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.