A Billion Wicked Thoughts: What the World's Largest Experiment Reveals about Human Desire (15 page)
Authors: Ogi Ogas,Sai Gaddam
BOOK: A Billion Wicked Thoughts: What the World's Largest Experiment Reveals about Human Desire
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In the nineteenth century, Jane Austen took the romance to its greatest literary heights. Best-selling romance authors today include Nora Roberts, Jackie Collins, and Stephenie Meyer. But the modern structure of the romance is often attributed to the 1972 novel
The Flame and the Flower
by Kathleen Woodiwiss. This classic romance has been through forty-two printings and is still in print today. Here’s the summary of the book from its back cover:
The Flame and the Flower
by Kathleen Woodiwiss. This classic romance has been through forty-two printings and is still in print today. Here’s the summary of the book from its back cover:
The Flower
: Doomed to a life of unending toil, Heather Simmons fears for her innocence—until a shocking, desperate act forces her to flee . . . and to seek refuge in the arms of a virile and dangerous stranger.The Flame
: A lusty adventurer married to the sea, Captain Brandon Birmingham courts scorn and peril when he abducts the beautiful fugitive from the tumultuous London dockside. But no power on Earth can compel him to relinquish his exquisite prize. For he is determined to make the sapphire-eyed lovely his woman . . . and to carry her off to far, uncharted realms of sensuous, passionate love.
There are two necessary and sufficient characters in every romance novel from
Pamela
to
Pride and Prejudice
to
Twilight
: the hero (the “Flame”) and the heroine (the “Flower”). The hero and his romantic journey represent Miss Marple’s fantasy of an ideal partner. The romantic hero is constructed from female psychological cues, in the same way that young, busty porn stars are built from male visual cues. In this chapter, we examine the virile, dangerous, and lusty adventurers that make Miss Marple swoon. We will introduce you to the psychology of the innocent, lovely Flower in the next chapter.
Pamela
to
Pride and Prejudice
to
Twilight
: the hero (the “Flame”) and the heroine (the “Flower”). The hero and his romantic journey represent Miss Marple’s fantasy of an ideal partner. The romantic hero is constructed from female psychological cues, in the same way that young, busty porn stars are built from male visual cues. In this chapter, we examine the virile, dangerous, and lusty adventurers that make Miss Marple swoon. We will introduce you to the psychology of the innocent, lovely Flower in the next chapter.
But first, let’s guide you through some of these “uncharted realms of love” by reviewing the different kinds of romance stories in the Internet age.
AN EFFLORESCENT GARDEN OF ROMANCEIf you don’t read romances yourself, you probably don’t realize just how astonishingly popular they really are. According to the Romance Writers of America, romance fiction generated $1.37 billion in sales in 2008. The romance genre has the single largest share of the fiction market. More people buy romances than detective novels, thrillers, science fiction, or science
non
fiction. At least 74.8 million people read a romance novel in 2008 . . . and more than 90 percent of these readers are women.
non
fiction. At least 74.8 million people read a romance novel in 2008 . . . and more than 90 percent of these readers are women.
To put these numbers in perspective, about 100 million men in the United States and Canada accessed online porn in 2008—just slightly more than the number of romance readers. However, though women don’t pay for porn, they happily pay for romance. Accurate sales figures are impossible to come by in the adult industry, but there’s little doubt that online pornography generated
less
revenue in 2008 than romance publishing.
less
revenue in 2008 than romance publishing.
Sex is ubiquitous in romance, but it is not absolutely essential to the enjoyment of a novel. Many women skim through the sex scenes or skip them completely. (Sex is not essential in porn, either. As we’ve seen, a man can enjoy simple images of anatomy or non-nude photos of attractive women.) Nevertheless, the sex scene is a very important part of the romance. “The heroine’s sexual inexperience remains intact only until the hero’s wang of mighty lovin’ introduces her to the wonderment of the fizznuckin’,” proclaim Sarah Wendell and Candy Tan, authors of
Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches’ Guide to Romance Novels
. “It’s part and parcel of the fantasy: the awakening to love is that much more powerful when it’s accompanied by a sexual awakening as well.”
Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches’ Guide to Romance Novels
. “It’s part and parcel of the fantasy: the awakening to love is that much more powerful when it’s accompanied by a sexual awakening as well.”
Different subgenres and different eras of romance treat the sex scene in different ways. Much like
Pamela
three centuries earlier,
The Flame and the Flower
pushed the envelope in its depictions of sexual interactions, offering more graphic descriptions of lovemaking than had previously been seen. But these sex scenes are still rather tame compared to male-targeted erotic stories. Consider this encounter between pirate hero Captain Brandon and innocent heroine Heather Simmons:
Pamela
three centuries earlier,
The Flame and the Flower
pushed the envelope in its depictions of sexual interactions, offering more graphic descriptions of lovemaking than had previously been seen. But these sex scenes are still rather tame compared to male-targeted erotic stories. Consider this encounter between pirate hero Captain Brandon and innocent heroine Heather Simmons:
She felt his hardness searching, probing between her thighs, then finding and entering that first tiny bit. In her panic to escape she surged upward. A half gasp, half shriek escaped her and a burning pain seemed to spread through her loins. Brandon stared back in astonishment and stared down at her. She lay limp against the pillows, rolling her head back and forth upon them. He touched her cheek tenderly and murmured something low and inaudible, but she had her eyes closed and wouldn’t look at him. He moved against her gently, kissing her hair and brow and caressing her body with his hands.
The emphasis is on the characters’ emotions and interactions. Compare this to the male-targeted erotic story “Princess and the Pirates” by Hamilton_g, where the emphasis is on visual details:
The Captain ran his hands over her perfect ass-cheeks, and he felt a shudder pass through her body. Gently he pulled the globes apart, opening her up to the stares of the lusting pirate crew. He pulled harder, and the lips of her hairless virgin sex parted to reveal the glistening furrow within. It was soaking wet, filled with the copious flow from her aroused pussy.“Take a good look, men. Our little beauty may protest, but her pussy tells the truth!”When she saw the hungry stares of more than a score of ruthless men she groaned in shame and defeat. Her most private secret place was opened to their gazes, and they could see that she was dripping wet. The inner membranes glistened, and they could see the delicate little bump of her sweet clit, sheltered in its pink hood. The entrance to her vagina was spread open, the hole barely protected by the fragile petal of her virgin hymen.
The Flame and the Flower
was the first romance novel published solely as a paperback, initiating a transformation of the romance industry from hardcovers into mass-market paperbacks. These days, however, romance is no longer limited to cheap paperbacks with embarrassing covers displaying a muscle-girded Fabio and a windswept vixen locked in a gymnastic embrace—what romance author Nora Roberts called “nursing mother covers—when she’s falling out of her dress, and he has his mouth on her tit.” Romance has entered the digital age.
was the first romance novel published solely as a paperback, initiating a transformation of the romance industry from hardcovers into mass-market paperbacks. These days, however, romance is no longer limited to cheap paperbacks with embarrassing covers displaying a muscle-girded Fabio and a windswept vixen locked in a gymnastic embrace—what romance author Nora Roberts called “nursing mother covers—when she’s falling out of her dress, and he has his mouth on her tit.” Romance has entered the digital age.
“The success of the ebook is being fueled by the romance and erotic romance market,” asserts one columnist for the technology news site ITworld. Major romance publishers, such as Harlequin and Avon, were quick to offer their existing titles in digital formats in the mid-2000s. Since then, romance has quickly come to dominate the burgeoning e-publishing industry. Five out of the ten most popular free e-books on Amazon are romance. The actress Felicia Day blogs about her reading tastes on Kindle: “I’ve read like, 6 books this week and ordered about 10 more. And no ordinary books: Pure unadulterated TRASHY-ROMANCE books! Check out my Goodreads shelf
vaginal-urban-fantasy
, it’s bloating to an alarming degree. It’s stuff I never would have checked out at the Barnes and Noble, because the gleaming and oily man chests would have made me blush too much.”
vaginal-urban-fantasy
, it’s bloating to an alarming degree. It’s stuff I never would have checked out at the Barnes and Noble, because the gleaming and oily man chests would have made me blush too much.”
