Firstly, I’d like to say that I’m really pleased how many people have commented, and how wide the views are on this – I figure a blog is a place for discussion, and am always thrilled when that happens! I did begin to write this post as a reply, but when it hit five hundred words I concluded the time had come to move it into a post of its own, and hope that debate continues!
Secondly, a point which I didn’t develop in the first post about erotic fiction, but which I figure I oughta actually expand on – not in any way as a counter-argument, merely as another issue which I think ought to be covered – is a very woman-specific one, towit, I am concerned that the trend in both erotic fiction, and to a degree other genres as well, is that women are often written as little better than sexual objects. I hasten to add that I trust there are books out there which don’t, but certainly to a casual eye the role of a lot of women is to be classified by their beauty and their sensual appeal above all else, and to be pursued for these qualities by powerful and imposing men. (For any men out there, feel free to wade in on this one, as I’m sure you too are as bored of tales of overly-muscled men with jaws of steel, as I am of sensual women with silken skin. Just saying; the argument that follows cuts both ways.)
I am all in favour of women taking control of their sexuality, understanding it and engaging with it. However, I question whether it’s an entirely productive trend in our society for women to be cast in fiction – and there are many genres where this happen, including my own – primarily as objects of sexual interest, and only secondarily as fully fledged characters in their own right. There seems a lot of fiction out there where women ‘simply can’t say no’ – not in a sexually abusive way per se, but because their desire for sex out-weighs their good judgment, up to and including getting off with Satan, because sure, that’s a great idea. Charming as this is as an occasional narrative blip, as an overall trend it alarms me.
I fully accept that tales of wonderfully beautiful women falling into the arms of strong yet dangerous men are as old as time, and fulfill both the desires and financial inclination of a readership, and that’s completely fine and valid. However, society exists to evolve, and with women around the world still battling to break out of their traditional wife-mother-mistress roles from the last two thousand years, I question whether society’s willingness to pay for stories which reinforce old cliches of sexuality, isn’t in fact a slightly dubious reflection on society as a whole. Throughout the Victorian era, and for millenia before, women were judged entirely as sexual objects, and great efforts were made by society to restrain women, bind them up behind societal laws and corsets. In the twentieth century, women at last began to push free of this, and certainly, a part of this push was reclaiming our sexuality back for ourselves. You could argue that erotic fiction is part of this reclamation, a celebration of the emancipation of women, and perhaps some of it is – were it not for the fact that so much of it seems to involve women who haven’t claimed their sexuality for themselves, who aren’t masters of their own fate, but rather have their bodies and their independence claimed by men around them.
Erotic tales have, do and always will persist in society and as I said, I have no great objection to that – rather I question whether writers, including those within my genre, shouldn’t take a greater responsibility for how they portray the women in their tales. Let people buy erotic fiction, absolutely – it is their right and their pleasure and I have no objection to this – but let therefore the genre itself stand up and write women worthy of the twenty first century, who are in charge of their own sexuality, their own free will and their own desires, rather than women who are merely bodies. I am sure that there are books out there which both try and achieve this, but they appear to be in the minority and this, more than the rise of erotica itself, alarms me.
3 comments
Anna_Wing says:
September 14, 2012 at 4:08 am (UTC 1 )
And also quite a lot of women do have other interests in life besides sex. And even fantasies about things other than sex. LIke having one’s own housekeeper, chef, personal maid, chauffeur, confidential secretary, man or woman of business’, gardener , dressmaker, shoemaker and hairdresser. Given the choice between all of that and the sexiest vampire in the world, well, the choice would not actually be difficult.
Tim S says:
September 14, 2012 at 3:03 pm (UTC 1 )
I’m not sure if women being portrayed as sexual objects is exactly a new phenomenon. If you change it to “object of desire” that covers an awful lot of literature that I can think of both, genre and classic. If you look at female characters being defined by their beauty then you are going right back to fairy tales. This seems to be the way that our culture has been set up.
I think that it looks as if there is more of it because a) there is more of every type of media now and b) people are more sensitive to these assumptions and question whether they should be true. This can only be a good thing, even if it is a bit token in some places, the fact of the questioning is progress.
I should also say for the record that I am not hugely well read in literary classics, or history or sociology. Plus I’m a man, so there’s going to be a bit of bias….
Clay Dowling says:
September 26, 2012 at 3:47 pm (UTC 1 )
There are definitely books out there showing women in charge of themselves and their sexuality. Candace Bushnell’s books seem to do that well, and she’s an excellent writer. I can heartily recommend Lipstick Jungle (the book anyway, the television series was good but not as enjoyable).
Within the Fantasy genre, take a look at Jim Hines’ princess novels, starting with The Stepsister Scheme. He turns the Disney princess genre on his head, writing princesses who are less interested in finding Mr. Right (indeed, one is much more interested in Mr. Right Now), and more interested in kicking butt and taking names.
In any event, maybe this is a good opportunity for you to step in and create your own strong female protagonists. Penny and Oda are great characters, even if Oda is terrifying. Maybe somebody like them needs to tell her story now.