Erotica For Men
Beer & Tits?

While getting dressed this morning I noticed there upon my night-desk a book I'd read during the long cold nights of winter. What struck me as odd was the phrase "Erotica For Women" written above the pleasing image of a man embracing a woman on the cover. All this prompted the question what is "Erotica For Men?"  —MLW

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From Daved
One reason for the illusion that its beer and tits (pornography) that turns men on whereas women prefer erotic is the emphasis on image that exists in our culture. Indeed, what is projected all around us are images of thin, good looking, young, mostly white women, or handsome men, and we are taught that is what sexual attraction is all about. Among men, the sight of a good looking woman is supposed to turn us one, when in fact, the image is probably the least important aspect of sexual pleasure.

What is infinitely more intense are the feelings that lie within a person, the sensuality that they exude in the way they walk, they move their mouth, the way they touch their glass, the way they respond to your touch. Unfortunately, there is very little money selling what is inside a person, so men have to learn this aspect of sexuality on their own.

Erotica is all about what goes on inside us. Once men learn to appreciate this, they will desire it as much as women. Then maybe the emphasis on external beauty - on the size of a woman, or the color of their skin, or the shape of their eyes or nose or chin or bodies - will all diminish and we can enjoy each other for who we are, not what we look like.

From Rex Podius
Looks like we have the same argument as Erotica vs Porn and Come vs Cum. It's very likely that to generalize about "men," you would have to go to another venue than ERA. I'll speak for me: I like a sexual build-up, I like the tease. No wham, bam, thank you, ma'am. I like it in my reading as well as in real life.

It is OK to read about when the parties are showing an affection for each other. In fantasy, I can do almost anything, but only almost. I can read truck drive fiction or sensual erotica, as long as the writer doesn't spread too many flower pedals along the way. The description of sexual acts? Any words are fine as long as I know what the writer is talking about. "His manhood?" if that's what the writer wants. All words for the human body are acceptable to me except those that send me to a biology book. I don't mind flowery description, so long as the words don't obscure the meaning. Four letter words work better, because when I get into a close relationship, it is four letter words we use -- and my female partner is often the first one to use them. So this is the attitude of one heterosexual male toward erotica.

From Dean
I'd love to think that there's no basic difference between the sexes in what we find erotic, but I think we've got a couple of basic biological imperatives that dictate at least an occasional divergence in our respective approaches. Of course, on any given day, for either sex it's going to be 'horses for courses'. We all like it either hard and fast, or nice 'n easy, depending on our mood, partner, how long it's been... etc; but in general men do seem to be more visually stimulated than women.

Men do seem to get an awful lot of credit for only having One thing on their mind (I can already hear you saying that that's all we're capable of at any given time!), and men do seem to be less discerning than women in their choice of partner (meaning that if the urge strikes, a hole in the wall may not be safe!) Having said all that, as a regular and enthusiastic reader of erotica (and outright porn on occasion) I do feel slightly aggrieved when I'm lumped in with the generalization that all men are interested in is "Wham, bam, thank you ma'am".

I love women. I love exploring what they like, what they feel, how they smell, the sounds they make when I put my tongue just so... There's a mystery to good sex, a voyage, an adventure. It's a cliché, but that doesn't make it any less true, that 99% of sex takes place between the ears. Maybe we're not that different after all. Anybody wanna fuck?

From Zapatadore:
I believe that as the traditional delineation's between "women's roles" and "men's roles" fall and the roles of both sexes intertwine, these perceptions of erotica will change. Some of the hottest, sexiest, raunchiest (used as an adjective only) things I have read on here were written by women. Conversely, men have submitted what I would traditionally call 'erotica' or 'romance'.

Hell, personally, I am VERY visual, as are most men, but I love romance, too. I have always felt like this, but it has only been that as society has changed that I could freely admit this. Just several years ago, "crossover" was not really accepted.