Many romance publishers and imprints, such as Ellora’s Cave, Quill, and Carina Press, now publish many of their titles
only
in e-book format. Women can inconspicuously download their books instead of being seen with a “nursing mother” cover on the subway. This new privacy afforded readers of e-romances has allowed e-romance publishers to take risks, especially by publishing books with spicier sex.
only
in e-book format. Women can inconspicuously download their books instead of being seen with a “nursing mother” cover on the subway. This new privacy afforded readers of e-romances has allowed e-romance publishers to take risks, especially by publishing books with spicier sex.
Though there has been a general movement toward more explicit and more frequent descriptions of sex in mainstream romance through the ’90s and 2000s, a distinct genre eventually formed in which sex was the primary component:
erotic romance
. Erotic romance is also known as EroRom, while e-publisher Ellora’s Cave has trademarked the name
Romantica
to characterize its own books. Other e-EroRom publishers include Loose Id and Total-E-Bound. Authors of EroRom stories still maintain the essential elements of romance, but include more sex scenes with more detail and more kink. But even though EroRom pushes the boundaries of female erotic literature, the books’ sensitivity to the emotional experiences of the heroine and her lover would never be mistaken for the emotionless graphic raunch of male-targeted erotica.
erotic romance
. Erotic romance is also known as EroRom, while e-publisher Ellora’s Cave has trademarked the name
Romantica
to characterize its own books. Other e-EroRom publishers include Loose Id and Total-E-Bound. Authors of EroRom stories still maintain the essential elements of romance, but include more sex scenes with more detail and more kink. But even though EroRom pushes the boundaries of female erotic literature, the books’ sensitivity to the emotional experiences of the heroine and her lover would never be mistaken for the emotionless graphic raunch of male-targeted erotica.
Here is an example from Annabel Joseph’s e-romance
Comfort Object.
Comfort Object.
I grunted as he pulled out of me and pressed his cock against my ass. He entered me all the time this way now, with only the lube from my pussy. He slapped me lightly.“Open. I want to fuck your ass.”“Yes, Jeremy.”He eased the head of his cock in, then waited for me to relax before thrusting the rest of the way inside. I moaned.I couldn’t help it.“Jeremy.” I gasped to the rhythm of his fucking. “If you’re tired of the lying, why don’t you just stop?”“Hush. Let me fuck you. And don’t you come, you little fuck slut.”Jesus, I’d really ticked him off. “Yes, Jeremy.” Yes yes yes, whatever you say.
The main difference between the sex scene in modern romance novels and EroRom is the frequency and kinkiness of sex scenes, rather than the explicitness of the description. E-publishers of Ero-Rom have taken the boldest steps of any commercial publishers, exploring bondage, group sex, and gay sex, though these previously marginalized kinks are becoming common in print romances as well.
But the Internet has delivered a groundbreaking contribution to romance, one that commercial publishers are still scrambling to understand. The democracy of the Web has fueled an explosion of stories written solely by amateurs:
fan fiction
. Here’s how one fan named Scartyhlus describes it:
fan fiction
. Here’s how one fan named Scartyhlus describes it:
Wake up people! Girlies like porn too, you just have to know where to look. Hello, Fan fiction! There are zillions of pages of boy/girl, boy/boy and even girl/girl stories written online by women, for women. Their ages range from astoundingly young teens to older women in their fifties & sixties & probably older though you’d never guess because no one that old is likely to give their age. Is fan fiction porn? Some fan fiction is porn and is meant to be so. There are communities with names that include fqfest (for F*ck fest(ival). The term used for some such porn heavy fic is “PWP” which stands for “Plot? What plot?”
