Sex Sells
A close look at one area of modern day life where sex is a growing commodity.
It might seem like an outrageously bizarre thing to say, but the truth is, sex really does sell. No, I’m not talking anything as sordid as prostitution, my dirty minded reader. Sex sells in many areas of our modern day lives, from lingerie shops such as Anne Summers, or even online adult toy shops, which seem to be of growing popularity these days.
So sex sells. We knew that already. If it didn’t, your curiosity when seeing an article entitled ‘Sex Sells’ wouldn’t have been piqued and you wouldn’t be reading this today. The media is probably the biggest seller of sex, with gossip magazines containing columns on celebrity scandals, advice and top tips and even sex horror stories. Similarly, the newspapers are big on sex stories, with political scandals as well as celebrity. Even the TV magazines are big on sex, with which soap character slept with another soap character, and cheated on another being a regular column appearance.
But the area of modern life where sex is a growing commodity, that as a lover of books, concerns me most, is that of erotic fiction.
That’s right. For the lovers of Christian Grey out there, you're about to come into your element.
Erotic fiction is an area of modern life that is surrounded by mystery, which few will admit delving into and yet many are at the very least intrigued by. With names such as Sylvia Day and E.L. James growing to be famous in just about every household, it’s an undisputed fact that society’s obsession with all things naughty is fuelling a boom in the book department. A nice clean romance is all very well for a quick lunch break read, but that’s all it is: nice. Who wouldn’t want to get down and dirty with Anastacia Steele and the dashing Christian Grey (not literally! Get your mind out of the gutter!). A little heat and steam never failed to spice up ones reading life (and maybe even their sex life too!). Forget Elizabeth and Darcy; Anastacia and Christian are the new best couple for all eternity.
A little bit of research found that, when the words “Romance novels” are typed into search engine ‘Google’, Fifty Shades of Grey is right up there at third on the list, right between Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre. Even more interesting is that Goodreads, the esteemed website in which avid and beginner readers alike can keep track of what they’re reading and share their opinions on the books, has a whole page for an erotic book reading list, which is basically a catalogue of the best erotic novels to date. This list is then broken down into categories such as “Controlling/Sexy/Possessive Men”, “Favourite Gay Couples” and “Books with the Hottest Sex!”. If that doesn’t say something about the society we live in now, I don’t know what does.
Let’s just make this clear. I am not condemning erotic fiction. While not a fan of the taboos such as stepfather and stepdaughter relationships (of which there are plenty on Amazon kindle makes it so easy to access erotic fiction, and many of the books are actually free), I can’t see the harm in reading a little erotic fiction every now and again.
And it certainly is doing well for itself. Let’s take a look at the obvious first: Fifty Shades of Grey is probably the best known erotic romance out there, having been made into two films with a third on the way. Not only that, but in addition to the original trilogy, E.L. James is now in the process of releasing the story all over again but this time, from Christian’s point of view. Fifty Shades has sold over 125 million copies worldwide by June 2015. It’s been translated into 52 languages, which is a huge number, and has set a record as the fastest-selling paperback in the UK of all time.
So what draws people to it? Well, much like many of the fans of Mr Darcy (or more specifically, Colin Firth as Mr Darcy), there is some sort of soft spot for powerful, misunderstood men. Yet the money and the good looks are where the comparisons stop. Christian Grey has the ability to make a woman’s panties drop faster than he can say “sex sells”, and that’s mostly because of his need to dominate. As much as my inner feminist revolts at this idea, a large amount of erotic fiction involves some sort of male dom., female sub. situation, and readers are intrigued by this as much if not more than they are by ordinary sex. Fifty Shades can certainly never be accused of being vanilla.
Then there’s the love story between Anastacia and Christian. I know, anyone who thinks that Fifty Shades is a romance is deluding themselves and fooling no one else. It is an out and out sex story. End of. Or almost. Because the fact is, while the story itself isn’t a romance, there are elements of romance to the plot. That’s what made my mum not only watch the first film in cinemas, but also go back to see the second, despite being the last person on earth you’d ever imagine watching to watch something like that. Just to note, she isn’t under any illusions. She knows the film is basically a tame porno, but she, like many others, claim to want to know how the story ends, and by this, they’re referring to whether Christian and Anastacia get their happily ever after. The romance, however small a part of it, is one consideration of why Fifty Shades is so popular.
Of course, its isn’t just E.L. James that is selling sex as a commodity. Sylvia Day is a no.1 New York Times bestseller, and Alice Clayton’s Wallbanger has been recommended to me on several occasions and is one of the pricier books on Amazon kindle. In fact, erotica is such a growing genre of literature that you can now buy it from respected booksellers like WHSmith’s, though you might have to search a little as it’s not often a section of the bookshop that is obviously advertised.
And if you think erotic fiction is just for women, think again. A search on WHSmith’s website revealed that they’re now selling Fifty Spades of Grey, “Erotica for Classy Blokes”.
In short, the reason erotic fiction is doing so well is because, in our enlightened society, readers are much more open minded, and because sex is not only a commodity that sells, but is also a conversation that a large quantity of the population want to have.
So what do you think? Do you read erotic fiction? Does sex sell?
I think it does.
With thanks to Bethany Nolan.
