What does homoeroticism mean?
Homoeroticism is a noun meaning erotic attraction, desire, or expression involving people of the same sex. It may describe a person's inner experience, but it is also used in literary, artistic, and cultural criticism to identify same-sex erotic themes in writing, painting, film, or performance. The term is not simply another word for homosexuality: homoeroticism focuses specifically on erotic feeling or expression, while homosexuality more commonly refers to sexual orientation or identity. This distinction allows scholars and writers to discuss attraction and desire without assuming that every homoerotic subject or character has a particular identity. In everyday conversation, people may use less formal expressions when they do not need a specialized critical term. Homoeroticism remains a useful word in discussions of literature, history, psychology, and the representation of desire because it gives attention to the erotic dimension of same-sex attraction independently of identity categories.
nounErotic attraction, desire, or expression involving people of the same sex. The term can refer to individual experience as well as homoerotic themes in literature, art, and culture.
- Erotic attraction, desire, or expression involving people of the same sex.
"The novel explores homoeroticism through the intimate relationship between its two central characters."
"The scholar examined homoeroticism in Victorian poetry and its relationship to secrecy and social constraint."
"Their candid conversation about homoeroticism revealed how attraction and personal identity can differ in emphasis."
Rare; the noun is normally treated as an uncountable term.
"The exhibition brought together homoeroticisms from several periods and artistic traditions."
Homoeroticism names a mode of desire and expression without requiring that desire to become a complete identity.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does homoeroticism come from?
Homoeroticism combines the combining form homo-, from Greek homos, meaning “same,” with erotic, derived from Greek eros, meaning “love” or “desire,” and the suffix -ism, which forms nouns denoting a condition, practice, or characteristic. The compound homoerotic developed before the modern noun homoeroticism, which became established in English during the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. Related English forms include the adjective homoerotic and the adverb homoerotically.
Related word forms
How homoeroticism is actually used
The word is most common in formal, academic, literary, and cultural-critical contexts. It is more analytical than everyday language and can describe attraction or erotic expression without making a claim about a person's broader sexual orientation.
Easily confused with homoeroticism
Homoeroticism concerns erotic attraction or expression involving people of the same sex, whereas homosexuality is a term for sexual orientation or identity.