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Why We Love Erotica More Than Porn

  • May 2, 2022

Erotica, Porn, and Mental Health


Close up image of two green and brown speckled pears with a grey background.  Image is a a side profile showing the slope of the pear and the rounded bottom. | QueerDoc Erotica

If you’ve ever wondered what the difference between erotica and porn is, you aren’t alone. It is challenging to distinguish between two things when there is no one definition for either. In the 1964 Supreme Court case, Jacobellis v. Ohio, Justice Potter Stewart was so stimmed about how to define porn he ended up stating, “I know it when I see it.”

However, it is generally agreed upon that the difference between porn and erotica is a person’s attitude toward sex and human sexuality. Erotica is considered a form of art that celebrates human sexuality. It engages the senses, the mind, and emotions. Porn, on the other hand, is less evocative and suggestive. Its primary purpose is to turn its viewers on.

Close up of figs cut into vertical quarters on a metal platter.  The figs have purple skin, a layer of white flesh, and red textured interior flesh. | QueerDoc Erotica
Yellow banana and long, thin, purple eggplant are snuggled together as if spooning on a light purple background.  The banana has a section of skin peeled down and draped over the eggplant. | QueerDoc Erotica
Close up of a ripe peach against some bright green leaves.  The peach is rosy red and fuzzy, with yellow edges and the peach cleft is yellow. | QueerDoc Erotica

Like beauty, the definitions of porn and erotica are subjective and colored by personal morals, religious values, and aesthetics. What one person considers erotica, another might consider porn, and vice versa.


What does this have to do with mental health? Well, a lot.


Erotica not only arouses the body but also arouses the mind and engages our imaginations. This creates an avenue for you to see yourself in the erotica, encouraging folks to explore their sexuality and curiosities in healthy ways. Erotica also tends to highlight consent, safe sex, and communication more often than porn does, which can improve folks’ ability to communicate their desires. While there is nothing wrong with porn and especially ethical, body-positive, queer-friendly porn, a lot of pornography, unfortunately, perpetuates unhealthy and unrealistic images of bodies and sex. This is especially problematic when porn gets mistaken for educational material.

Several individual dress loafers with string laces are lined up from foreground to background with toes to a mirror.  Focus is on the middle of the line so that the first and last shoes are blurred.  Shoes are in a variety of colors - black, tan, oxblood, ivory, and repeat. | QueerDoc Erotica
A pair of very high-heeled peep-toe stilettos.  The heels are light blue, and the body of the shoe is a bright glossy Mediterranean blue.  There is a short platform underneath the ball of the shoe in the same light blue as the heel.  The revealed toe box is gold.  One shoe is in profile with toe to the right.  The other shoe is placed over the toe of the first, with the heel facing the camera. The shoes are on a n ivory shoe box.  The letters "ze' can be seen at the left back corner of the box in gold print. | QueerDoc erotica
Very close up image of the eyelets and laces of a black leather boot.  The eyelets are silver metal.  One line of black top-stitching in on the inside line of the throat, over the shoe tongue.  The outside of the throat has two lines of top-stitching. | QueerDoc erotica.

Regardless of your definition of porn and erotica, remember you’ll know it when you see it. The most important question you should ask yourself is, ‘Does this make me feel good?’

If the answer is no, the materials you’re viewing may not be healthy for you. Remember, just because something physically turns you on, doesn’t mean it feels good mentally and emotionally.


Several fish traps made of netting (fish...nets) and metal hoops hang on a diagonal from top left to lower right.  The netting is in assorted shades of pink.  The nets are widest at the hoops and narrow towards the ends. | QueerDoc Erotica
Close up of a bronze statue featuring a very muscular and naked butt.  The point of view is looking up from below the bum towards the shoulders, which are out of frame.  The line of the back is muscular and solid. The elbows are bent and the arms go off-screen at the right and left edges of the image.  The figure appears to be in a walking pose with arms bent.  There is drapery on the left side of the image which may be another, dressed, figure. | QueerDoc Erotica.
Close up of a black leather flogger.  The neck is braided in black leather, and the tails are wide black leather strips.  The image is in sepia tones, with the flogger forming a wide-angle in the image. The neck of the flogger comes into the image about 1/3 down from the top on the left side. The tails continue off-image from the right side of the bottom edge. The background is warm light amber with a light source in the top left corner. | QueerDoc Erotica

Stay tuned to QueerDoc social media for some of our favorite sources of—and inspiration for—erotica. And if you haven’t read our earlier articles in our series about sex for trans bodies, we’ve discussed Six Sex Toys That We Love For Trans Folx and Changes to Genitals, Libido, and Orgasm: What To Expect on Hormones so far.


This week’s article is written by Sarah Rasmussen (Sarah.) Sarah is a Master of Social Work student and has been a part of the QueerDoc team providing Youth Care Support.

Sarah grew up in Tallahassee, FL, and attended Salem College in North Carolina. After graduating, Sarah spent over a decade working with underserved youth populations in outdoor and wilderness settings across the United States and Asia.

Portrait of a light-skinned woman wearing a grey athletic shirt, large black reflective sunglasses, and a trucker hat with an airbrushed image of mountains on the front.  The woman has short straight brown hair and is smiling. The background is grasses and scrub.

Currently, Sarah lives in a rural Rocky Mountain town in Colorado with her dog Fly and is finishing Florida State University’s Master of Social Work program. Sarah works as an advocate for survivors and victims of sexual and interpartner violence. Sarah is trained in Play Therapy and holds a weekly group meeting for kiddos.

Sarah also works closely with the local LGBTQI+ community and Gender & Sexuality Alliances to educate and address interpartner and sexual violence within the community. Sarah enjoys adventuring in the wilderness with her dog, regardless of the weather. Notably, some adventures are more fun than others.

*** Disclaimer

This blog is for entertainment, informational, and general educational purposes only and should not be considered to be healthcare advice or medical diagnosis, treatment or prescribing. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical care. Always seek the advice of your qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website.

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