Is that porn on your ereader or are you happy to see me?

I was all set to do a montage of 'reclaiming the cunt' a la Eve Ensler style when @SmartBitches tweeted a current Slate article about ereaders and porn. Since I'm about reading all things pervy I decided to give this a spin. Only to discover that maybe there needs to be some sort of dictionary definition for porn vs. erotica vs. romance, rather than the gender line that this article dances between. Are they going to whip out ye ole tar and feather with the porn label again?

Let's start with this: I've never thought of the books I've read as porn. However, that doesn't mean that in describing them to friends, family and coworkers I haven't called them porn or romance (depending on how racy it was) at some time or another, because I have, but, my understanding of porn differs greatly from theirs and in order to hold off on a long list of questions that they would ask, I give an answer that can be easily digested and filed away.

Porn brings to mind images of Ron Jeremy, Jenna James, et al in a tangle of limbs, oily bits and cheesy 80s muzak. Erotica and romance instead bring none of these to mind, since its medium is book, either digital or dead tree, I don't have any visual other than the cover to work from. Which begs the question does the visual representation define its genre?

Or since this revolves around the Kindle, does the device determine the genre? Considering stacks of books with (sometimes, though not often) non-descript or easily stacked covers over magazines with bright images of men and women with their assets on display it's hard not to believe that's the case. Or at least that's the status quo that the Slate seems to be reporting.

I think the shift to digital has opened up the accessibility of what we can read and where. Want to sit on the train and can't wait to get to the next chapter of Compromising Positions, or Slave Women of the Czar – Book 2, pull out your ereader of choice and go for it, likewise if you want to catch up on your Penthouse letters. Hopefully, Amazon and other ebook retailers will see this is as plus, besides who cares if what you're reading is considered porn, erotica or romance at least you are reading and given some of the adult literacy statistics that's something for the plus column any day.