[01] Marc Paternot, Department of Marketing, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany.

Eroticism, due to its mysterious, abstract and at first sight sexual meanings, has a controversial renown. Still, it is omnipresent in personal relationships, with almost a universal reach, even though eroticism is lived or understood differently according to cultural specificities. This article presents an intelligible and precise understanding of the construct. Eroticism happens to be related to 57 words, which underscores its versatile and far-reaching significance. The current literature on eroticism highlights mostly typologies and definitions. A more scientific stance is broadly missing. A dual methodological approach based on a construct-based view and a theoretical-based view has been chosen. An extensive literature review from different fields, including sociology, literature, sexology, biology, religion, psychology, anthropology, philosophy, architecture, marketing and art, has helped to conceptualize eroticism into 11 sub-constructs and introduced its interrelationships with 9 major theories. The resulting conceptual and theoretical frameworks were then combined to form the “Eroticism overarching framework”, which constitutes a synthesis of what eroticism is about as well as what it signifies for oneself and towards others. This new state of knowledge should ignite further research in the field of quantitative measurement of the construct to grasp its multifaceted and complex characteristics. Eroticism has still to be discovered in a scientific way.

Eroticism, Construct Framework, Construct Dimensions

[01] Andersen, B. L., & Cyranowski, J. M. (1994). Women's sexual self-schema. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67 (6), 1079–1100. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.67.6.1079 [02] Andersen, B. L., Cyranowski, J. M., & Espindle, D. (1999). Men's sexual self-schema. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76 (4), 645–661. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.76.4.645 [03] Atari, M., Lai, M. H. & Dehghani, M. (2020). Sex differences in moral judgements across 67 countries. Proc. R. Soc. B, 287 [04] Bataille, G. (1986). Erotism: Death and sensuality. City Lights Books. [05] Bauman, Z. (1998). On Postmodern Uses of Sex. Theory, Culture & Society, 15 (3-4), 19–33. https://doi.org/10.1177/0263276498015003002 [06] Bazzano, M. (2013). This very body, the Buddha. Sexual and Relationship Therapy, 28 (1-2), 132–140. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681994.2013.770143 [07] Beauvoir, S. de. (1953). The Second Sex. Alfred A. Knopf. [08] Beck, J. G., Bozman, A. W., & Qualtrough, T. (1991). The experience of sexual desire: Psychological correlates in a college sample. The Journal of Sex Research, 28 (3), 443–456. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499109551618 [09] Béjin, A. (1982). Le pouvoir des sexologues et la démocratie sexuelle. Communications, 35 (1), 178–192. [10] Belk, R. W., Ger, G., & Askegaard, S. (2003). The Fire of Desire: A Multisited Inquiry into Consumer Passion. Journal of Consumer Research, 30 (3), 326–351. https://doi.org/10.1086/378613 [11] Bellah, R. N. (1999). Max Weber and World-Denying Love: A Look at the Historical Sociology of Religion. Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 67 (2), 277–304. https://doi.org/10.1093/jaarel/67.2.277 [12] Bem, D. J. (1996). Exotic becomes erotic: A developmental theory of sexual orientation, 103 (2), 320. Psychological Review, 103 (2), 320–335. [13] Berkey, B. R., Perelman-Hall, T., & Kurdek, L. A. (1990). The Multidimensional Scale of Sexuality. Journal of Homosexuality, 19 (4), 67–87. https://doi.org/10.1300/J082v19n04_05 [14] Berscheid, E. (2010). Love in the Fourth Dimension. Annual Review of Psychology, 61 (1), 1–25. [15] Biaggio, M. K., & Supplee, K. A. (1983). Dimensions of Aesthetic Perception. The Journal of Psychology, 114 (1), 29–35. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223980.1983.9915392 [16] Birnbaum, G.E. (2018). The Fragile Spell of Desire: A Functional Perspective on Changes in Sexual Desire Across Relationship Development. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 22 (2), 101-127 [17] Brielmann, A. & Pelli, D. (2019) Intense Beauty Requires Intense Pleasure. Front. Psychol. 10:2420 [18] Byrne, D. (1977). Social Psychology and the Study of Sexual Behavior. