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Bodice Rippers


I have taken to read a lot of erotica. M/M, of course. I have always liked erotica but I just noticed that most of the reading for fun I'm doing right now is either straight up gay erotica or I find myself circling back to gay romance. You see, I've hit a dry spell. I have not had a close encounter of the third kind for awhile now (complications of having moved away from the north-western suburbs to the south-western suburbs and all that jazz) and so my libido has been a little out of whack these days. And because I find the apps to be a hurdle, it's been me, myself and I these days. Yep.



I have been going back to my pile of books and my Kindle for some steamy entertainment lately.  Reading gay slash and erotica has been one of my fav pastimes since forever but lately it had been relegated to long flights and some cold nights. But now I've been going back to it. I don't know if you still remember when Men magazine, Honcho and Blueboy would have all that one-handed reading that accompanied their photo spreads (yeah, this is way back in the age of pre-internet erotica when people actually bought gay magazines) and all the joy they brought. I'm talking 2000 here, not 1990, mind you. Well, those magazines usually had fantastic passages that I really enjoyed. Unfortunately, the internet basically killed all printed erotica and now you have to resort to Amazon or the few gay bookstores left to get some good anthologies or even gay romance books.



I'm a sucker for gay bodice rippers (or would they be jockstrap rippers, if they're smut? IDK) and I have a small collection both in paper and in electronic form. One thing I have noticed though, is that a huge percentage of the authors writing gay romance and erotica nowadays are actually females (or writing under a female pen name?) and that there's very few well-known male authors writing gay erotica. What is amazing, though, is that most times the descriptions of the sexual encounters are uncannily accurate and detailed and I have not realized a female author had written the book until I get to the end of it and I read their bio.



Not that I mind that it is a female writing them, of course. Fiction is fiction is friction, no matter who writes it. Men have for centuries written under female pen names and vice versa, so no biggie here. What I think is that these authors should do a fairly good amount of research to write their narratives because everything, from the description of the sensations of having a man fuck you or sucking another man off and the intricacies of an M/M narrative are eerily accurate (mind you, some straight women cannot fathom what two men fucking could feel, the same way some straight men often cannot imagine the feelings a woman experiences when having sex with another woman) and also the feelings and frustrations two men experience when in a relationship. The man-to-man dynamics are very different to the man-woman dynamics (as many bisexual men and women can attest to) and to get them so right on the page throws you off a little when you read the author was a female and not a gay man.



It should not be surprising, though, taking into account that there are many women directing gay porn nowadays and doing an excellent job. As people noticed during a recent gay porn awards show, there are many women who are directing the porn we watch and enjoy and that should not surprise us. Women directors probably focus on the mechanics of the shoot and also the mood they try to convey and I imagine they use the actors as a conduit for the vision they have.  I am aware that many women   enjoy gay porn as much if not more than straight porn because good erotica is good erotica, no matter who are carrying out the action. What I'm glad about is that many of these female porn directors are also being recognized by the outstanding work they do:




I know I should not be surprised by the fact of so many women writing erotica but have to recognize that I actually am. Who knew? They are providing me with hours of entertainment and and some good memories. So on with my reading. And talking about that, who are your favorite gay romance/ gay erotica authors?  Here's some of my fav: Shaun Levin, Paul Russell, Alexander Chee and also Matthew Rettenmund, and Felipe Picano. Who would you recommend? Asking for a friend...



XOXO

P.S. I'm not forgetting Dave and the dreamy Rick Reed.






Comments

  1. it's me myself and I at my house too. hairy bears internet porn is my get-off tool. but I would read those books you pictured above, esp. that first one!

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    Replies
    1. Oh, honey. Hairy bears any time of day! And that first book? Yes, please.

      XOXO

      Delete
  2. love whatever EROTICA!!!

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  3. Right there with you babe. On all counts. 😘 I regularly look to amazon for their freebies. And I’m rarely disappointed. And like you I’m surprised by the plethora of female authors churning out gay erotica.

    A lot of times the theatre of the mind is hotter than what you see in porn. And I think we bring some of our personal experiences to that.

    So whoever is writing the erotica bring it on. I’m a fan. Sometimes it’s the next best thing to being there.