From An Anonymous Man:
I must confess I'm a bit put off by the implication that there is a difference between erotica for men and erotica for women. I found the first few tits and beer remarks fairly humorous. As the thread has worn on I think that some of our membership have been just a wee bit chauvinistic.

I believe that erotica for men and erotica for women are classified as such by the publishers who market the product. I enjoy Black Lace titles although the publisher proudly touts that their books are erotica written for women by women.

So what does this man find erotic aside from tits and beer? Hmmm, tits and ass? There's another good example of a male's appreciation of a woman, I suppose. That's far too limited for me.

A keen mind and wit fires my imagination. Flakes of gold in deep hazel eyes make my heart race. Breathing in the minted scent of soft freshly washed hair as I kiss it makes my head spin. The sound of quiet laughter during lovemaking is exhilarating. Gently stroking the pale down at the base of her sweet spine is breathtaking. The graceful curve of her throat captivates me. The slight turn at the corner of her mouth, the beginnings of a smile, an eyebrow slightly raised, causes my breath to catch in my throat. The sudden strength of her back arched in pleasure unleashed leaves me in awe. The comfort of her warmth beside me, the steady murmur of her breath in sleep, soothes my soul.

So that's one man's erotica. For those who prefer to think men are not capable of such feelings, just chalk these musings up to a strong feminine side. I think I'll go have a beer, maybe a pint of Half and Half, down at the pub. Hmmm, Guinness and Harp. Then again, I can always have a nice hot French Vanilla Mocha. Half caff--half decaff. Decisions, decisions. I haven't a THING to wear. *grin*

From J.Z. Sharpe:
I think it also comes from some "conventional wisdom" about men and women and how our brains are wired. Men are supposedly more visual, so their erotica would supposedly be more pictorial. Women are supposedly more verbal, so they would be more likely to read stories and novels. Thus the high sales of Playboy to male customers, and romance novels to females.

But anyone who hangs around this list for more than a nanosecond would learn that there are tons of exceptions to these rules. I have been known, in certain states of mind, to spend hours wandering through XXX web sites looking for pictures of certain... ahem... well, we won't go there. <weg> And I can give you countless examples of how a man can be turned into a frenzied sex-craved maniac after reading a mere few sentences of... well... we won't go there either. You all know what I'm talking about.

When I set out to write erotica, I purposely decided that I would NOT cubbyhole myself into only writing for women, or for men. Jeez, if I do that, I'm cutting off half the possible book buyers on this planet! Let the publishing companies have their little labels and cubbyholes (they need to put something on their spreadsheets). When you're writing erotica, don't write for men or for women. Write for people.

From Cervo:
I am not sure that there is men's erotica other than stuff written in the world of shades that surrounded Victorians like "Frank and I", "The Pearl" and "Sadopoedia." Frank Harris thought his autobiography was an erotic adventure. He tied his cock up with a string to prevent wet dreams and did not jerk off or bugger other boys in prep school because he claimed he was saving himself for the real thing. Oscar Wilde wrote transgender erotica with Aubrey Beardsley. Lewis Carroll wrote for some kink that is still unclear to me, but it was very erotic.

Norman Mailer thinks that if another person sees him looking at them while he is gazing at his own image in a mirror, they have had an erotic experience. And its better than reading...or fucking. I don't find porn erotic though it can be sexy. It passes erotic on the way to some sort of finish line. I don't care about the destination or winning in erotic matters so here is what I think. I think erotica for straight men is women.

We spent years analyzing and decrying the male gaze, but it is not going to go away. There is an ad for some sort of Italian white wine where a man is sitting in a village café on a lovely afternoon sipping dry white wine. He is nicely dressed and rightfully pleased with life, the world and himself. A very pretty woman swings by in a flowered dress. She is happy to be alive in a fulsome, lovely way. "O cara mio babbo," plays in the background. These essential connections are what life is about, and erotica is about life. Life comes from women.

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