"There is no one kind of book in the world. Nor should there be. Erotica has been around for a long time. It's probably as old as the acts it depicts. It can excite your own fantasies. Who is to determine what worlds adults choose to inhabit when they pick up a book? If a genre is well written, there's some truth to the story being told. The world is not a pretty place. Some authors choose to recreate a Cinderella like charm inhabited by princes and white horses. That's absolutely fine. Others choose to present the world in all it's gritty ugliness. That's why I like Charles Bukowski. In my opinion he told the truth. As fiction writers, we're all liars and a bit of a huckster. If we lie well, we sell well. If we hawk our wares, we sell even better."
Charles Harvey
On a certain Amazon forum the question of which book genre sells the best. It would appear that the books at the very top appear to be full length books that touch on or are all erotic. Fifty Shades of Grey of course comes to mind. Many authors bemoan the fact that this is the case. "Walmart has them right next to children's books!" Well so what?
Erotica/Sex is basically the adult play time. When we were children, we entered into fantasy worlds of Cowboys and Indians, Kings and knights, and even simple games of hide and seek, tag, and "it." So what's wrong as adults, with entering sexual games? As children when playtime was over, we entered back into our homes or schools--which at the time was the real world. So what's wrong with adults entering into an adult play world? In my opinion sex is the adult playtime. Yet we run and hide from it or titter over it as if we're eight years old.
Perhaps we all would be healthier if we embraced that side of us, instead of suppressing it. Perhaps there would be less disease and teen pregnancy if we were more open about sex education. Some people have the ridiculous notion that by providing kids with sex education, we will make them more sexual. Well wake up, people. They are already doing it. And they're doing it where ever and whenever they can. So why not give them the tools for safety--condoms and contraceptives?
And if you don't enjoy erotica or sex, that's your right and privilege. But let the rest of us enjoy this second sexual revolution ushered in by knowledge, awareness, and Fifty Shades of Grey. Afterall all of us got here because of one "pornographic" act in particular.
AC Adams
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