SEE Magazine
Issue #420: December 20, 2001
Copyright © 2001. All Rights Reserved

At The Back MY MESSY BEDROOM by Josey Vogels Erotic literature has come a long way since I first discovered it reading Anaïs Nin’s Delta of Venus and Little Birds collections. Nin wrote these wonderfully naughty stories for $1 a page as a struggling writer in Paris in the ’40s, and the sensual tension and playfulness she captures often has me returning to these dog-eared pages. I rarely find this in newer erotica. Sure I had my Herotica phase (the original series edited by Susie Bright has released its seventh volume, now edited by Marcy Sheiner), but to be honest, my bookshelf is crammed with erotica whose pages my one hand has never turned. Some of it is badly written while some reminds me of women’s studies courses – and it’s hard to get off when you first have to get on board with a political agenda. That’s not to say that there isn’t some hot stuff out there. There’s been an explosion of erotic writings of late, according to Carlyle Jansen at Good For Her sex shop in Toronto (www.goodforher.com). Except these days, you gotta specialize to get noticed. Now we’re seeing collections that expand on the Best American Erotica or Best Lesbian or Gay erotica themes, as with The Best of the Best of Lesbian Erotica, edited by Tristan Taoromino (Cleis). You also have to reflect the times. Seems the butch-femme dynamic and gender roles aren’t so predictable anymore, as suggested by Set in Stone: Butch on Butch Erotica, edited by Angela Brown (Alyson Books), or Switch Hitters: Lesbians Write Gay Male Erotica and Gay Men Write Lesbian Erotica, edited by Carol Queen and Lawrence Schimel (Cleis). Bi and transgendered readers can pick up Best Bisexual Erotica edited by Carol Queen and Bill Brent (Black Books/Circlet Press). On Our Backs: The Best Erotic Fiction, (Alyson) edited by Lindsay McClune, compiles stories from the lesbian sex magazine of the same name. Featuring noteworthy names like Dorothy Allison, Sarah Schulman and Pat Califia (now known as Patrick) and trading on explicit stories that "counter the notion that all lesbians do is hold hands," the anthology nonetheless suffers under the weight of its own agenda. I’m sorry, but exploring "the political and social issues surrounding lesbian sex" is not my idea of x-rated reading. On the other hand, Friction 4: Best Gay Erotic Fiction (Alyson), edited by Jessy Grant and Austin Foxe, is a hot collection of male/male erotic fiction from American magazines. I like gay male smut because it’s usually raunchier than female-oriented stories. Chick erotica uses less traditional "male porn" language, but sometimes, you just wanna call a cock a cock. * * * Erotic lit does offer something for every taste, though. "The lesbian/queer community demands diversity around size, colour, shape," says Jansen. Hence collections like Erotique Noire: Black Erotica, edited by Maria Decosta-Willis, Roseann P. Bell and Reginald Martin (Anchor Books); Best Black Women’s Erotica, edited by Blanche Richardson (with an intro by Iyanla Vanzant) (Cleis); and On a Bed of Rice: An Asian American Erotic Feast, edited by Geraldine Kudaka (Anchor). In Her I Am (Press Gang Publishers) is a book of sexy poetry by First Nations artist and activist Chrystos Big girls get it on in Zaftig: Well Rounded Erotica, edited by Hanne Blank (Cleis). "In Yiddish ‘zaftig’ means juicy, voluptuous and plump in a deliciously sensuous sort of way," says Blank. "It is also a euphemism for saying someone is fat." Reminds me of a joke by Montreal comic, Marthe Chaves: "Telling a woman she is voluptuous is like saying, ‘You may be fat but I still wanna fuck you.’" Actually, there's quite an upswing in Jewish erotica. Check out the cleverly titled Friday, The Rabbi Wore Lace: Jewish Lesbian Erotica, edited by Karen P. Tulchinsky (Cleis), and The Oy of Sex: Jewish Women Write Erotica, edited by Marcy Sheiner. * * * "Fantasy" erotica is also hot. "Women see their pleasure through magic, from goddesses, in enchanted forests, and with fairy women" in the book Stars Inside Her: Lesbian Erotic Fantasy, edited by Cecelia Tan (Circlet). Tan also sharpens her fangs in A Taste of Midnight: Vampire Erotica (Circlet). Rapunzel really lets her hair down in Erotic Fairy Tales: A Romp Through the Classics, edited by Mitxi Szereto (Cleis), and Once Upon a Time: Erotic Fairy Tales for Women, edited by Michael Thomas Ford (Richard Kasak). Bedtime stories will never be the same. * * * If you want to take your erotica to the beach, Aqua Erotica (Three Rivers Press) is the first waterproof smut I’ve seen. Edited by Mary Anne Mohanraj, the book includes 18 stories including a re-telling of The Little Mermaid that you won’t be reading to the kiddlywinks. A nicely done book, despite the tiny font type – I mean, it’s hard enough to read with one hand, but to have to squint… * * * Love a man in uniform? How about the FedEx lady in shorts and combat boots? UniformsEx (Alyson), edited by Linnea Due, offers erotic stories of women in service. In her story Cafeteria Lady, Paula Neves recalls the first time she saw her object of lust slinging mashed potatoes: "She had a flick of the wrist that immediately excited me." * * * And, finally, a couple new faves have earned a spot next to Nin… StarF*ucker: A Twisted Collection of Superstar Fantasies, edited by Shar Rednour, continues the theme of her zine, Starphkr. (Rednour and her partner also created the Bend Over Boyfriend edu-porn video series that features women with strap-ons doing the lads.) Among the entertaining and well-written stories, Carol Queen makes it with Marilyn Monroe, Thomas Roche corrupts Marilyn Munster, and Susie Bright gets down with Dan Quayle. Then there’s Lie With Me (Gutter Press), a vivid little book of erotic vignettes by Tamara Faith Berger. The book comes in different colours (mine’s silver) and is illustrated with childlike drawings, but, again, not for the wee ones. In her intro, Berger writes about her struggle to be a slut and what it means for women to like sex. The stories shift from male to female perspectives, but where so much of "women’s" erotica seems forced and self-conscious, Lie With Me is all raw sex and raw emotion. It’s a hot combo. Don’t forget to check out My Messy Bedroom TV on The Women’s Television Network Sunday nights at 10:30 est (check local listings).

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