Fan fiction is a very large and loose-knit community consisting almost entirely of women. These fans are enthusiasts of pop culture “fandoms,” such as Harry Potter, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or Star Trek. Fandoms can be built around books, television shows, movies—even boy bands. The single biggest fan fiction site is
FanFiction.net
, which boasts more than 2 million different stories and more than 600,000 visitors a day, mostly 18- to 24-year-old women. However, fan fiction sites dedicated to individual fandoms are scattered across the Web, such as Muggle Net (Harry Potter), Wraith Bait (Stargate), and LOTR Fan Fiction (Lord of the Rings). Social networking sites, such as LiveJournal and Dream Journal, are also home to hundreds of thousands of female fans who tend to write more adult stories than the younger women who inhabit
FanFiction.net
. They are also more social. These women are mostly in their thirties and forties, white, and educated, though as Scartyhlus points out, many women start reading and writing fan fiction as young as eleven or as old as their sixties.
FanFiction.net
, which boasts more than 2 million different stories and more than 600,000 visitors a day, mostly 18- to 24-year-old women. However, fan fiction sites dedicated to individual fandoms are scattered across the Web, such as Muggle Net (Harry Potter), Wraith Bait (Stargate), and LOTR Fan Fiction (Lord of the Rings). Social networking sites, such as LiveJournal and Dream Journal, are also home to hundreds of thousands of female fans who tend to write more adult stories than the younger women who inhabit
FanFiction.net
. They are also more social. These women are mostly in their thirties and forties, white, and educated, though as Scartyhlus points out, many women start reading and writing fan fiction as young as eleven or as old as their sixties.
“Continuing the stories of favorite characters after a series has ended is important . . . too many series are cancelled before major storylines conclude, or seem to go astray in their final seasons. Picking up the threads and weaving them into a logical conclusion is fun, especially when it concerns the fates of beloved characters,” explains veteran fan Sylvia Volk. Thousands of fan fiction Web sites allow fans to share their enthusiasm for the personalities and relationships of the characters in their favorite books and shows.
Fan fiction is not solely a Western phenomenon, with fanfic Web sites proliferating on every continent except Antarctica. In Russia, there are fandoms for fantasy books by Vera Kamsha and the television show
Ne rodis krasivoy
(a Russian version of
Ugly Betty
), though the three most popular Russian fandoms in 2010 were Harry Potter, the American TV show
Supernatural
, and Guy Ritchie’s movie
Sherlock Holmes
. The most popular Russian adult fanfic site is probably Slash World (
slashyaoi.borda.ru
), featuring stories about the X-Men, South Park, and
Nochnoi Dozor
(
Night Watch
).
Ne rodis krasivoy
(a Russian version of
Ugly Betty
), though the three most popular Russian fandoms in 2010 were Harry Potter, the American TV show
Supernatural
, and Guy Ritchie’s movie
Sherlock Holmes
. The most popular Russian adult fanfic site is probably Slash World (
slashyaoi.borda.ru
), featuring stories about the X-Men, South Park, and
Nochnoi Dozor
(
Night Watch
).
Men also have their own versions of fan fiction: celebrity “nip slips” consisting of candid photos of accidentally exposed anatomy (such as a panty-less Britney Spears), “celebrity fakes” that consist of digitally generated nudes of well-known actresses (such as the face of Harry Potter actress Emma Watson pasted onto porn star bodies), and cartoon renditions of fictional characters having sex (such as
Avatar
’s Jake and Neytiri copulating on GoGo Celeb). For decades, the “porn parody” has also been popular among men—hard-core versions of popular movies and TV shows such as
Scrubs: A XXX Parody
,
This Isn’t Twilight
, and
Edward Penishands
.
Avatar
’s Jake and Neytiri copulating on GoGo Celeb). For decades, the “porn parody” has also been popular among men—hard-core versions of popular movies and TV shows such as
Scrubs: A XXX Parody
,
This Isn’t Twilight
, and
Edward Penishands
.
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