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 3 (1), 3–30. https://doi.org/10.1177/014616727600300102 [19] Calderone, M. S. (1974). Eroticism as a Norm. The Family Coordinator, 23 (4), 337. https://doi.org/10.2307/583107 [20] Carver, C. S., & White, T. L. (1994). Behavioral inhibition, behavioral activation, and affective responses to impending reward and punishment: the BIS/BAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67 (2), 319. [21] Clark, L. A., & Watson, D. (1991). General affective dispositions in physical and psychological health, 12, 221-245. Handbook of Social and Clinical Psychology, 12, 221–245. [22] Clayton, J. (1989). Narrative and Theories of Desire. Critical Inquiry, 16 (1), 33–53. https://doi.org/10.1086/448525 [23] Coffin, J. G. (2010). Beauvoir, Kinsey, and Mid-Century Sex. French Politics, Culture & Society, 28 (2). https://doi.org/10.3167/fpcs.2010.280203 [24] Cooper, M. L., Shapiro, C. M., & Powers, A. M. (1998). Motivations for sex and risky sexual behavior among adolescents and young adults: A functional perspective. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75 (6), 1528. [25] Derogatis, L. R., & Melisaratos, N. (1979). The DSFI: A multidimensional measure of sexual functioning. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 5 (3), 244–281. https://doi.org/10.1080/00926237908403732 [26] Derryberry, D., & Rothbart, M. K. (1988). Arousal, affect, and attention as components of temperament. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 55 (6), 958–966. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.55.6.958 [27] Diessner, R., Solom, R. C., Frost, N. K., Parsons, L., & Davidson, J. (2008). Engagement with beauty: Appreciating natural, artistic, and moral beauty. The Journal of Psychology, 142 (3), 303–329. https://doi.org/10.3200/JRLP.142.3.303-332 [28] Durán, M. (1963). Liberty and eroticism in the poetry of Octavio Paz. Books Abroad. - Norman/Oklahoma Vol. 37 (1963), Nr. 4, S. 373-377. [29] Ellis, H. (1939). Psychology of sex (5th impression). William Heinemann. [30] Falco, R. (2007). The Erotic Sacrament: Max Weber and Georges Bataille. Max Weber Studies, 7 (1), 13–36. [31] Fehr, B [B.] (1994). Prototype-based assessment of laypeople's views of love. Personal Relationships, 1 (4), 309–331. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6811.1994.tb00068.x [32] Feldman, M. P., MacCulloch, M. J., Mellor, V., & Pinschof, J. M. (1966). The application of anticipatory avoidance learning to the treatment of homosexuality—III. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 4 (1-2), 289–299. https://doi.org/10.1016/0005-7967 (66)90085-4 [33] Fellmann (2016a). Eroticism: Why it still matters. Psychology, 7 (7), 976. [34] Fellmann, F., & Walsh, R. (2016). From Sexuality to Eroticism: The Making of the Human Mind. Advances in Anthropology, 06 (01), 11–24. https://doi.org/10.4236/aa.2016.61002 [35] Fisher, White, Byrne, Kelley (1988). Erotophobia-Erotophilia as a Dimension of Personality. The Journal of Sex Research, 25 (1), 123–151. [36] Franzoi, S. L., & Shields, S. A. (1984). The Body Esteem Scale: Multidimensional structure and sex differences in a college population. Journal of Personality Assessment, 48 (2), 173–178. [37] Freund, K. (1978). A conceptual framework for the study of anomalous erotic preferences. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 4 (1), 3–10. https://doi.org/10.1080/00926237808402998 [38] Gard, D. E., Gard, M. G., Kring, A. M., & John, O. P. (2006). Anticipatory and consummatory components of the experience of pleasure: a scale development study. Journal of Research in Personality, 40 (6), 1086–1102. [39] Garrigós, C. (2017). Warriors and Mystics: Religious Iconography, Eroticism, Blasphemy and Gender in Punk Female Artists. Lectora: Revista De Dones I Textualitat, 23, 51–65. [40] Girard, R. (1953). The Role of Eroticism in Malraux's Fiction. Yale French Studies (11), 49. https://doi.org/10.2307/2928834 [41] Goldhammer, D. L., & McCabe, M. P. (2011). Development and psychometric properties of the Female Sexual Desire Questionnaire (FSDQ). The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 8 (9), 2512–2521. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1743-6109.2011.02334.x [42] Gooding, D. C., & Pflum, M. J. (2014). The assessment of interpersonal pleasure: introduction of the Anticipatory and Consummatory Interpersonal Pleasure Scale (ACIPS) and preliminary findings. Psychiatry Research, 215 (1), 237–243. [43] Gooren, L. (2006). The biology of human psychosexual differentiation. Hormones and Behavior, 50 (4), 589–601. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2006.06.011 [44] Graham, J. M. (2011). Measuring love in romantic relationships: A meta-analysis. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 28 (6), 748–771. