Evidently porn channels on the internet are going to be banned in India. Strange, temples decorated with every known Karma sutra position in bas relief are tourist hotspots but porn on the internet is banned.
A member of the Irish parliament has proposed an anti-blasphemy bill that has Ireland Atheists up in arms and not surprising. What gives with these people who never seem to realise what idiots they make of themselves when sex or religion or both raise their heads? I’m talking about the Irish parliament being idiots not the atheists.
There is certainly far too much pornography on the internet, waves of it, sex of all kinds, some of it rather dark and horrid in my opinion, but if that’s the way certain people get their kicks and it isn’t harming anyone else, why not just let them get on with it? At least cybersex, if you’re into that sort of thing, is physically safe. No chance of STDs or AIDS, no unwanted pregnancies, no S and M going disastrously wrong (unless you’re doing it solo), no unnecessary violence or queer bashing and, with the advance of technology, it was pretty inevitable anyway. I don’t know whether any has ever been found but I’m sure it is possible some form of sexual carrying on could be painted on a cave wall somewhere. The Greeks proudly produced a terrific amount of pottery the decoration of which showed a whole lot of naughtiness going on. The Romans weren’t averse to plastering their walls with it and then later on came illustrated books, magazines, photography. Is it true that in Norwich cathedral beneath the choir stalls there is a frieze showing monks doing naughty things with donkeys? Or is that a myth? Then came video cassettes, followed by DVDs and finally in natural progression the internet.
What is the difference between pornography and erotica? Is there a difference between pornography and erotica? Can erotica exist without porn? I ask these questions because a friend has just lent me a book, “The Mammoth Book Of New Gay Erotica” over 30 original stories. Why can’t that be 32, 34, 35 or however many stories? Actually it’s 32, I counted. Anyway we are informed there are over 30 masterpieces of homoerotic desire. Wow! That is some claim, masterpieces? The book is edited by Lawrence Schimel (unfortunate name, could easily be misspelt) who advises the reader to skip ahead if a story doesn’t appeal and I am afraid that is exactly what I have been doing, so much so that I am three-quarters through at the rate of knots. Virtually every piece is little else but pornography and in consequence, for me anyway, dull and uninteresting. Of the five or six I’ve read right through because they have been beautifully written, even a couple of these authors couldn’t resist descending into porn towards the end. These stories though involve some unusual situation or deal most importantly with emotions rather than mere raw sex and these are indeed erotic. The rest, far from being masterpieces, are crap.
Okay, you say, if you’re such a critic, how come you haven’t written an erotic story? Well, I must confess some years back I did, just for the hell of it. My story takes place in a gay bar which has just hired a new barman – a drop dead gorgeous young Greek god who every customer entering the place immediately lusts after but he will have none of them. The story ends in the washroom. He is by himself and has just ejaculated over a mirror and is standing admiring his reflection. The story is called “Narcissus”. Erotic? Or pornographic? I like to think the former which maybe answers my question anyway.