A Dissertation On Women's Roles In Erotic Writing

"How women’s roles in erotic writing have increased as social attitudes change"

For many women today, erotic literature is not a taboo subject. It is discussed openly between friends, lovers and colleagues. Women’s magazines advertise erotica and recommend bookshops and websites from which to buy it. This is mainly due to the relaxation of social attitudes over the last century. Gone are the days of “Lie back and think of England.” It is now widely accepted that sex is for pleasure as well as procreation, and it sells.

The increase in female erotica readers and writers has been substantial, or perhaps women have always been involved in erotica, but because the current attitude is relaxed, they now feel they can be honest about it. Either way, social change means that it is open to discussion.

Going back to the Victorian period, it was almost impossible to find any female erotica authors. Women were portrayed very differently then. There was a divide between women on the streets, the prostitutes, and the housewives. The housewives were seen as pure and clean, and their bodies were not for pleasure, but for reproduction. So the married women would be unlikely to read or write erotica as they did not see sex as pleasurable, and the prostitutes would not be educated enough to read and write anyway.

After the reign of Queen Victoria, the Edwardian period began. It was during this period that women’s rights were examined. Technology advanced, and in the years following we were graced with radio and then television. World War One meant women’s rights were once again looked at, as they’d helped tremendously in factories and so on when their men were away fighting. U.S. women got the vote in 1920, and the U.K. followed in 1928. This was a step in the right direction for women’s equality.

Following this, there were peaks and troughs in economy. This affected the populations’ attitude. If they were in a depression they would be thinking of where their next meal was coming from, or if they were prosperous they would be concentrating on having fun.

In the forties, fifties and sixties, psychologists and scientists in the U.S. wanted to know more about the human body with regards sexual orientation and arousal. Particular studies, namely those conducted by Alfred Kinsey (see the Kinsey Reports in the Appendices), William Howell Masters and Virginia Eshelman Johnson (see Masters and Johnson, also in Appendices) brought to light differing sexual preferences, i.e. bisexuality, and physical responses to arousal. This showed more choice when it came to sex, and also that the female body when aroused does prepare itself for penetration and orgasm.

The really significant changes came along in the sixties, with the sexual revolution. The contraceptive pill was introduced, which meant couples could have sex without always worrying that the woman was going to get pregnant. The manufacture of rubber meant modern condoms were introduced, which lowered risks further for couples wishing to have intercourse, although education on STI’s was not very good at this point. Many of the people I interviewed said their sex education did not mention STI’s at all, it was just the ‘baby making’ side of things, the absolute bare essentials. Advances in abortion technology and its legalisation also gave more freedom to women wishing to experiment with their sexuality without fear of ruining their lives with an unwanted pregnancy.

There was also a period of rebellion. People who hit their teens around the sixties were often used to their parents being uptight with regards sex and sexuality. Particularly religious households hit it home to their children that sex before marriage was wrong, and that they would go to hell and be considered a bad person if they did it. Therefore teenagers often did it just to rebel. They wanted to see what all the fuss was about, and just to prove that they could do it, and that they wouldn’t be struck down or go to hell.

Gay rights and feminism came along in the late sixties and continued into the seventies. “The Stonewall Riots,” a huge gay awareness campaign served its purpose, meaning ‘different’ sexualities were discussed more freely, and this had a knock on effect inasmuch as sex in general was now talked about openly. It was no longer such a taboo. This meant young couples would be likely to have a more mature outlook on having sex. If they could discuss it, they could talk to each other, find out their true feelings and thoughts, rather than just doing it through peer pressure, and they would feel more comfortable talking about contraception. So although the older generations were highly disgruntled at how sex was becoming an open issue, it meant their children were actually being more responsible.

Women also became more independent in general. Feminism and the fact that more women were entering the workforce meant that they were slowly beginning to become more equal to men. This included the way they saw sex, for pleasure not just making babies!

The sixties and seventies saw an increase in sexual literature in general, and also by women. Two of the most popular female authors in this period were Anaïs Nin and Nancy Friday. Friday started a miniature revolution in the U.S. Her book, My Secret Garden was full of women’s sexual fantasies. At this time, psychiatrists were of the opinion that women who had such fantasies had a mental illness of some description. The majority of women in this book remained anonymous, but many women reading this book realised they were not alone in having these fantasies, and Friday’s next book in the same format had women who were willing to have their names and even addresses printed and passed on. (For more information on this change of attitude see pages headed “Nancy Friday Forbidden Flowers” in the Appendices). This begun a change in attitudes, as it became apparent that women did in fact have sexual fantasies and saw sex as more than just pro-creational.

This attitude slowly came to the U.K. and in the seventies the Ann Summers chain opened, although the company was originally headed by a man, it was aimed at women only. It was a women only sex shop, selling lingerie, sex toys and things for couples to share. This was a revolution in itself as many women had never seen a sex toy before. Nowadays, though, it is common practice for couples to introduce a toy into their bedroom antics.

In the eighties and the nineties, the media had a massive effect on social change. Mass media meant that sex and everything to do with it was heavily advertised. The Internet meant users could contact likeminded people much more easily, and share their thoughts and opinions. Internet shopping also meant people could procure sexual aids without the embarrassment of going into a ‘seedy’ sex shop. Ann Summers had removed this ‘seedy’ image, but not the embarrassment. This came later. TV, what with Sky and Cable, meant easy access to premium channels, so audiences were exposed to sexual material, whether it was soft pornography or documentaries.

