Fernande (1910–1917) by Jean Agélou.

Painting by Édouard-Henri Avril.

Erotica (from the Greek ἔρως, eros "desire") are works of art, including literature, photography, film, sculpture and painting, that deal substantively with erotically stimulating or sexually arousing descriptions. The term is a modern word that describes the portrayal of the human anatomy and sexuality with high-art aspirations, differentiating such work from commercial pornography.^[1] Curiosa generally refers to erotica and pornography as discrete, collectible items, usually in published or printed form.

Erotica and pornography[link]

The Naked Maja (c. 1800–1803) by Francisco de Goya.

Distinction is often made between erotica and pornography (the depiction of acts in a sensational manner so as to arouse a quick intense emotional reaction) (as well as the lesser known genre of sexual entertainment, ribaldry), although depending on the viewer they may seem one and the same. Pornography's objective is the graphic depiction of sexually explicit scenes.^[2] Pornography is often described as exploitative or degrading.^[2][3]

See also[link]

Sexuality portal

• History of erotic depictions
• Erotic film

References[link]

Asia Agcaoili
Asia Agcaoili in the ASEAN IKON-Philippine Leg
Born	Asia Agcaoili (1983-09-20) September 20, 1983 (age 28) Isabela, Philippines
Years active	2000-present

Asia Agcaoíli is a former Filipino actress, model, columnist for FHM Philippines and TV and radio host.

Personal life[link]

Asia was born Junelyn Alexis Agcaoili on September 20, 1983 in Isabela, Philippines and is a graduate of the University of the Philippines.

After moving to the Netherlands she gave birth to a son, Xander, by boyfriend Bram van der Kolk.^[1] They married in 2009^[2] and later moved to New Zealand where Bram was arrested as part of the Megaupload raid.^[3]

Entertainment career[link]

She was part of the second wave of the group singing group Viva Hotbabes, known for their provocative videos.^[4]

Her introduction to television was in ABC's Singles reality TV show in where she agreed to acquire breast implants and had it broadcasted. She then joined in an episode of GMA Network reality game show Extra Challenge were she displayed her intelligence and confidence when she was faced with conservative moralists.

On radio she was a disk jockey on a radio station, Magic 89.9 until January 14, 2007, and an advice columnist for FHM^[5] called "Asia's Sex Confidential".^[5] Agcaoíli is known for being very open in talking about sex.

Asia was a regular on the ABS-CBN show, Bida si Mister, Bida si Misis. She has also appeared in Sex Guru, the first Philippine-made sex education film and had a monthly column in FHM Philippines re-published^[6] entitled Asia's Sex Confidential,^[5] where she talks about love, sex and relationships.

Agcaoíli had the role of a villain on Till Death Do Us Part on ABS-CBN.

Controversies and Suspensions[link]

After her breast was exposed in a March 9, 2003, edition of MTB, a variety show, Agcaoíli was suspended from the show for 20 days by the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB).

In a memorandum, the MTRCB said it found the program "objectionable" because of Agcaoili's "accidental left breast exposure."

Later shows[link]

Agcaoili spearheaded the Pinoy Big Brother show for the viewers of Studio 23. Her show, called Pinoy Big Brother: Si Kuya, KaBarkada Mo, featured snippets from the primetime telecast the night before, but also featured opinion polls both from the man on the street and those sending SMS, spoof segments (such as predictions from "prominent" fortune tellers and insider news from the "resident" deep penetration agent, a cockroach), and live feeds from inside the house.

She was also one of the hosts of Breakfast on Studio 23 every Thursday and was a part of teleseries Vietnam Rose on ABS-CBN, where she teamed up with her Bida si Mister, Bida si Misis and the Philippine's Diamond Star, Maricel Soriano.

She also hosted the Sunday afternoon TV show iPBA on ABC, a show that feature the ins and outs of the Philippine Basketball Association that included interviews with league personalities that last until August 2008.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Filmography at IMDB
• Asia Agcaoili's Sex Confidential on FHM.com.ph
• Asia Agcaoili on FHM.com.ph
• Asia Agcaoíli on GoPilipinas.com

Edwige Fenech (Italian pronunciation: [edˈviːdʒe ˈfenɛk]) (born Edwige Sfenek; 24 December 1948) is a French-born Italian actress and film producer.

