| Part of a series on Love |
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| Types of emotion |
| Eroticism |
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| Romance (love) |
| See also |
| Limerence |
| Love sickness |
| Human sexuality |
| Unrequited love |
| Valentine's Day |
| Sexual intercourse |
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Eroticism is an aesthetic focus on sexual desire, especially the feelings of anticipation of sexual activity. It is not only the state of arousal and anticipation, but also the attempt through various means to incite those feelings.
The word "eroticism" is derived from the name of the Greek god of love, Eros, or Cupid. It is conceived as sensual love or the human sex drive (libido). Philosophers and theologians discern four kinds of love: eros, philia, physio, and agape. Of the four, eros is considered the most egocentric, focusing on care for the self.
Ancient Greek philosophy’s overturning of mythology defines in many ways our understanding of the heightened aesthetic sense in eroticism and the question of sexuality. Eros was after all the primordial god of unhinged sexual desire in addition to heteroeroticism, which is the yearning of sexual desire from the opposite sex. In the Platonic ordered system of ideal forms, Eros corresponds to the subject's yearning for ideal beauty and finality. It is the harmonious unification not only between bodies, but between knowledge and pleasure. Eros takes an almost transcendent manifestation when the subject seeks to go beyond itself and form a communion with the objectival other. The French philosopher Georges Bataille believed eroticism was a movement towards the limits of our own subjectivity and humanity, a transgression that dissolves the rational world but is always temporary.
Yet an objection to eros and erotic representation is that it fosters a subject/object relationship in which the object of desire is mere projection of the needs of desiring subject. Love as eros is considered more base than philia (friendship) or agape (self-sacrificing love). But erotic engagement paradoxically individuates and de-individuates the desirer.
The third kind of love, physio, is directly related with the amount of sex drive that the brain feels upon encountering an erotic moment.
Some believe defining eroticism may be difficult since perceptions of what is erotic fluctuate. For example, a voluptuous nude painting by Peter Paul Rubens could have been considered erotic when it was created for a private patron in the 17th century. Similarly in the United Kingdom and United States, D. H. Lawrence's sexually explicit novel Lady Chatterley's Lover was considered obscene and unfit for publication and circulation in many nations thirty years after it was completed in 1928, but may now be part of standard literary school texts in some areas. In a different context, a sculpture of a phallus in Africa may be considered a traditional symbol of potency though not overtly erotic.
Eroticism is the quality of sexual excitement. In other words, if something is sexually exciting, then it is said to be erotic. Eroticism is an erotic feeling. It is named after Eros, the Ancient Greek god of love.
Many types of things can be part of eroticism. Things that make a person feel erotic (sexually aroused or excited) include the sight, touch, smell, and sound of another person. A person may feel erotic when they see or touch or smell, or hear someone that they love in a sexual way. They may also have erotic feelings about a person that they do not love, but who is sexually attractive to them.
Sometimes eroticism has nothing to do with another person. A person might feel erotic from watching a movie, looking at pictures in a magazine, listening to a piece of music, reading a story or article, or just thinking their own thoughts, or being aware of their own body.
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Some things are designed and made especially to make people feel erotic. Things that are designed to make people feel erotic are called "erotica". This word is most often used for art, books and magazines.
Most people believe there is a difference between erotica and pornography, but some people have argued that all erotica is "pornographic". (In other words, some people believe that all pictures, movies or writing which are sexually exciting are rude and wrong, and should not be made.)
People who have studied this subject say that erotica is not harmful to anyone, and may be helpful with people's loving relationships. The same writers say that pornography, which generally shows a person being treated without respect or love, is not helpful with people's loving relationships.[1][2]
Picture couple pregnant
Touching can be erotic. |
Wedding feeding
Eating food can be erotic. A bride feeding wedding cake to her new husband. |
Tango couple
Dancing can be erotic. A couple dancing the Tango. |
Gay Couple togetherness in bed
Photos can be erotic. A gay couple sharing a magazine. |
Carracci - Jupiter et
Art can be erotic. Annibale Carracci painted this picture of Jupiter and Juno. |
  | Erotic - TomeRaider Ebook Reader - The world's most advanced ebook reader & cross-platform reference viewer for PC, Pocket Pc & Palm |
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