tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post3289976487618135452..comments2023-10-25T05:30:54.507-04:00Comments on Oh Get A Grip!: The Lure of Limits, the Temptation of TaboosAshe Barkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03390519279886657608noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-64130665991169855602019-03-01T13:38:32.475-05:002019-03-01T13:38:32.475-05:00I suspect that Jeremy has it right. Shame is proba...I suspect that Jeremy has it right. Shame is probably exactly what the readers need for maximum enjoyment.Sacchi Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10801164916418570059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-22845638981295960222019-03-01T07:51:09.372-05:002019-03-01T07:51:09.372-05:00"So it can be marketed with less chance of ge..."So it can be marketed with less chance of getting banned" may be more to the point. At least that's always been my assumption about the raison d'etre for that subgenre.Jeremy Edwardshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01980177431018869829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-38080077541747095722019-03-01T00:34:29.634-05:002019-03-01T00:34:29.634-05:00Thought-provoking post, Sacchi. I agree with you ...Thought-provoking post, Sacchi. I agree with you about the allure of step-siblings. My guess is that this kind of relationship attracts some readers because it is in a kind of sweet spot: pseudo-incest, but not really, so it can be enjoyed without shame.Jean Robertahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08805088081675965859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-34645081274839699362019-02-27T09:34:09.068-05:002019-02-27T09:34:09.068-05:00Regarding cultural shifts: Even though I think I w...Regarding cultural shifts: Even though I think I was pretty sensitive and enlightened when I was writing erotica, there are details I might handle a little differently if I were revising those stories now. The difference is my having come to better understand the <i>pervasiveness</i> of the "unwanted sexual attention" issue in the lives of so many women. Sure, I knew about unwanted attention and the male gaze, but ten years on I have a better grasp of how <i>constant</i> that stuff is in women's lives. Back then, when I was writing an encounter between strangers, I was content with the judgment that while it might not be appropriate to approach a stranger in real life in the way an erotica character would, it was fine in the fantasy world of erotic fiction (where—in my stories, at least—the deck is stacked, insofar as we can assume the attention will be desired and welcomed). But now I'm not sure I'd be as comfortable doing that (depending on the specifics of the scene). Maybe I would try to avoid setups where someone boldly hits on a stranger (especially if it's a man hitting on a woman; and in my stories, actually, it was at least as likely to be the other way around), because my mind is so full of what a problem that is in the real world. Likewise with stuff such as a male narrator-protagonist sharing with the reader his sexual observations about various women he notices as he goes about his business during the day. I think it's fine that he has those private thoughts, but making a parade of them for the reader (however tastefully and respectfully) might feel a bit uncomfortable to me now that I better understand what daily life is like for so many women. Again, it would depend on the specifics and on exactly how I might be able to tweak the feel of it to keep it from crossing where my own lines have moved to.<br /><br />I should emphasize here that it's not about my being afraid that someone would criticize me; it's about keeping my work consistent with what feels most appropriate in my personal outlook (though, of course, part of what makes it feel appropriate or not involves my perception of how it's likely to come across in the eyes of readers—again, not because I'm afraid of negative judgments, but rather because I want to do right by them).Jeremy Edwardshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01980177431018869829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-23426589170496253092019-02-27T06:35:25.786-05:002019-02-27T06:35:25.786-05:00It's weird to notice that the limits on what i...It's weird to notice that the limits on what is appropriate or accepted now, in the area of sex, are more constrained than when I was coming of age. I don't watch much porn, but the films of the seventies and eighties strike me as more genuine and more erotic than recent releases, even when they are less explicit.<br /><br />Lisabet Saraihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05162514190572269660noreply@blogger.com