Let them read smut!
I am a self-confessed fan of a good sexy book. I’ll never deny it, you’d only need to take one look at my kindle to know I was lying even if I tried. But recently, the conversation surrounding whether people (but let’s be honest it’s only women they’re talking about), reading books with explicit sex scenes is something which should be considered a ‘red flag’ is certainly on the rise.
If you fancy a bit of a laugh and google “why is smut bad?” and you’ll find thousands upon thousands of results talking about how reading smut is a sign that a woman is hypersexualised. How it ‘lets your imagination run rampant’, there’s even a page for advice on how to stop reading smut (I had to stop reading there to stop myself from becoming a smut-lover flag wielding troll, but to be honest but it’s a good read if you’re looking for a giggle).
Ultimately, this is a conversation about whether women should be allowed to enjoy things which are overtly sexual. Should we be watching or listening or reading to things that’ll turn us on? Should we be watching or listening or reading these things specifically because they turn us on?
In my opinion… abso-fucking-lutely. Whether you like reading books like the ACOTAR series or Fourth Wing because you love the way they represent male love interests who adore the main characters, or just because the writers understand how to curate a sex scene which is so genuinely change-your-underwear good, reading smut is something women have done for centuries and not something that we should ever feel ashamed for.
There’s so much discourse surrounding what the female gaze actually means. As a queer woman I have experience with navigating a world that views any kind of sexuality through a cis-het male lens. One that’s rooted in the physical and is, if we’re really going to go there, often aggressive and based on possession and power.
“She was gagging for it”, “She’d get it”, “I can’t believe you got to fuck her” Are all things I’ve either heard or been told directly. As though being interested in women sexually meant this is also the way I would see them. Obviously we all have moments where someone’s so beautiful we’re more lizard brain than upstanding adult (I’m looking at you Nicola Coughlan) . For me though, this recent surge in love for fantasy or romance or even romantasy if you’re really feeling spicy, shows that people’s real problem with women enjoying smut is it presents horniness in a way which is foreign to them.
Most of the time, it’s less about the smut and more about the presentation of sex in a way which is about worship rather than conquering.
I had the privilege of attending a book tour event for Saara El-Arifi’s book Faebound (if you’re looking for some incredible world building with the aforementioned change-your-underwear hot sex scenes to top it all off I’d really recommend). During the panel I asked for opinion on the patronisation of books that fall into the romantasy genre. It was discussed that it’s mind-bendingly common for male authors to say, to female authors’ faces, that they’d never read a book like Faebound because it was demeaning to the fantasy genre as a whole. The panel theorised that perhaps it’s because in general, everything in the history of the world that has been created for or caters specifically to a female audience is seen as less serious, and frankly I have to agree. They finished the discussion by jokingly saying something along the lines of “We’ll sell out even if they don’t want to read them”, and 1 week after its release, Faebound was at number 1 of the Sunday Times Bestseller list.
So I guess the lesson is: fuck all the dusty old men authors who think their opinion is more important than actual readers.
If you were to ask my advice, whether you’re a fellow self-confessed smut lover, someone looking to dip their toe in the pond or someone who has never even thought about it, I would simply say, don’t be ashamed, and give it a go. It’s no one else’s right to have an opinion on your preferences, and if anyone is bold enough to use phrases like “red flag”, remember they probably only have such a strong opinion on it because they either:
Have so little experience with good sex that they don’t even understand what the books are describing
Are curious but are carrying a level of personal shame
It’s not your responsibility to justify your love of a bit of ‘velvet steel’. We’re all just trying to navigate the shit-storm that is this modern day world with reverse hareem content and living out the dream of being called a “good girl” through upstanding literature.
Ultimately I’m not a psychologist capable of psycho-analysing cis straight men’s views on smut. And honestly? I don’t fucking want to. It’s not my job, or anyone’s in my opinion, to justify why me wanting to base my TBR on whether it’s gonna have an honest to god fantastic oral scene is ok (they all do… other than being written by a female or queer author it’s literally my only requirement).
I do however enjoy contributing to a judgmental arsehole’s discomfort. So, I’ll finish this off by giving some of my brain meltingly good smut recommendations.
Romantasy:
A Court of Thorns and Roses, Sarah J Maas
A staple series in romantasy smut reading. A beauty and the beast retelling with fantastic female characters, and evolving storyline and male characters who love to fuck well (I’m talking to you book 5 ;) )
Faebound, Saara El-Arifi
Elves, magic and a tense queer love story. This feels like a story written by a book lover for book lovers. The author herself also described using the 3 words “thirsty black elves” which I feel is reason enough to read it immediately.
Dragonfall, L R Lam
This book has magic, heists and dragons. If that’s not enough to sell you it features a fabulous non binary main character and explores love and sex outside of the binary in the most thoughtful and sexy way possible.
Romance:
One Last Stop, Casey McQuinston
Anxious bisexual woman attempting to save her gorgeous lesbian love interest from being stuck in a time loop on the subway. Need I say more?
A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon, Sarah Hawley
Stand alone romance about a witch who accidentally summons a demon when trying to practise her magic and ends up accidentally falling in love while trying to send him straight back to hell.
So We meet again, Suzanne Park
An investment banker quits her job and moves back to her familial home after being treated like shit. She runs into her old nemesis who agrees to help her restart an old passion project and I’m sure you can tell where I’m going with this. (not technically explicit smut but sex kissing can be just as good to me if you’re starting out)