Erotica (from the Greek Eros—"desire") or "curiosa," works of art, including literature, photography, film, sculpture and painting, that deal substantively with erotically stimulating or sexually arousing descriptions. Erotica is a modern word used to describe the portrayal of the human anatomy and sexuality with high-art aspirations, differentiating such work from commercial pornography. "Curiosa" is generally used to refer to erotica and pornography as discrete, collectible items, usually in published or printed form.

Various sub-genres of erotica exist. As with fiction as a whole, there are erotic stories with a science fiction, fantasy, horror or romance focus. Additionally, erotica can also focus on specific sexual behavior or fetishes such as BDSM, wearing uniforms, cross-dressing, polygamy and sexual promiscuity. Fan fiction featuring characters engaging in male homosexual acts has become known as slash fiction.

Erotica and pornography

Distinction is often made between erotica and pornography (the depiction of acts in a sensational manner so as to arouse a quick intense emotional reaction)(as well as the lesser known genre of sexual entertainment, ribaldry), although depending on the viewer they may seem one and the same. Pornography's objective is the graphic depiction of sexually explicit scenes.Erotica is Not Pornography, William J. Gehrke, The Tech, December 10, 1996 Pornography is often described as exploitative or degrading.Don't confuse erotica with porn, Jug Suraiya, The Times of India, August 15, 2004. One person's pornography is another's erotica, and vice-versa. In other words, if a politician or priest finds a work containing only consenting adults "perverted", then it says more about the mental state of the accuser than the intentions of the photographer or viewer. The dictionary also uses different emotive words to describe the same product. Erotica is "Explicitly sexual literature or art, concerning or arousing sexual pleasure." Pornography is "Writings, pictures, films etc. designed to stimulate sexual excitement." Even the dictionary's authors couldn't avoid bringing emotion into their definitions. Erotica is described using the gentle word "arousing" whereas pornography gets the "stimulate", a much colder, clinical definition.

In December of 2007 one of the world's largest collections of pornography and erotica, the L'Enfer collection housed at the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, France, was opened for the public.Sex please! (we're French): Paris's dirty secret, John Lichfield, The Independent, December 3, 2007. Marie-Franoise Quignard, one of the collection's curators, tried to distinguish between the different elements in the collection:

"There is a photograph of an act of oral sex by the artist Man Ray.... For some reason, I find that this goes just too far. Perhaps because it is a photograph and so real, while engravings or lithographs, give you a certain distance and idealisation. Man Ray confronts you point-blank here with something which should, perhaps, better remain intimate."