Feminism had another boost in the nineties, and it meant it was now more fashionable. The Spice Girls sung about strong women and girl power, and also they placed emphasis on safe sex in the song 2 Become 1. The Spice Girls used their popularity to hit this message home and make it cool to be smart about contraception. The launch of Sex and the City saw a huge increase in the purchases of the Rampant Rabbit vibrator seen in the series!

People were now exposed to sex in their everyday lives and the younger generation took this for granted. They had no problem discussing it with friends or partners, and women’s attitudes in particular became more selfish. They would no longer stand for substandard sex. It was now viewed as a means to pleasure which women were constantly striving to improve.

Literature followed suit. Women, although they were now more interested in pornography, thought it catered only for men and their tastes. Sage Vivant, founder of Custom Erotica Source website said -

“When I grew tired of reading about scenes and situations that didn’t quite hit the mark for me, I started writing my own stories.”

Men are much more visual when it comes to sexual arousal, so a porn film would be suitable to turn them on. However, women use their imaginations much more, so literature was a natural medium to use for their pleasure. It had many uses. It meant that they could stimulate their imaginations by reading and writing erotica as opposed to having to make do with media aimed at men. Black Lace was launched in the 1990’s; finally, a publisher which concentrated on literature “Written by women, for women.” This was a huge turning point, because now there was erotica catering for women only, they did not have to make do with what had been created for men, and therefore it would be much more effective. Since there was a publisher specifically dedicated to such material, ordinary women realised it was OK to be reading it, and many also experimented with writing it. Even if they had no intention of having it published, they used it as a means of exploring their own fantasies without endangering a relationship, a means of escapism and to express their thoughts without any danger of embarrassment. Answers from my questionnaires indicate that many readers of erotica use it for the same reasons; with the addition of getting ideas for their own sex lives, to make up for a lack of intimacy in ‘real life,’ and some even read these stories to ‘get off’ without endangering themselves by acting out some of the fantasies in them!

The literature itself has changed with social attitudes. Books that were once considered erotic or controversial now would not even raise an eyebrow now. Colette’s Chéri, first published in 1907 was then considered quite a shocker, but on reading it, it is simply a love affair. There are no sex scenes or anything remotely sexual in the novel, so it does go to show how differently we view things nowadays.

Anaïs Nin’s novel A Spy in the House of Love, first published in 1954 has sex scenes in it, but they are very different to what you would see in a book published in the last ten years. An example:-

“…no words by which to possess each other, no music for serenades… but only one ritual, a joyous, joyous, joyous impaling of woman on a man’s sensual mast.”

(Nin, Anaïs, A Spy in the House of Love. A Penguin Red Classic, published in 2006 in London. p31.)

We know exactly what Nin is getting at, but it is incredibly subtle compared to the following from a Black Lace novel:-

“He saw that Julie’s gaze was latched on the thick, swaying heaviness of his engorged prick…”

(McCabe, Catharine, Saving Julie, in Wicked Words 10, The Best of Wicked Words. Published in 2005 by Black Lace in London. p137)

Writers are using more obvious and modern language, with blatant descriptions of parts of the anatomy and of sexual acts because it is now acceptable. There is no need to use the ‘language of flowers’ because you are afraid of offending someone.

Attitudes have continued to relax. The younger generations are comfortable with discussing their sex lives and experimentation.

They were brought up differently; religion does not have a place in many households now, so the old ‘no sex before marriage’ morals have all but disappeared. Sage mentions that some of her family don’t know about her career in erotica –

“and those who do know are rather uncomfortable with the notion. (Most of my relatives were raised in strict Italian Catholic households, unlike my own, which I would classify as more of an Italian semi-religious one.)”

It is acceptable nowadays to have sex simply for pleasure, not just to have children. Black Lace and Ann Summers are household names; women share their books, and hold Ann Summers parties, passing vibrators around a room to test the sensations on their noses! These attitudes now mean that you can walk into any bookstore and find an erotic novel and purchase it without the cashier blinking an eyelid, just the same as going to the chemist and purchasing condoms. You can in fact walk into Tesco and buy a Blaze book. Blaze are an offshoot of the Mills and Boon publishing house, that specialise in erotic romance novels. In the next month or so you will be able to purchase Scarlet magazine from Tesco also, a women’s magazine which focuses on sex and sexuality. It is so acceptable now, that women will think nothing of putting it into their trolley next to their toilet rolls and oven chips!

Black Lace are publishing roughly two new books each month. Websites have hundreds and hundreds of adult titles available. There are websites totally devoted to erotica; women’s fantasies, short stories, all freely discussed in an environment where everyone is comfortable with it. Women are invited to send in their own fantasies or stories, and share sex tips, all with the idea of improving their sex lives.

We now have same sex marriages, and homosexuals are ‘coming out’ earlier in their lives as they will no longer receive the problems and grief they would have generations before.

So erotic literature has the perfect market. The genre is increasing as the demand for it is growing. People are open with discussing sex and sexuality. Women want to read literature to get ideas, to relax and escape from everyday life. They want to read about other people’s fantasies in order to reassure themselves they are not alone. Erotica is increasingly being used as a tool in the bedroom, with partners reading it to each other.

So you see it is becoming part of everyday life, and will continue to do so as our children and their children adopt our relaxed attitudes towards sex and sexuality.

Lucy Felthouse
www.lucyfelthouse.co.uk/