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407510389126 [45] Gray, J. A. (1982). The neuropsychology of anxiety. Oxford Univ. Press. [46] Gray J.A. (Ed.). (1981). A Critique of Eysenck’s Theory of Personality. Springer. [47] Green, A. I. (2012). 'Erotic Capital' and the power of desirability: Why 'honey money' is a bad collective strategy for remedying gender inequality. Sexualities, 16 (1/2), 137–158. [48] Green, S. E., & Mosher, D. L. (1985). A causal model of sexual arousal to erotic fantasies. The Journal of Sex Research, 21 (1), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224498509551241 [49] Habermas, J., & Lawrence, F. (1984). The French Path to Postmodernity: Bataille between Eroticism and General Economics. New German Critique (33), 79. https://doi.org/10.2307/488355 [50] Hakim, C [C.] (2010). Erotic Capital. European Sociological Review, 26 (5), 499–518. https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcq014 [51] Hakim, C [Catherine]. (2011). Erotic capital: The power of attraction in the boardroom and the bedroom. Basic Books. http://site.ebrary.com/lib/alltitles/docDetail.action?docID=10498160 [52] Harbison, J. J. M., Graham, P. J., Quinn, J. T., McAllister, H., & Woodward, R. (1974). A questionnaire measure of Sexual Interest. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 3 (4), 357–366. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01636441 [53] Harnish, R. J., Bridges, K. R., & Rottschaefer, K. M. (2014). Development and psychometric evaluation of the Sexual Intent Scale. Journal of Sex Research, 51 (6), 667–680. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2013.773578 [54] Hatfield, E., & Sprecher, S. (1986). Measuring passionate love in intimate relationships. Journal of Adolescence, 9 (4), 383–410. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-1971 (86)80043-4 [55] Hendrick, C., Hendrick, S. S., & Dicke, A. (1998). The Love Attitudes Scale: Short Form. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 15 (2), 147–159. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407598152001 [56] Hendrick, C., Hendrick, S. S., & Reich, D. A. (2006). The brief sexual attitudes scale. Journal of Sex Research, 43 (1), 76–86. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224490609552301 [57] Hendrick, S., & Hendrick, C. (1987). Multidimensionality of sexual attitudes. The Journal of Sex Research, 23 (4), 502–526. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224498709551387 [58] Hendrick, S. S., & Hendrick, C. (2002). Linking Romantic Love with Sex: Development of the Perceptions of Love and Sex Scale. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 19 (3), 361–378. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407502193004 [59] Hendrick, C., & Hendrick, S. (1986). theory and method of love. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50 (2), 392-402. [60] Hill, C. A. (1997). The distinctiveness of sexual motives in relation to sexual desire and desirable partner attributes. The Journal of Sex Research, 34 (2), 139–153. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499709551878 [61] Hill, C. A., & Preston, L. K. (1996). Individual differences in the experience of sexual motivation: Theory and measurement of dispositional sexual motives. The Journal of Sex Research, 33 (1), 27–45. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499609551812 [62] Hofmann, W., Baumeister, R. F., Förster, G., & Vohs, K. D. (2012). Everyday temptations: an experience sampling study of desire, conflict, and self-control. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102 (6), 1318. [63] Hoon, E. F., Hoon, P. W., & Wincze, J. P. (1976). An inventory for the measurement of female sexual arousability: The SAI. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 5 (4), 291–300. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01542081 [64] Jamieson, C., & Roberts-Hughes, R. (2015). Two modes of a literary architecture: Bernard Tschumi and Nigel Coates. Architectural Research Quarterly, 19 (2), 110–122. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1359135515000366 [65] Kaplan, L., & Harder, D. W. (1991). The Sexual Desire Conflict Scale for Women: Construction, internal consistency, and two initial validity tests. Psychological Reports, 68 (3 Pt 2), 1275–1282. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1991.68.3c.1275 [66] Kinsey, A. C., Martin, C. E., Pomeroy, W. B., & Gebhard, P. H. (1953). Sexual behavior in the human female. Saunders. [67] Kinsey, A. C., Pomeroy, W. B., & Martin, C. E. (1948). Sexual behavior in the human male (5. print). Saunders. [68] Langeslag, S. J. E., Muris, P., & Franken, I. H. A. (2013). Measuring romantic love: Psychometric properties of the infatuation and attachment scales. Journal of Sex Research, 50 (8), 739–747. