I would think that erotica would be hinting to sexual activity, but not quite there, while porn is the actual sexual activity.

Erotica has something surrounding the porn that may or may not pass as substance. Porn is porn; sex for the sake of sex with nothing "diluting" it so to speak.

Erotica to me either alludes to, or doesn't put much emphasis on the sexual act itself....erotica to me is more like literary foreplay.

While as porn has everything. In graphic detail...and it's about the sex, the story is either thrown to the wayside, or hastily put together where it's obvious where the focus of the story's supposed to be.

Erotica seems to involve more foreplay and stuff like BJ's and Cunnilingus and 69'ing and such before the real sex act takes place where porn is just full blown sexual intercourse.

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.

Erotica is the "fantasy" surrounding the sexual act.

Best definition so far, in case I'm ever asked. +1

couldnt have said it better myself.. ;)

for the law (at least in french) the separation between erotica and porn is on what can be seen. if a movie show sexual act but don't show the penetration then the movie will be just an erotic movie. in france (if I remember) is classified as porn all thing who show penetration or male genital.

so, although I'm agree with ractuswalks, there are not only the artistic dimension, and we have to consider that there are also the legal dimension. Thus something who don't show any kind of feeling in a sexual activity can be classified into erotic class if it don't show some penetration or male genital.

obviously this classification method cannot be applied for novels ^^

hoping that my english is not too bad.

sorry, I have to edit:

this classification method can be applied on novels, the autor can chose to describe the scene or otherwise just just mention the act and let the reader to dream up what happends ;)

thanks for reading

Wether you are conservative or liberal.

What if you're a socialist?

I think the difference between erotica and porn rests more in the intent of the artist than in the content of the piece itself. Porn is meant to turn the audience on, to give them something to fap to. Erotica, on the other hand, is meant to use sexual or vaguely sexual content as a vehicle by which to impress on the audience a certain thought or emotion.

Erotica is art disguised as sex. Pron is sex disguised as art.

Emotion.

That would be it!