Biography[link]

Fenech was born in Bône (now Annaba), in Algeria to a Maltese father and Sicilian mother. From the late 1960s to early 1980s, Fenech starred in many types of European movies. She is best known for her Commedia sexy all'italiana films, and began to work in that field in the late 1960s with Austrian director Franz Antel. Fenech also achieved fame with giallo and sex films such as Five Dolls for an August Moon, Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key, Nude per l'assassino and Sex with a Smile, many of which were directed by Sergio Martino.

In the 1980s, she became a television personality, typically appearing with Barbara Bouchet on a chat show on Italian television. In the mid-1990s, she was engaged to the well-known Italian industrialist Luca di Montezemolo.

After many years of work in movie production (she produced, among others, The Merchant of Venice, 2004, with Al Pacino), Fenech accepted Quentin Tarantino's offer to star in another movie, Hostel: Part II (2007), directed by Eli Roth. A British general named Ed Fenech (played by Mike Myers) is a character in Tarantino's 2009 film Inglourious Basterds.

External links[link]

• Edwige Fenech at the Internet Movie Database
• Interview with Fenech, by Luigi Cozzi, from around 1970
• Edwige Fenech Movie poster images

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Renato Zero is the stage name of Renato Fiacchini (born September 30, 1950), an Italian singer-songwriter and showman whose career spans a full 6 decades, from the 1960s to the 2010s, with 40 million records sold^[1]. Zero was born Renato Fiacchini in downtown Rome, in Via di Ripetta, next to the famed Via del Corso. He quit his studies early to devote himself to his true passion, the arts, more specifically playing music and singing - though initially with little success. From an early age, he would wear make-up and cross-dress. He replied to the criticisms he received (including the recurring insult Sei uno zero! - "You're a zero!") by taking on the pseudonym Renato Zero. He recorded his first songs in 1965: "Tu, sì", "Il deserto", "La solitudine", which were never issued. His first published single, "Non basta sai/In mezzo ai guai" (1967), sold a total of 20 copies and was quickly forgotten. He had several different jobs, including an appearance in an advertisement for ice-cream, work as a dancer in a TV show, playing and dancing in two musicals and a couple minor roles in two Fellini movies.

In the late 1960s/early 1970s Zero's career was given a boost by the glam-rock movement, from which he benefited with his sexual ambiguity and androgynous appearance. At the same time, this led him to being accused of emulating other celebrities like David Bowie and, in particular, other British singer Marc Bolan whom he looked a whole lot like. In 1973 he issued his first LP, No! Mamma, no! (recorded live), but still with little success. The follow-up Invenzioni met the same fate.

Birth of the "Zeromania"[link]

It was not until 1976 that he scored his first hit with the single "Madame", a collaboration with songwriter Franca Evangelisti and composer Piero Pintucci, with whom Zero continued to work in the years that followed. "Madame" and the album including it, Trapezio, established a regular and loyal audience for Zero. This was to increase exponentially in the following years, until he could boast a huge following of die-hard fans that he dubbed Sorcini ("Little Mice"). His greatest hits at the time, all of them topping and breaking the Italian charts for quite some time, were lurid, only partly veiled recounts of extreme life in the sex-crazed 1970s: "Mi vendo" (a transvestite hooker's anthem), "Il triangolo" (a threesome's tale), and "SessoOEsse" (S.O.S. spelled like "Sex-or-S"), all set to a Bee Gees-like disco beat that was trendy at the time, were, and still are, really popular in Italy, and were among all disco clubs playlists. He also became friends at the time with french chanteuse and disco-queen Amanda Lear,Gay French icon.

The late 1970s were indeed years of great success for Zero's character, with the LPs Zerofobia ("Zerophobia", 1977), Zerolandia (1978) and Erozero (1979) topping the Italian charts. At this time Renato Zero was amongst the two or three most popular singers in Italy and his song "Il Carrozzone" was already regarded, also by critics, as one of the best Italian songs ever.

The name Zerolandia referred also to the moving theatre (a circus tent with a capacity of 5,000) in which he gave shows throughout Italy. On numerous occasions fans would participate in the gigs, made-up like Zero and dressed in his typical bird-like and strass-decorated costumes.

In 1979 Zero played as himself in the movie Ciao Nì (his usual greeting to his fans, which can be roughly translated as "Hi pal!"). In Italy this film grossed more than the American blockbuster Superman.

