Are
there topics you feel should be unequivocally banned from erotica?
Subjects about which you would absolutely never read—or write—in
an erotic context? Do you believe there are some literary lines that
should never be crossed?
Many
people feel this way about rape or other forms of non-consensual
sexual activity. Yet studies (here,
for example) have shown repeatedly that many women (and some men)
fantasize about being raped or forced into sexual activity. In
general, these women understand that imagined coercion is very
different from real rape. Finding the former arousing does not
indicate a desire for the latter. Nevertheless many readers, and
publishers, object to exploring this topic in erotica.
What
about incest? Despite the difficulty authors experience in publishing
fiction that features sexual activity between adult family members,
the taboo topic is a turn-on for a significant subset of readers. The
wildly popular step-brother romance sub-genre has provided a “safe”
way for readers to experience the forbidden thrill of being attracted
to a close relation. I personally consider this as a bit dishonest.
I’ve had incestuous dreams about my own brother. I’d never act on
them, but that doesn’t mean the dreams weren’t a turn-on.
Bestiality?
If sexual activity involving animals is so horrifying, why are
shifter stories so successful? Not to mention the cryptozoological
“taken by bigfoot” sub-genre? Forcing oneself upon a dumb
animal in the real world would be immoral, but the beasts in erotic
fiction tend to be anthropomorphised. The human participants feel
some sort of sexual connection with the horny dog or the sleek,
predatory tiger. I’ve read some amazing erotica based on human
attraction to animals. Does that mean I plan to have sex with my cat?
Of course not.
Sex
with children may be a hard line. Adults getting sexual with kids too
young to object or to understand is definitely wrong. There are no
extenuating circumstances. But how do you define “young”? Is
fourteen too young? That’s how old I was when I gave away my
virginity, to a guy who was twenty. I knew exactly what I was doing
(well, in theory, at least). During the teen years, desire is
confusing and inchoate, but overwhelming in its power. Memories of
that period, when every emotion cuts to the quick, offer tremendous
possibilities for meaningful and moving—as well as tremendously
arousing—erotic fiction.
My
clearest personal line involves erotic fiction that portrays
inflicting serious violence, physical harm or death as arousing. I
avoid such stories when I can. I’ve read enough erotica, though, to
know that not everyone agrees with this boundary. Are the people who
write such stuff fundamentally evil? Am I qualified to judge?
These
are not easy questions to answer. If you think they are, I believe
that you’re fooling yourself.
The
core issue relates to another kind of line: the line between
imagination and reality. Is someone who finds a taboo topic arousing
in fiction likely to perform such actions in real life? I’d argue
that most readers of erotica distinguish very clearly between the
fantasies evoked by erotic fiction, no matter how extreme, and the
life they live outside of books.
Of
course there are individuals who do enact this sort of forbidden
scenario in the real world. There are men who kidnap women and hold
them prisoners in their basements for years, who secretly abuse grade
school kids, who screw their prepubescent daughters. These people
have always existed. Does our writing about the sort of crimes they
perpetrate encourage these people to commit these crimes?
Does
an author who writes about a serial killer encourage murderers in the
real world?
How
much of the horror that people express about various taboo topics is
rational, and how much is based on their personal discomfort? I will
leave that question open for you to ponder.
Publishers
and online venues don’t want to make readers uncomfortable. They’re
also worried about getting in trouble with the law. Hence, they
establish various rules about what content is and is not acceptable.
These rules tend to be idiosyncratic, depending on both the personal
beliefs of the owners or operators and their perception of their
market. For instance, I had a publisher reject one of my stories once
because they had a policy prohibiting the portrayal of priests and
nuns in erotica. In the romance world, very few publishers will
accept any work that includes bodily fluids (“golden showers” or
“scat”) even though there’s no legal reason for them to reject
such stories (and it’s possible to write about these topics with
both grace and heat). These publishers are convinced their readership
will find such content “gross”.
Perhaps
you will consider me an incorrigible reprobate, but I am in favor. I
believe we should have as few rules as possible.
In
my view, erotica should not only turn readers on, but should also
expand their perspectives. Sex is inextricably intertwined with so
many other emotions—love,
guilt, ambition, shame, anger, and compassion, to name just a few.
Erotica derives its singular power from this psychological
complexity. It’s not a safe genre, or at least it shouldn’t be.
Sometimes the most arousing stories are the most disturbing.
Does
that mean nothing is sacred, nothing forbidden? That’s something
each of us has to answer for ourselves. There are few, if any red
lines that I can discern. Defining what is and is not acceptable in
erotica is a dangerously slippery slope.
Red
lines in erotica remind me a bit of limits in BDSM. Limits are
personal—the
activities I totally reject might be the ones that most turn you on.
Furthermore, limits can change over time. Tomorrow I might consider
doing something that terrifies or squicks me today. Finally, the most
erotic BDSM encounters often result from pushing limits—moving
beyond the edge of what’s comfortable and familiar into new
experiences and new insights.
