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Eroplay is a word coined in 1984 by Frank Moore (performance artist) to describe intense physical play and touching of oneself and others released from the linear goals of sex and orgasm.

Interviewed in 1983 by performance artist Linda Montano, Moore did not yet have the word. Asked if there is “something other than sex”, Moore replied: “Yes, but there are no words for it in the English language. I like kids. Kids are very physical, but it is not sex, not sexual. But we have lost that possibility. We need it, but we mix it up with sex and think sex is what we want, but it’s really being close that we want. We need sex, too, but the two are different – being physical and sex. We go after sex so intensely because we confuse the one with the other.”

In “Eroplay” (1989) Moore gives a more extended definition of eroplay:

"Eroplay is intense physical playing and touching of oneself and others. Eroplay is the force or energy released by such play. It is also the happy, playful attitude towards life that comes from such play. Eroplay is not foreplay, even though foreplay is eroplay.

Foreplay leads to orgasm—eroplay leads to being turned-on in many different ways and in all parts of the body—including, but not limited to, physical arousal. It can be different every time. Skin touching skin seems to be what releases the full impact of eroplay. Eroplay can be intense. It is like when you rub a puppy on its belly and the puppy goes into a state of rapture, both totally turned-on and relaxed. Eroplay is the blissed-out, warm, relaxed, turned-on, totally satisfying feeling of a good head rub.

Eroplay is fun!

Eroplay is innocent and childlike.

Eroplay’s focus is on physical enjoyment.

Eroplay decreases isolation and alienation. It increases self-trust and trusting of others. It makes you harder to be controlled.

Eroplay leads to a life-style with all these characteristics. The lifestyle looks strangely like the love generation, but without drugs or free sex."

The word “eroplay” was first published in 1985 in “Eroplay in Life and Art”. In the years following this publication, the word “eroplay” has entered the language, both through interviews with Moore and journalistic articles/reviews about his art, philosophy and performances in a variety of media, from small press zines to large circulation newspapers. One early example is C. Carr’s article in the Village Voice (May 1987) after attending Frank Moore’s performance, “Intimate Cave”. This article documents the use of the word, both describing how it is defined and also how it is used as a physical ritual in the performance. Carr also wrote, in The Fiery Furnace, Performance in the ‘80s, War in the ‘90s:

"... Moore’s performances focus on what he calls eroplay, “an intense physical playing or touching of oneself and others” (press release), and they don’t work without audience participation. Spectators were urged to explore Moore’s body, then each other’s. Intimate Cave went on for five hours ..."

Below are a few examples of the way in which “eroplay” entered the language through these published pieces, and also how Frank Moore’s work and Moore himself became associated with the word “eroplay”: "“Frank Moore is the director of a performance group based in Berkeley, California. He is the creator of ‘eroplay,’ a kind of performance art that involves nudity and physical acts.” Eroplay is Fun, Veronica Vera, Adam Magazine, February 1987"

"“… the shamanistic exhibitionism (or ‘eroplay’) of the paraplegic Frank Moore …” The Surpassing Body, Herbert Blau, The Drama Review (Summer 1991)"

"“(Frank Moore) Berkeley performance artist, sonic shaman, and ‘eroplay’ explorer….” The East Bay Express, March 23, 2001"

"“Other performance artists veer into even more threatening territory … Johanna Went uses giant tampons with fake blood and shit in her work, and Frank Moore (a man with cerebral palsy) propounds ‘Eroplay,’ which involves nude interaction with the audience.” Arresting Images: Impolitic Art and Uncivil Actions, Steven Dubin (1994)"

Artist and activist Unruh Lee used eroplay outside of the context of Moore’s private and public performances. In 1994, Unruh Lee and others started the Gardeners Against the Work Ethic Association ("anti-work experiment in self-sufficiency, creating a new way of life based on play") and published Moore's “Eroplay In Life And Art” in their 'zine, GAWE. Eroplay was an essential part of the GAWE Association, and later a traveling "Nomadic Festival" organized by Lee.

Dr. Susan Block’s book, The Bonobo Way, includes a number of passages about eroplay. She has integrated the word into her own ideology and lexicon, using “eroplay” interchangeably with another word, “outercourse”.

Christian Lunch, the soundman at the Stork Club in Oakland, California since 2000, described his experience of eroplay in an interview with Moore himself in December 2001:

"The wonderful thing about eroplay, when you see it live … it’s generating an erotic energy, but it’s being channeled toward something really powerful, like I said before, that’s the thing that makes it unusual. And it would shock a club owner, but it turns the stage into, performing, into a ceremonial space …"

Steven Brown, author and co-founder of the Institute on Disability Culture, wrote about Moore and "eroplay" in 2003:

"The nudity in Frank’s life and art easily offends people. Although subverting reality is a goal, he has also coined the word “eroplay” to explain the importance of nudity in his work. He describes eroplay as the activity of getting people to know one another’s bodies in a fun and non-sexual way."

New York-based artist, Fred Hatt, attended this performance at New York City’s Franklin Furnace in 1989, and talks about his experience of the eroplay and of the performance itself in an article dedicated to Moore after his death:

"“Journey to Lila” was an eight-hour series of experiences, by turns silly, sexy, disconcerting, frightening, ridiculous, liberating, playful, warm, and bonding. By the end of it most of the audience was undressed and playing with each other like naked children. While some moments of it could be challenging, I never felt that I or anyone was unsafe or coerced or being exploited or laughed at … I’ve seen a lot of great performances and experienced many immersive theatrical events, but nothing has had such an enduring transformative effect on me as Frank Moore’s “Journey to Lila”. It came along at a pivotal moment in my life, and it opened my mind … Ever since, I have understood that people deeply desire freedom, that they want to live in a world of love and joy, and that if you invite people to play with you in such a world, many of them will. It has nothing to do with the harsh things our society uses to drive and motivate people – fear, envy, guilt, competition …"