&N, which they are currently working on.

I recently launched my “indie publishing division,” jessINK.com (thinking I could sell material directly from my website, via E-Junkie).

On 7 March 2011, I wanted to buy the following item from Etsy.com:

(Item = Vintage dark style red collar necklace with dangling star charm with red enamel on the back. Pretty, no?)

But I couldn’t purchase the item at checkout, because I had “limited access” to my PayPal account.

When I logged into my PayPal account, I saw the following message:

Mar 5, 2011: We recently asked you to stop participating in transactions that violated our Acceptable Use Policy.

(Your case ID for this reason is PP-001-231-349-997.)

I don’t recall being asked, as I received no prior email or warning about how exactly I had violated the guidelines.

This is what I can and cannot do with a limited access PayPal account:

Due to the limited access of my PayPal account, I am currently unable to receive money via PayPal, or make any purchases using my PayPal account.

After some clicking around, I got to the “PayPal’s Acceptable Use Policy” page, which states:

(e) items that are considered obscene, are not allowed (highlighted in red)

After more clicking around, I found the guidelines for what is not allowed on eBay (which utilizes PayPal for transactions):

“Obscene materials, while not easy to define, aren’t allowed on eBay. For some guidance, we prohibit items depicting or describing bestiality, necrophilia, rape, scat, and incest (real or fictionalized).”

Isn’t the splattering of blood and guts via stylized explosions also obscene, whether real or fictionalized? Also, according to the above guidelines, Anais Nin’s books (classic literary erotica) should not be available for purchase on eBay. For the record, her books (I’m a huge fan!) are available for purchase on both Amazon and eBay, and her books do contain pedophilic, incestuous, as well as other deviant types of erotic content.

Since I have not had a reply from PayPal as to whether their eBay policy extends to PayPal as well (since they are two separate companies — eBay actually owns PayPal, thanks @kashicat), I believe my incest-themed material that I sell directly from my website is considered by PayPal (as with Amazon) to be “supremely offensive.”

To my knowledge, I am not doing anything illegal (if it is, indeed, a criminal offence to write about taboo subjects, why is this not clearly stated in the law? How do people know if they are “breaking the law” if the law is not clearly stated in the first place?).

I have always chosen to focus on erotica over pornography (I always aim to include some kind of artistic, or social/political point, when I write erotic fiction). What is “obscene” and “sexually explicit” can vary from culture to culture and over time. But as long as companies’ policies remain vague and unclear, there’s no distinction between erotica and pornography when it comes to censorship.

I am currently “evaluating other options,” as I still fully intend to continue writing whatever I wish (for both erotic and non-erotic material). Erotica/erotic fiction is an art form I take very seriously, so I will seriously do my best to make sure it is always available for readers/customers to purchase (in the meantime, I apologize that customers cannot purchase directly from my website. Keywords = “in the meantime”).

What I actually condone and/or do in real life is separate from what I put on paper and/or express via the written word — a distinction that some people seem to have a lot of trouble making, lol.

P.S. Just bought the vintage red collar (yeaaaah), using a friend’s account.

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Email Links and More Info:

Email: aupviolations@paypal.com (PayPal re: Acceptable Use Policy)

* PayPal’s Acceptable Use Policy
* eBay’s Prohibited and Restricted Items rules

Email: ecr@amazon.com (Amazon.com, Executive Customer Relations)

* Amazon Censors (Facebook Page with more info)

PLUS

+ Media Coverage on Censorship of Erotica by Erik Sherman on BNET +

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jessINK publishing

* UPDATE (2013): A quick post on why “erotica” isn’t “porn” (and how you can help)!

My original post from early 2011 is left below (unedited).

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ORIGINAL POST (January 2011)

Update (31 Jan 2011) — Test screenshot for jessINK (above image)!

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Some rough planning/sketches for jessINK, a “main store”/website I’d like to work on in Jan 2011, since Amazon has banned some of my books.

* Jan 2011: Affected parties include Jess C Scott, Selena Kitt, Esmeralda Greene, and Olympia Press. The issue is being tracked on Facebook (Amazon Censors). Amazon has since progressed to banning books with “rape” in the title, while still maintaining their commitment to getting as many books into the Kindle store as possible (LA Times article).

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I’m a little (just a bit — worse things have happened in life, LOL) bummed that I’ll have to “re-adjust” some of my plans, since my deviant material was quite well ranked and well set-up in the Amazon store. I was (and still am) planning an incest short story collection, but will sell it on jessINK because that way, at least it’ll still be available from me, straight (since webhosting companies allow for graphic porn vids/pictures, I am assuming they’ll not “ban/lock” my website for “questionable content”…though I’d better probably just check beforehand, and get something in black-and-white via email!).

