Hot & Bothered: Sexi Book Time
RELUCTANT TO READ EROTICA? STUDIES SAY WE COULD ALL BENEFIT FROM A LITTLE “SPICE” BETWEEN OUR COVERS
Back when the pandemic started, one of the best things to come out of my quarantine time was listening to romantic and steamy audiobooks with one of my best friends—and screaming over how ridiculous they were. Despite our complaints, jokes, and screams, there is something to be said about well-written, female-gaze-led erotic books. I’ve since joined book groups on Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr, and people always seem to be asking for some kind of romantic or sexual plot (or as they put it, “I need a book with Spice”). When asking for recommendations, some people get very specific; they ask for a love interest that’s possessive or perpetually grumpy, their brother’s best friend or their boss, or even someone in the mafia. In real life, many of these (usually male) love interests would have huge red flags. So what makes the genre of romance and erotica so popular?
A study published in the Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, titled “Who Reads Contemporary Erotic Novels and Why?”, found that most of the population sample enjoyed the distraction the books offered and that they brought about “feelings of ease.” This tracks with almost any article you’ll read when it comes to asking women about erotica; from Bustle to Cosmopolitan, there seems to be a strong sense of escapism within these worked-up writings. While these were the biggest findings in the study, the sample population also said that the sexual explicitness and (theoretical) sexual guidance weren’t as important to them.
That being said, another study published in the Journal of Sexual and Relationship Therapy found that “Bibliotherapy” could help increase sexual desire in women. The study, titled “Bibliotherapy Interventions for Female Low Sexual Desire: Erotic Fiction Versus Self-Help,” found that women who had previously claimed they had little-to-no sex drive now had an increase in “desire, arousal, lubrication, satisfaction, orgasm, pain reduction, and overall sexual functioning.” Women who were followed up with six weeks later seemed to have maintained this newly-gained sexual desire. Other studies have shown that this isn’t just particular to women, and that men also find the written word just as arousing.
If you want to see what all the hype is about, there’s lots of ways to get started. BookTok and Bookstagram are great ways to get popular recommendations if you’re just starting out. My personal favorites have been “The Kiss Quotient” series, “The Love Hypothesis,” and “Boyfriend Material.” If you want to go deeper, try joining Facebook-book groups. I would recommend (B. A. N. G.) Book Club, where you can get pretty specific with what you want from your books, and you’re likely to get recommendations from some like-minded people. If you’re feeling bold, try reading part of the story with your partner, either together or separately, and talking about (and maybe even acting out) what attracted you to a certain scene or character.
Whether you’re just curious to see what’s actually in the books, need a form of book junk food, or want to spice things up with yourself or your partner, there’s always somewhere to start and a story that will give you exactly what you need. Just don’t stain the pages!