Remember Shel Silverstein?
Great poet, fun illustrator. Pornographer.
Oh well, I hear you cry that's just an isolated case. And besides, it was only before he did anything serious. And really, Playboy's VERY mild. That's nothing to get too worked up about.
Oh really? You have no idea.
(More insidious smut peddlers on the flip.)
Take the Case of Roald Dahl. Brilliant author of children's novels about chocolate, peaches, and magical solutions. As well as short stories about Wife Swapping.
I would also like to note that the said short stories were written AFTER several of his children's books.
Oh, but that's just two dirty old men, surely there's purity in children's books except for them! Right?
Like Dr. Seuss... Oh wait... Never mind.
If they have done such reprehensible things as actually create art that uses sex as anything other than what the MPAA has decreed to be acceptable, (Rape Ok, as long as we don't see any nipples or genitalia, but one orgasmic sigh by a woman and that film is filthy, filthy porn) Clearly this is a sign that these people should never be trusted with the sanctity and security of our children's minds.
/snark
But here's the thing. Writing is an art, folks. When there are attempts to shut sexuality out of the public sphere completely, and to make judgements based off of any expression of it, you get a very distorted and bizarre view. Writers write what they know, and what they enjoy.
Sex and porn (Or erotica if you prefer the term, but I use the word porn because they can be used interchangeably in function, so why not the term?) have a possibility of drawing attention that you cannot ignore. Madison Avenue certainly doesn't ignore sex, but for some reason because of their focus on the commercial application, they get a pass.
If you write to entice, to enthrall, and to excite, you are somehow dirty if you don't immediately suggest that the only way to enjoy that is to buy the drink that the enticing person is currently holding.
In addition, the association of all forms of sexuality with things to be hidden or sold result in no positive presentations being seen. Rape becomes a device for instilling drama, instead of a hideous crime against another person. Sexual tension becomes not about "will they" or "Won't They" but rather who will hurt someone else by sleeping with someone by trickery or other dishonest behavior. We legitimize the sexuality we present, and more and more these seem to be the images that Americans love.
At least it's what sells soap. That of course is the measuring stick for what gets presented. Of course, we don't usually try to present loving relationships. Those lack "Conflict" which according to many theorists, is the only thing that gets butts in the seats.
However, I do speak from some experience on this subject. Several years ago I wrote two novels and published them both online in the same month.
One was polished, precise and heavily proofread. It had a lot of drama, including a very uncomfortable scene with heavily implied sexuality, a near date-rape and a violent scene which still makes me cringe when I read it.
To date, it has had 8,899 reads, and is rated as a high seven on the site where I published it.
The other was presented as a serial, with some rather embarrassing typos I still haven't fixed. There were a LOT of sex scenes. There was nothing non-consensual, including a real discussion of the jealousy one character felt when their significant other was with someone else. It had a happy ending, and the conflict consisted of ONE person getting touchy and hurting someone else's feelings. I also was very, very, explicit.
To date, it has 17,814 reads, and is rated as a high eight.
I really think we are a lot further along than the publishers, the censors and the sellers think we are. I embrace the fact that writers write what they love. I embrace the fact that people want to write what they want to write. We should not condemn an author for what they have written in the past or what they write in the future. We should enjoy their work for what it is, not what the media says it is.
I'll say this as a last. Perhaps one story's just BETTER than the other one. That's always a possibility. I just want to know why the one that the MSM would condemn me for is the one that people enjoy more. (Actually they'd probably condemn me for both, but... hell with it...)
Wed Jul 31, 2013 at 10:43 PM PT: Suddenly hit by a wave of bedtime... Promise to respond to all comments in about...6 or seven hours tops.