Sex is often moved "underground" and quietly spoken of.

It's naughty and R-rated and borders on what's acceptable to share and what's embarrassingly not. Karene Howie and her partner Geoff Haselhurst, both philosophers, maintain a phi losophy website called sexuality.spaceandmotion.com. Howie explained that philos ophy has largely neglected sex, yet sex is central to human existence and surviv al of the human species. "Cultural and religious myths label sexuality 'forbidden' or 'sinful' and equate blame with sexual intercourse. The forbidden fruit is very appealing though, an d because of that, it enhances desire and makes evolutionary sense that we find sexuality exciting. We are programmed to seek sex, procreate to spread our genes , and thus survive and replicate." She outlined details in erotic literature, which includes fiction novels, short sex stories, poetry and verse, sexual memoirs, autobiographies, dramatic plays a nd sex guides or manuals. "The Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio (1351) is a famous work of erotic literatur e from the medieval times. Themes of love, lust, seduction, fortune and misfortu ne, happiness, desire and generosity are explored with the stories. However, the book was banned in many countries, even after 500 years!" she said. The Kama Sutra was written by the sage Vatsysayana, who, as Anne Hardgrove of Op en Magazine explained, was a monk who collected all of the sexual knowledge of y ears before him, to meditate and contemplate about the Creator. It is the only s urviving written account of that ancient period of Indian history. Tyler Smith, an employee at City Lights Bookshop on Richmond Street, was equally open about his opinion about what he sees as the distinction between erotic fic tion and pornography. In terms of broader aspects, there is the subtlety and sophistication in erotic fiction it's a journey to the act. But with pornography, it's merely 'doing' the a ct." With the invention of the printing press in the 15th century, Howie added, came a new age of the distribution of erotic literature, as well as more restrictions with censorships and obscenity laws. Both the Victorian era (1837 to 1901) and the Edwardian era (1901 to 1910) were characterised by rigid class structure, moral purity and severe sexual repressio n. "It is fascinating to uncover the sheer volume of erotic literature that came ou t of Britain and France during this period. When our natural sexual desires are suppressed, they do not die, but manifest in perverse ways (e.g. the Church and pedophilia) or flourish 'underground,'" said Howie. During the Victorian Era, plenty of passion ensued. It was characterized by fixa tions on spanking, incest, defloration of virgins, rape, orgies, pedophilia, sex ual torture, discipline and punishment, homosexuality, cross-dressing and more. John Cleland was one male erotica writer from the era. He penned Fanny Hill, Mem oirs of Pleasure in 1748, one of the most famous works of erotic literature and the most persecuted in the Western World. Smith contended that erotica, at first, was mainly written by men for men, with females being the sexual object. Later, erotica written by women for women prove d that they have just as many lustful desires as their male counterparts.

Pauline Rage, who wrote the Histoire d'O (Story of O) squashed critics who claimed that erotica couldn't be written by a woman. Her book was released in 1954 and brought about controversy over its sadomasochistic nature. No one knew it was wr itten by her: some thought it had to have been a man's work. Forty years after t he book was published, Rage came forward and admitted that it was her writing. Anas Nin is another female author both Smith and Howie mentioned. She was unique i n her graphic and raw exploration of sexuality. She captures the depth of the na ture of a female psyche. Her works included Delta of Venus and Little Birds, bot h of which were arousing and powerful. In the 21st century, erotic fiction is very mainstream but somewhat elusive in c ontext. Much of erotic fiction can be found in fan fiction and based on science fiction, fantasy or current television programming. "There is definitely a paranormal aspect to current erotica," Smith explained. S eries such as Twilight by Stephenie Meyer or J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books a re examples of the teen romance genre. Although these books do not contain hardc ore erotica, they glisten with subtleties and temptation, Smith explained. Howie added that the modern reader is in a very unique place. "We now have very easy access to the history of erotic literature. Reading quality erotic books fr om the past helps to cultivate the sexual and aesthetic aspects of our minds, en hances our sexual lust and adds spice and variety to our sex lives." So what does the future hold? Anne Rice delved into her naughty side to produce the series The Chaining of Sle eping Beauty, three stories loosely based on the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty. The trilogy made the list as a bestseller, and topped Rice's financial success w ith her first book, Interview with the Vampire. Nerve is a fantastic, modern-day collection of 10 years' worth of essays, interv iews, fiction and photography from the magazine of the same name. The book's neo n pink cover with a nude photograph of an Angelina Jolie look-alike besots the r eader to purchase. "It's a tricky line," stated Smith. "Just because something (sexual) is written, does that make it erotic fiction?" Mark Twain coined the phrase, "Nature knows no indecencies; man invents them." So while showcasing an erotic coffee book for the guests to see may seem inappropriate, that's up for you to decide.