    XOXO 👨‍❤️‍💋‍👨

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, the freebies on Amazon. Some have gotten me hooked on one series or another and I've ended up buying one or two for my Kindle. Yep, it's the next best thing.

      XOXO

      Delete
  4. You're right, "Fiction is fiction is friction" … I love that line. But still I'd be a little put off by a woman writing about sex between men.
    But then I've never ready female-written gay porn/romance, so who knows?

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    Replies
    1. I actually surprised me. I guess a little suspension of disbelief comes handy. I usually read erotica/romance by males, but one never knows, right?

      XOXO

      Delete
  5. Wow!, I needed a fan and iced tea after that excerpt with Tucker. But I prefer visuals. Women in m/m porn business is a good thing. Someone has to keep an eye on the camera.

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    Replies
    1. Oh, that one was a good one! It's from Moon Born (feral heart tales). And I've known for awhile that some studios do use a lot of female directors. Sometimes you can notice that there's a little bit more foreplay and you wonder...

      XOXO

      Delete
  6. As I've toyed with the idea of writing erotica, I find myself confused as to what constitutes ercotica v porn. How explicit can one be in erotica/romance and not be relegated to the pornography/smut category. I like explicit prose as well as the next person, but I also enjoy reading sex couched in softer language. BTW - I think there are publishers out there that offer direct purchase if you don't want to keep going back to Amazon. Plus - Amazon still allows porn to be sold? Who knew??

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. OMG you have GOT to write something!
      Oh and erotica can be very explicit. Think about a Venn diagram between romance and porn. The overlapping gray area is erotica. And I've bought some books directly from the author. Amazon just makes it easier. And you should see what they have to offer!

      XOXO

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    2. I have a few started but can never decide how explicit to get and so they languish in the virtual file cabinet. Maybe I should break one out and see what it might turn into. It sounds like I have at least one copy sold. LOL

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    3. Oh, you must. And make them as racy and smutty as you want! If there’s character development and there’s meat in the bones of the narrative, they’ll be good. Yes! I’ll be there with my money!

      XoXo

      Delete
  7. I know that most m/m slash fanfiction on the internet is written by women for women. Of course, men can read these fics too and enjoy them, I'm sure. This is a feminist phenomenon of men being subjected to "the female gaze." However, the male characters are not objectified (as is so often the case when men write/produce porn about women) because the female authors are equally (if not more) concerned with creating a sometimes quite profound emotional context for the characters. And quite apart from this, you're right, it's hawt stuff! You know I love my Steve/Bucky fanfics!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Slash fanfic is the shit. Really I've spent HOURS in those forums. And I think that's what makes female writers connect with the reader: there's more there than just nookie. And BTW, have you seen the Steve/Bucky fanart? Blazing hot.

      XOXO

      Delete
    2. Oh yeah, I'm into it all -- fanfic, fanart, fanvids, you name it!

      Delete
    3. Love! I used to roam all the Slash boards. When I had a Tumblr, those were my peeps, creating fantastically smutty fan art and lit.

      XoXo

      Delete
  8. I'm not surprised it's women writing and directing. I read some straight smutt novels by women in high school and they were leagues above the male authors. They tap into the emotional feelings of being attracted, felling lust, the experience of having sex, falling in love the whole experience. Many of the male authors were just about "getting her pants off". The first gay love story that I read absolutely shattered my closet door.

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    Replies
    1. OMG same! I've always loved reading gay love stories. Always.

      XOXO

      Delete
  9. Even though I gay mystery / action fiction, I surprising end up reading mostly non-fiction. Word erotica never really had much interest for me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, Dave. You should try your hand at it. Who knows? It may end up being that you're very good at it....

      XOXO

      Delete
  10. I used to read more, but for some time haven't picked up a book. If your real kind to the Mistress, I'm sure he'd give you a Skype show. I always seems to enjoy those. That boy knows how to use his assets.

    I noticed you both seemed to be gone for some time, at the same time. Coincidence????😈👿🍆

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    Replies
    1. Hahahaha. Nope, the Mistress and I were not recused in a cabin in the mountains. It would have been fun, right?
      And reading is super fun. You should get into it again.

      XOXO

      Delete

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