The 1980s: career dip[link]

In the 1980s he began to abandon make-up and greasepaint, but this did not rid Zero of his mania for grandeur: in the 1980 tour, for example, he entered the scene riding a white horse. In 1982 he began a collaboration with the opera director Renato Serio, who was to write the string arrangements for almost all of Zero's following LPs. In late 1983 he took part in RAI's Fantastico 3, then the most popular Italian TV show.

His career continued to be successful until 1984, with top-charts songs like "Amico" ("Friend") and "Spiagge" ("Beaches"). That year, however, his album Leoni si nasce and the tour of the same name, in which he appeared disguised as a lion and escorted by four aborigines, were commercial failures. The album Zero of 1987 marked the lowest point of his career: instead of playing in arenas and stadiums, Zero had to sing almost for free in the piazzas and discos of Italy's minor cities.

1990s: The comeback[link]

In 1991 Renato Zero participated to the Sanremo Music Festival with "Spalle al muro", and from that moment on his career began to rise again. In 1993 he ranked #1 on the Italian charts with the LP Quando non sei più nessuno. The following year Imperfetto repeated this success. During his tour concerts would regularly sell out, and he returned to his famous dress changes during the spectacles, although in a more balanced style.

In the mid-90s Zero dubbed the character of Jack Skellington and sang the songs in the Italian release of Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas.^[2]

In 1999, he sang at Pavarotti and Friends his hit song Il cielo together with tenor Luciano Pavarotti, and later the same year, Italian diva Mina paid him a tribute with her album Mina n° 0, containing nine Zero's songs, including one sung in duet with him.

2000s: the Emperor's Reign[link]

In 2004 his tour "Cattura il sogno/Il sogno continua" (Catch the dream/The dream continues) was awarded from Pollstar magazine as the most successful of the year in Italy and as well as one of the most successful worldwide (#30). The recording of the Roman concerts, held at Olimpico Stadium in June, was the best sold musical DVD of 2004.

In 2005 he took part to the Italian stage of Live 8, in the Circo Massimo. In November his new album Il dono ("The Gift") topped the charts and maintained #1 until the end of the year. In December 2005 he performed in the Vatican with a song dedicated to Pope John Paul II. Renato Zero's 2006 tour was entitled Zero movimento and involved 25 concerts. After 40 years of musical career, in February 2006 he refused the Career Award of the national Festival of San Remo, stating that should be for artists at an old age.

During some concerts held at the time of the campaign for the April 2006 elections, he declared himself against (right-wing) former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

In 2007 he toured again in major Italian cities, filling the biggest sports stadiums. The tour was called MpZerO, and attracted 270,000 spectators on 7 dates, of which 120,000 filled the Olympic Stadium of Rome, his hometown. He's often called the Emperor of Rome.

"Presente", his 30th album, released in Europe, South America and North America March 20, 2009, caused him to gain 5 discs of platinum in Italy and 80,000 copies sold out by Italy. Following Presente release, Renato toured again in autumn 2009: "Zeronove tour" collected 30 sold-out dates, most successful gig of the year in Italy. On December 10, "Ancora qui", the first single from the album "Presente", won the best Italian video of the year. In September 2010 "Presente" (cd edition + special cd+dvd edition) was certified by FIMI as the highest selling album in Italy during 2009–2010 years.

Zero's accomplishments[link]

Renato Zero is still the only Italian artist to have reached the number one charts position of singles in 4 different decades (70's, 80's, 90's and 2000's). He had no fewer than 26 albums in the Top 10.

He likes to work with other artists, and wrote songs for numerous other singers as well. With his particular approach in performances, shows and tours, he is a leading live performer in his country and obtained a unique spot in the Italian musical scene. Throughout his career, Renato Zero has been a crusader against drug abuse. His grand force is regarded to be having shown the normality of the diverse, convincing the public that diversity feeds our human abilities to feel and act with love, respect, solidarity and faith.

Personal life[link]

Zero has never either admitted nor denied being gay and he avoids the subject although the general consesus is that he is gay, albeit a conservative one, who fancies no outings and no public displays of it except in his art. His image has changed thru the decades, from the flamboyant, make-up wearing transvestite of the mid 1970s, reminiscent of Marc Bolan or Rocky Horror Picture Show's Frank'n'Furter, to today's somber, blue suit-clad icon of no specific gender and unspecified age, his only allowance to fancifulness, a casque of jet-black hair and a thin veil of foundation and lipgloss.

Discography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Renato Zero

• Official website (Italian and English)
• Zeromania, fan site
• Renato Zero, tribute space