Critical Discourse: Erotica and Why We Can’t Get No Respect
*Warning: Public Spanking* Back in early May, I wrote a post on why I felt having a ‘Best Male Erotica’ anthology was important to the genre as a whole. I said I felt that it was vital to the genre to have new, original male voices. It generated many thoughtful, interesting comments. One, however, stood […]
My Problem with Sexed Up Classics
I was recently taken to task by a commenter for being judgmental for replying that I didn’t want to read ‘yet another unoriginal retelling’ of a classic with the sex dumped in. This was in reference to recently produced and eroticised version of Wuthering Heights. This is the latest in a slew of sexed-up classics […]
Why don’t we do it in the road?
This deep, murky ocean of meaning we’ve poured on top of our simple need to continue the species. Our outrageous excess of drive. Thousands of years and a million stories to gild the lily of our animal nature. What a castle in the air we’ve created. What complex labyrinths we’ve constructed to keep sperm from […]
Unsafe Sex and the Representation of Ideals
We’ve been having a very vibrant conversation on twitter about whether or not a writer of erotic fiction has an obligation to write their sex scenes as ‘safe’, i.e. with the participants wearing condoms. In a way, this is somewhat related to an earlier post I had on the pressure to write sex-positive erotica, to […]
Abyssal Depths – The Art of the Mindfuck
The topic of the mindfuck has been on my mind of late. I’ve had ongoing discussions with @DarkGracie on the subject, and a lovely face-to-face conversation about it with two people from different ends of the power spectrum: MisterGryphon and Mollena. I’d like to state up front that what follows is a very personal understanding […]
Why Do We Need a “Best Male Erotica” Anthology
Yesterday, Burning Book Press sent out a call for submissions for a ‘Best Male Erotica Anthology 2013‘ to be edited by Raziel Moore and Will Crimson. Historically, pornographic (sexually explicit) writing has been almost the exclusive preserve of men, although ironically the etymology of pornography is Greek and means ‘the writing of prostitutes’. With some […]
“Veiled Girl” and the eroticization of torture
Having received a number of emails and twitter DMs criticizing my eroticization of torture in my short story “Veiled Girl With Lute,” I have decided, after some thought, to address the matter specifically. If you are a regular reader on my site, this post is probably going to seem patronizing, and I apologize for that. […]
A Writer’s Obligations
I’ve had a marvelous and vibrant discussion on Twitter with a whole raft of writers on what it means to be a writer, and what a writer’s obligation is. I think there are some things that all of us, who care about what we write agree on. However, this is my list of a writer’s […]
Villains in Leather: Negative Portrayals of Kink in Fiction
It has been a few weeks of strenuous debate on the net about kink and how it’s portrayed in the media. Meghan Murphy (Rabble.ca) and William Saletan (Slate), who both have a large mainstream reading audience, wrote posts exhibiting a basic lack of understanding about kink and BDSM. They each, in their way, made exaggerated […]
“What’s With The Needles?”: The Origin of Desire & The Fall
I got an email today. All it said is: “What’s with the needles?” Yup, that’s all. With a fake return address. And since I take questions seriously, because they afford me some opportunity for reflection, I’m going answer it publicly. I gather it was actually an expression of disgust at story I recently posted called […]