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2012.714011 [69] Langmeyer, L. and Shank, M. (1994). Managing Beauty – Products and People. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 3 (3), 27–38. [70] Lee, J. A. (1973). Colours of love: An exploration of the ways of loving. New Press. [71] Levine, S. B. (1984). An essay on the nature of sexual desire. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 10 (2), 83–96. https://doi.org/10.1080/00926238408405794 [72] Li, Z. et al. (2018). The structural invariance of the Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scale across time and culture. PsyCh Journal, 7, 59-67 [73] Lorde, A. (1984). Uses of the erotic: the erotic as power.: The uses of the erotic as power. Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches., 87–91. [74] Maes, H. (Ed.). (2012). Art and pornography: Philosophical essays. Oxford Univ. Press. [75] Marcus, S. (2011). The State's Oversight: From Sexual Bodies to Erotic Selves. Social Research, 78 (2), 509–532. [76] Marks, I. & Sartorius, N. (1968). A Contribution to the measurement of sexual attitude. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 145 (6), 441–451. [77] Martin, & George (2006). Theories of Sexual Stratification: Toward an Analytics of the Sexual Field and a Theory of Sexual Capital. Sociological Theory, 24 (2), 107–132. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0735-2751.2006.00284.x [78] Martin, L. (1990). Transpositions: On the Intellectual Origins of Tschumi's Architectural Theory. Assemblage (11), 22. https://doi.org/10.2307/3171133 [79] Masters, W. H., & Johnson, V. E. (1966). Human sexual Response. Little Brown & Co. [80] Masuda, M. (2003). Meta-analyses of love scales: Do various love scales measure the same psychological constructs? Japanese Psychological Research, 45 (1), 25–37. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-5884.00030 [81] Meana, M. (2010). Elucidating women's (hetero)sexual desire: Definitional challenges and content expansion. Journal of Sex Research, 47 (2), 104–122. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224490903402546 [82] Mehrabian, A. (1996). Pleasure-arousal-dominance: A general framework for describing and measuring individual differences in Temperament. Current Psychology, 14 (4), 261–292. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02686918 [83] Mehrabian, A., & Russell, J. A. (1973). A measure of arousal seeking tendency. Environment and Behavior, 5 (3), 315. https://search.proquest.com/docview/1292663240?accountid=10837 [84] Mehrabian, A., & Stanton-Mohr, L. (1985). Effects of emotional state on sexual desire and sexual dysfunction. Motivation and Emotion, 9 (4), 315–330. [85] Menninghaus, W. et al. (2019) Beauty, elegance, grace, and sexiness compared. PloS One, 14 (6). [86] Miller, G. (2007). A Wall of Ideas: The "Taboo on Tenderness" in Theory and Culture. New Literary History, 38 (4), 667–681. [87] Money, J [J.] (1965). The Sex Instinct and Human Eroticism. Journal of Sex Research, 1 (1), 3–16. [88] Money, J [John] (1981). The Development of Sexuality and Eroticism in Humankind. The Quarterly Review of Biology, 56 (4), 379–404. https://doi.org/10.1086/412431 [89] Morokoff, P. J. (1985). Effects of sex guilt, repression, sexual "arousability," and sexual experience on female sexual arousal during erotica and fantasy. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49 (1), 177–187. [90] Mosher, D. L. (1966). The development and multitrait-multimethod matrix analysis of three measures of three aspects of guilt. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 30 (1), 25–29. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0022905 [91] Requena, F. (2017). Erotic capital and subjective well-being. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 50, 13–18. [92] Ricoeur, P. (1964). WONDER, EROTICISM, AND ENIGMA. CrossCurrents, 14 (2), 133–166. [93] Rosen, R., Brown, C., Heiman, J., Leiblum, S., Meston, C., Shabsigh, R., Ferguson, D., & D'Agostino, R. (2000). The Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI): A multidimensional self-report instrument for the assessment of female sexual function. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 26 (2), 191–208. https://doi.org/10.1080/009262300278597 [94] Rubin (2005). Sex, politics, and morality. Wm. & Mary L. Rev, 47 (1), 1–48. [95] Rubin, Z. (1970). Measurement of romantic love. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 16 (2), 265–273. