A thought or two.

[hellozombies.livejournal.com]

While discussing the idea of sex in novels with a friend of mine, I (of course) brought up LKH and her...um...lack of skills in that particular area. My friend said that it's extremely difficult to write sex--descriptive or not--and that she feels "awkward" while reading sex scenes. I (again) chimed in about Anita Blake--about how not only did I feel awkward, I also felt pretty damn squicked out.

We've all lamented over the boring, repetitive, gross sex. My question is, have you ever--in any novel that's ever been written--seen a decent, titillating, enthralling sex scene?

The more and more I think about it, the more I realize that I haven't seen one that's left me breathless and panting. I know that I'm much more of a slash girl than anything, but isn't that what they're supposed to do?

(It's much more fun laughing about bad sex scenes than it is hunting for good ones, I'll tell you that.)

Thoughts, dear lashers?

Comments

[jerel.livejournal.com]

Anita is stuck having sex with everything but the car's tailpipe

Hey, you should have a spoiler alert on this post! Everyone knows that's in the next book!

;)

[jerel.livejournal.com]

Psychologists say that, especially in women, the brain also needs to be stimulated.

One study I read said that when women have sexual fantasies, they tend to fantasize about men they already know (friends, co-workers, professors, etc.) The inference is that an emotional connection is important to hetero women [that was the only group studied.]

is every time supposed to be AWESOME! and WET! and SCREAMING! Or is Anita Blake just wrong on yet another level?

As my co-worker Ms. W once told me, "Honey, if it ain't good, he's doin' something wrong." In all seriousness, though, is it going to be off the decibel scale with copious amounts of fluid? Probably not. But y'know what? I'm okay with that.

(Perhaps we should have "super lubrication" to AB's list of powers?")

[jerel.livejournal.com]

I just want to say I love your icon. :)

[dominanefret.livejournal.com]

You have Dexter in your Icon! LOVE!

[recrudescence.livejournal.com]

Tanith Lee squicked me with the whole giant-lizard-doing-underage-girls thing in The Birthgrave, but other than that I love her.

[recrudescence.livejournal.com]

Most mainstream erotica makes me want to gouge my eyes out, whereas I've read some very well-done fanfic (mostly slash, but I'm biased). It makes me wonder what the difference is between the target audience for slashfic and the target audience for published erotica. And, for that matter, why there isn't more overlap.

[recrudescence.livejournal.com]

Don't forget American Gods also has that one sex scene featuring a literal Crotch of Doom. *grins*

[chubling.livejournal.com]

I really loved the sex scenes in Imajica, but Clive Barker. He tends to write, in my opinion, rather good sex scenes. And they can run from decently vanilla to really not at all.

[guardians-song.livejournal.com]

Personally, I think the slash factor involves "OOH, GOODIE! TWO HOT MEN! AND SEX! WITH EACH OTHER! :DDDDDD" XD *is a slasher*

And as for het erotica... I'm not interested in the dripping sheath of the female protagonist or whatnot. :P XD Y'know?

So, yay! Slashers unite! :D

[bluesauce.livejournal.com]

My favorite book in the scene, in part because I love the whole "Fallen Angels" as villains, in part because Butcher can definitely write, and also because of that scene. :*)

[keepsake]

Seconded. And I am a BDSM fan, and I'm a sub, so I find myself relating to Phedre a lot and reading things from her point of view. And the sex scenes are mostly tastefully done and not cliched.

[miladygrey.livejournal.com]

Laura Kinsale's Shadowheart, also known as The One Where I Found Out That I'm Rather Kinky. Female domme, male sub, bondage and roleplay and two people learning about each other, not just sexually but in the this-is-part-of-me sense.

Ricisms

[bludflower.livejournal.com]

Funny, I wrote the same thing about the phrase "nether-lips" in an essay I wrote, mentioning Anne Rice's sex scenes.

[bleedingsand.livejournal.com]

alskdjf NICOLA. I swear, I cannot read those books in mixed company anymore. Answering one more question as to why I'm flushed and licking my lips...

[tsubaki-ny.livejournal.com]

Wasn't Julien fucked by a ghost or taltos or something when he was THREE? I distinctly remember a horrifying reference to "baby juices."

Granted, the whole thing was about this creature of darkness sort of breeding and controlling the family so I didn't expect it to use moral means, but GOD DAMN.

[tsubaki-ny.livejournal.com]

Dangit, that means I'm going to have to keep reading the series, don't it. ^__^ I find myself rapidly losing momentum (just finished book 2 "Fool Moon") and I'm really not sure why. I wasn't going to buy any more...

[tsubaki-ny.livejournal.com]

I definitely started reading m/m because it was new. It was stuff I didn't know, er... method and procedure, as opposed to the same old same old tab A slot B of the romances I was reading. Plust I'm familliar with het and the workings of my own body, so I could immediately tell when something being described was preposterous -- takes me out of the scene more immediately.

Plus the "forbidden" nature that m/m still holds, whether it's stated, or an actual plot point, or just a subtext, gives the whole thing an emotional intensity that het can't match any more -- we can read about "forbidden" het love, but it doesn't really happen in Western societies. By and large (although not universally of course) we can do as we please and so we can't grasp the pathos in the same way. The biggest rule of a romance is that something has to stand in the way of the protagonists getting together, and by far in the ones I've edited (quite lousy ones, to be honest) that "reason" is just... STUPID. It's never more profound than "I'm not ready!" or "I'm a playa, I want freedom!" versus "I want babies before I'm old!"

Plus, really the only thing that gives a written sex scene any real power is what's going on in people's heads. The physical stuff is played-out by definition. Not there's anything wrong with that! But it doesn't necessarily make for good entertainment.

And now I think I have gone full circle and ceased to make sense. Bedtime.

[tsubaki-ny.livejournal.com]

The first one was so convincing, it made me wonder if I WAS. Then I had a hair removal procedure. I am so not into pain. I am, however, back in my happy comfort zone. ^___^

[tsubaki-ny.livejournal.com]

You know, Holly Black did some fantastic descriptions of desire in "Tithe." No graphic sex descriptions -- I think all the boy did was step into the confines of a sidhe's (thorn-lined) cape, but damn if it wasn't hot.

(Hmmm. I seem to have a thing for men doing stuff against their will and better judgement.)

[belledewinter.livejournal.com]

I'm going to agree with you. The psychological element is very important. Maybe that's why fanfic is so popular - we have all of that background, all that we need to see to be 100% happy is the sexorz. :3

Or is Anita Blake just wrong on yet another level?

That may be it, though I'm not sure it's just because of the wetness. XD

[alex-lebeau.livejournal.com]

The first three are kind of bleh, in my opinion. But once you pick up 4 ("Summer Knight"), I think he hits his stride.

[keepsake]

Those books make me glad that I am. ;)

Re: Ricisms

[easol.livejournal.com]

NETHER LIPS?

[easol.livejournal.com]

Yay for Thomas and his Buffy T-shirts!

Sexy yet funny, pretty yet masculine, sexxin' yet not porn.

[maladaptive.livejournal.com]

Thanks!