Rereading Woman’s Erotica: Empowerment of Smut?

The search for truly enlightened erotic literature may not be a lost battle, but it certainly is a mission. With all the so-called liberation of erotica following the 50 Shades of Grey phenomenon, the question is begged, is the contemporary erotica really putting women and our sexuality in a better place than the written word (and, for that matter, the pictures) in Penthouse magazine?

It would be almost sacrilege to begin a discussion of contemporary woman’s erotica without a tribute to 50 Shades. Erotic it certainly is, and obviously it speaks to women. Book sale records attest to that. But feminist it certainly is not. Empowering, I think not. This critique is not coming from a place of sanctimony; rather, from a sex education perspective because the 50 Shades commotion is taking us 40 years backwards. It undoes a generation and a half of sexual empowerment when it returns all the gender stereotypes to the heroine and gives her a multi-orgasmic Cinderella ending. As if princes, instantaneous orgasms and complete sexual compatibility come to all girl-next-door virgins on cue.

50 Shades of Grey: Two Thirds Of Women Have Experimented With Bondage And Spanking

A new survey into the sex lives of young women in Britain today has revealed that two out of three have experimented with bondage and spanking, a favourite pastime of EL James’ fictional lothario Christian Grey.

More! magazine’s biggest ever sex survey questioned 2,340 women aged 18-24 and the results, printed in this week’s issue, reveal the truth about the sex lives of young women living the UK.

Why Are Submissive Fantasies a Turn-On?

Everyone's talking about the erotic novel “50 Shades of Grey,” and these three findings on sexual fantasies may explain why.

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Sometimes it takes a popular vampire series or Rihanna song to get people talking about otherwise taboo sex topics. Most recently, it’s the best-selling erotic novel “50 Shades of Grey,” which follows the dominant-submissive relationship between a powerful businessman and a college student, complete with explicit S&M sex scenes. Undoubtedly your neighbor has read it, and—mom jokes aside—maybe even your mom.

Since its re-release in April, it’s been shaking up book clubs, bedrooms—even sparking a debate about the power dynamics between women and men. Though only a small part of the population reports fantasizing about sadomasochism/bondage (8 percent, according to a Durex global survey), the theme has piqued interest on a mass scale.