I like to work fast and efficiently, so being slowed down a little is always something that will irritate/annoy me. But no use looking at things you can’t change — better to focus on the solutions than the problems (to quote “The Donald”/Donald J. Trump).

I’ll probably write an article over on jessINK (once it’s up) on the content in SOME of my work featuring underage sex and incest, etc (not sure about bestiality, etc — haven’t done those yet, but I might, if I feel like it some time). I grew up in Singapore, so while I am aware of differing international laws, I am  familiar/comfortable with (Singapore’s law) of  the “age of consent” being 16 years old (and that’s an interesting story all on its own — can blog/write an article on that later too).

Part of the reason I don’t want to blog my thoughts (in depth, with excerpts from my work) on those topics yet is out of caution (points to the “Report as spam” / “Report as mature” button on the WordPress navigation bar). I don’t know if such an article on WordPress.com would be considered evil/illegal/immoral/unethical/obscene based on a random person’s “opinion,” so I think I’ll just save myself the trouble and have everything on jessINK next year.

I do not condone pedophilia (12 years old and lower, to set an age), because that is an exploitative nature of pedophilia (taking advantage of a minor that is unable to truly give consent, due to the innocence factor of children). Did I still enjoy Lolita? Of course! Did it make me squirm in disdain at times? Of course! That’s part of its appeal for me — navigating through Humbert Humbert’s “twisted mind.”

I have a half-done short story with an incubus and a sixteen-year-old. Is he just exploiting her due to her age? Partly (but the incubus is not wholly human, so technically, Hell’s laws would apply more to him than Earth’s/A certain society’s laws). Are they having mindless sex? Certainly not.

People who rant about me ranting about “underage sex” tell me that I should “change the story and change the characters’ ages” (then accuse me of not taking their advice, all in the same breath, before I’ve even had a chance to read their reply, LOL), and while that’s an option, I’d already have done that if I felt it’d be to the characters’ benefits (to be 18 or above).

Humans are sexual beings. A person doesn’t just turn 18 and magically earn the right to be a sexual being. I remember my teenage years being quite sex-crazed (to summarize — and there is such a thing as “fantasy” vs. “what one does in real life” — I’ve always had an interest in sexual subjects…).

Some of the things I write are in a very non-mainstream, non-conformist way (thought I strive for the elements of honesty and relatability, as much as possible). This is where indie publishing comes in for me, because I am free to write whatever I want, however I want. And maybe, someone, somewhere, will find something (in one of my projects) that resonates with them.

You will see on many erotica publisher’s websites that “incest” is one of the big no-no’s on their guidelines. But rape is okay. I am not going to bother dissecting the logic behind consensual incestuous adult sex being not okay, and rape being okay, because I don’t think logic is what’s behind it.

Some people are very quick to assume that all erotica/erotic fiction is pornographic (with no value, other than to “arouse sexually”). Which is why they’ll always keep missing out on one of the most (if not the most) powerful forces in human life, which is human sexuality. Sexual repression can, will, and does channel into other areas, such as violence, aggression, oppression, homophobia, etc. Oppressing/repressing/suppressing something doesn’t make it go away, though I understand suppression can be done out of either fear, or displeasure at really facing an issue head-on to “deal with it.”

Sex/uality is an area I intend to continue exploring, wandering around in, and pondering about, via writing. It’s how I deal with it.

And sexual repression/suppression, to me, is dysfunctional.

Which actually kind of explains…a lot.

P.S. I will mention here (just for clarification) that I don’t mean to offend all Christian/religious/conservative people with my “sexual open-mindedness” — I was born Catholic, so I have a good idea of the Church’s teachings (maybe not right down to the exact Bible passages, but in general). Not everyone likes to read about sex or graphic material and there’s nothing wrong with that. But oppressing deviant/controversial material deemed to be “immoral” (because “[the person] says so”) is something I’ll fight. If you read the “born Catholic” link, it also explains where I’d like to try to go with my brand of (NON-explicit!) Christian Fiction. I’ve had blog visitors who’ve typed in “Christian fiction erotica” — who knows. Despite my intentions, perhaps what I come up with will still not be “clean” enough (even if I try…one way to find out).

P.P.S. These are the links that explain the creation and development of jessINK. First link was a thread started by yours truly.

Original Post on Amazon: Deletion of Books / Violation of Guidelines

Amazon Censorship of erotic titles (article at TeleRead)

Amazon in the Book Banning Business

Can free speech survive Amazon’s monopoly? #amazoncensors

The Register UK: Amazon’s Erratic Policy on Specialist Smut

Amazon’s Systematic Moral Attack (by Valerie Gray)

America’s Prudish Literary Morality (Salon.com Article)