THE WATCHERS and the WATCHED.

It will soon become obvious to the reader -if it’s not already so- that the exhibitionist and/or the voyeur are a major feature in much of our work. 

                                                                       Indian Erotic Art                 

 The Exhibitionist:     Exhibitionism in its simplest descriptive form is the practise of deriving sexual pleasure or stimulation from exposing oneself in public.  Although the word is often thought  to mean deliberate exposure of the sexual parts, this need not necessarily be so.   The individual(s) involved need not necessarily be exposing their sexual parts ( legally defined as indecent exposure ), be  naked  or even partly naked, or they may  even be covered in some form of skimpy or revealing clothing.  The exhibitionist can even be fully dressed,  but behaving in a sexually provocative manner – in other words an extreme form of “showing off”.   

The Voyeur:    Desmond Morris , the respected naturalist writer and researcher has described voyeurism as “a healthy non-participatory sexual activity”.    A pretty good description, but somewhat  incomplete.    Although the Voyeur may well be attracted to the Exhibitionist if the opportunity arises , they are not necessarily connected.  Indeed , it’s not just the idea of seeing what is normally kept hidden that excites the voyeur the most , but that of seeing it unknown to the actual participants.  Because they are sometimes discovered spying or otherwise peering into bathroom or bedroom windows to satisfy their desires , voyeurs  are often considered to be dangerous , but they do not usually present any form of threat .  

Mixoscopia;   is the term used when the voyeur enjoys watching his wife or loved one engaging in sexual relations with another male .  Presumably, the same term could also apply to a woman and her husband/lover. 

Erotica:      Some years ago, after a feature I had written on an international exhibition of art had been published in a specialist magazine, I was commissioned to write a short piece on (my own) definition of erotica.   Here it is, short but pretty concise and to the point. 

                                                                                    Classical Art

“ What exactly is Erotica?  

What actually defines erotica and how if at all does it differ from obscenity and pornography -  words that are  used to describe the kind of sexual material that supposedly serves only to deprave and corrupt ?   This is an argument that has raged on between artists, scholars and those ruling our public and private lives for hundreds if not for thousands of years without ever being properly resolved - and perhaps it never will be. Maybe it's an impossible task or at least one which can only be defined on a very personal basis.

History tells us that the ancient Greek GOD of LOVE was called EROS. Not too surprising then that in the Greek language eros was the word for love. The word erotic, meaning sensual, stimulating, arousing, of or causing sexual love is derived from exactly the same Greek base. So of course is the word erotica , having the same meaning in ancient times as it has now - a collective noun for material of any kind - written , aural or visual having the ability to or the specific purpose of arousing sexual desire. 

It's fairly easy to see that very many of those people involved in producing much of the material classed as erotica - especially in modern times - are less concerned with the artistic content than with the financial rewards. As sexually explicit as it may well be, the majority of this kind of work tends not to have any great depth of feeling or quality other than that of immediate but brief sexual arousal.

                                                                        French Rats

In other cases however, it is equally clear that the artist, the model, the writer or the actor(s) have themselves been aroused and/or stimulated by it. This could have happened at some time within the planning of the project and almost certainly once again during the actual production of what usually turns out to be an erotic masterpiece.

It is this personal celebration of sexual desire, love and sensuality that shines through into the finished work , and in doing so practically guaranteeing that it becomes equally stimulating and desirable to others.”

c . M.G.  2002

All living creatures need to reproduce in some way or another in order to ensure their continuity and survival.  The process by which animals reproduce is called mating.  Some of the most common words used to describe when human animals like us do it are – sexual intercourse , reproduction, copulation , procreation, or lovemaking.   However whatever name we use as,  human beings  there is one element without which successful reproduction would be very difficult or even impossible for us .   That key word is stimulation – the arousal of sexual desire – and in that respect  Erotica in one form or another is for human beings an essential part of life itself.  It is true to say that Sex is central to our humanity and in most cases is a beautiful and satisfying experience, but as we will see , even animals require some form of stimulation in order to reproduce.  

Art in Erotica:

The naked form and it’s erotic connections have been prolific in every kind of art almost from the beginning of humanity.   In fact , sexually inspired images are amongst the earliest evidence of  human culture and lie at the very root of all human life.

An important element in erotic art is the accoutrements with which the otherwise naked body is adorned.  Almost any object, but primarily some kind of clothing, gloves , foot-ware or  jewellery , even paint or some other  more permanent  kind of decoration can become the object of what is often termed fetish fascination.  It is a topic  which we often use in our writing and Belinda is something of an expert on the subject.  

Stimulation:

All living creatures have the same biological drives that they need to gratify in order to exist . To eat and drink are the obvious ones required merely to exist – but to survive into the future one must add SEX.   The natural biological stimulation for food and drink is one of hunger and thirst , but for sex both  human and animal life require extra stimulation of some kind or another. 

The most important form of stimulation for us all - animal or human - is that of smell.  All living species exude some form of scented secretion designed to attract or repel others. Called phemerones, these smells act as warning signals , territory markers or mating calls.

Most humans  remain completely unaware of our own or others natural smells or how they affect our sexual behaviour, and are completely unconscious of  the scent , let alone the fact that it has attracted us to a potential sexual partner.

The other essential  form of stimulation is by some form of visual exhibition. Its a natural process in animals or birds  where the sexual parts swell up and and/or other body parts take on bright and distinct colour and shape which are used  in some kind of ritual movements or dance.  Without this stimulation which normally only takes place once a year , most animals are unable to procreate at all.  There are a few species of animal -  the  bonobo monkey for instance is an animal exception - who have the ability to continually stimulate each other so that they are able to have sex  at the drop of a hat. 

 The behaviour of primitive man was very much the same as that of the animal kingdom.  Sex  was bonded to various  rituals and seasonal celebrations , harvests , changes in the moon , etc;  At the end of the ritual , which usually included frenzied dancing , the whole thing might develop into some kind of sexual orgy ensuring a suitable degree of procreative success. 

Some animal groups also use the orgy as a stimulant and the pink flamingo is a prime example of this behaviour.  At the start of the mating season these strange looking birds congregate in huge numbers all together in shallow water to feed - and ultimately to mate.   It takes just one couple to begin the process and like some kind of magical call of nature the rest all join in.  It’s the classic case of exhibitionism plus voyeurism equals sexual union. 

The word orgy takes its name from a Greek word meaning ‘secret rite’ and is religious in origin.   In the ancient world there were many different cults of this kind, most of them especially associated with  Dionysus the Greek God of wine (also known as Bacchus by the Romans ), whose worship included drinking , dancing and group sex.

Modern humans have over the centuries of time completely forgotten that their natural biological drives exist , but in the meantime have used their knowledge and inventiveness to continuously create new ideas and devices as sexual stimulants.  These are subjects which we have often explored in the past – and will continue to do so heafter.