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0029841 [96] Russell, J. A., Weiss, A., & Mendelsohn, G. A. (1989). Affect grid: a single-item scale of pleasure and arousal. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57 (3), 493. [97] Santos, A. (2016). The rising tensions between religion, eroticism and art: The Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian. PORTO ARTE: Revista De Artes Visuais, 21 (35). https://doi.org/10.22456/2179-8001.73720 [98] Sarpila, O. (2014). Attitudes towards performing and developing erotic capital in consumer culture. European Sociological Review, 30 (3), 302–314. [99] Shilling, C., & Mellor, P. A. (2010). Sociology and the Problem of Eroticism. Sociology, 44 (3), 435–452. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038510362475 [100] Simon, J. et al. (2018). Psychometric evaluation of the Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scale (TEPS) in a German sample. Psychiatry Research, 260, 138-143 [101] Singer, B. (1985a). A comparison of evolutionary and environmental theories of erotic response part I: Structural Features. The Journal of Sex Research, 21 (3), 229–257. [102] Singer, B. (1985b). A comparison of evolutionary and environmental theories of erotic response part II: Empirical Arenas. The Journal of Sex Research, 21 (4), 345–374. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224498509551265 [103] Singer, B., & Toates, F. M. (1987). Sexual motivation. The Journal of Sex Research, 23 (4), 481–501. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224498709551386 [104] Snaith, R. P., Hamilton, M., Morley, S., Humayan, A., Hargreaves, D., & Trigwell, P. (1995). A scale for the assessment of hedonic tone the Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale. The British Journal of Psychiatry: The Journal of Mental Science, 167 (1), 99–103. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.167.1.99 [105] Sørensen, A. (2007). The inner experience of living matter. Philosophy & Social Criticism, 33 (5), 597–615. https://doi.org/10.1177/0191453707078922 [106] Spanier, G. B. (1976). Perceived Sex Knowledge, Exposure to Eroticism, and Premarital Sexual Behavior: the Impact of Dating. The Sociological Quarterly, 17 (2), 247–261. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1533-8525.1976.tb00977.x [107] Spector, I. P., Carey, M. P., & Steinberg, L. (1996). The sexual desire inventory: Development, factor structure, and evidence of reliability. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 22 (3), 175–190. https://doi.org/10.1080/00926239608414655 [108] Sprecher, S., & Fehr, B [Beverley] (2005). Compassionate love for close others and humanity. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 22 (5), 629–651. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407505056439 [109] Steenkamp, J. B., Baumgartner, H., & van der Wulp, E. (1996). The relationships among arousal potential, arousal and stimulus evaluation, and the moderating role of need for stimulation. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 13 (4), 319–329. [110] Sternberg, R. J. (1986). A triangular theory of love. Psychological Review, 93 (2), 119–135. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.93.2.119 [111] Sternberg, R. J., & Grajek, S. (1984). The nature of love. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 47 (2), 312–329. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.47.2.312 [112] Tagirov, P. (2018). Sexuality, Love and Eroticism: Methodology of Distinguishing. Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, 283 , 829-833. [113] Teyssot, G. (Ed.). (1994). Flesh: Architectural Probes: The mutant body of architecture. [114] Toledano, R., & Pfaus, J. (2006). The Sexual Arousal and Desire Inventory (SADI): A multidimensional scale to assess subjective sexual arousal and desire. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 3 (5), 853–877. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1743-6109.2006.00293.x [115] Tylka, T. L., & Iannantuono, A. C. (2016). Perceiving beauty in all women: Psychometric evaluation of the Broad Conceptualization of Beauty Scale. Body Image, 17 (67-81). [116] Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: the PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54 (6), 1063. [117] Webster Jr, M., & Driskell Jr, J. E. (1983). Beauty as Status. American Journal of Sociology, 89 (1), 140–165. [118] Whalen, R. E. (1966). Sexual motivation. Psychological Review, 73 (2), 151–163. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0023026 [119] Zetterberg, H. L. (1966). The Secret Ranking. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 28 (2), 134. https://doi.org/10.2307/349268