Women's erotica

Women’s erotica can be defined as any sexually explicit or pornographic material that caters specifically to women. It encompasses a variety of media including websites, books, short stories, films, photography, magazines and audio. The content may cover all aspects of sexuality, from relationships to fetishes; the main idea is to convey sex from a woman’s perspective, or to feature female sexual fantasies.

Recent history of the genre

Websites
Thanks to the privacy and anonymity offered by the internet, women have increasingly embraced erotic material online. In 2003 Neilsen Netratings noted that more than a quarter of all porn surfers were female. The first women’s erotica subscription-based website, Purve, was launched in 1998. The site featured photos of nude men culled from gay sites, articles and sex advice. The first women’s adult directory was Ladylynx which featured links to galleries and site reviews. Kara's Links, a similar directory site, began operating soon after. Other women's erotic sites that exist online today include OystersandChocolate.com[1], Sex-Kitten.net, and Tit-Elation.com.

Fiction
Erotic fiction for women has seen explosive growth over the last two years. Publishers report that women’s erotica novels consistently sell well.

The first publishing imprint of erotic fiction for women was Black Lace, launched in Britain in 1992. It remained unique in publishing for over a decade and was only recently joined in the marketplace by big-name publishers Harlequin, Kensington and Avon who have released their own “black label” lines for female readers.

The first series of books to feature erotic short stories for women was Herotica, first published by Down There Press in 1996. Author and sex activist Susie Bright founded the series and edited the first three volumes. A similar series is Best Women’s Erotica from Cleis Press which has appeared annually since 2001.

Internet-based publisher Ellora's Cave produces what it calls "romantica" - romance novels with explicit sex scenes. The company originally produced e-books but has now moved into printed publishing.

In 2008, two Black Lace authors, Kristina Lloyd and Mathilde Madden, established the feminist website, Erotica Cover Watch, highlighting erotica's perceived sexism by focusing on its book covers. Lloyd and Madden contend that erotica, both general and women's, is still targeting a primarily male readership by producing book covers which feature images of sexualized women but not of men.

Film
Women were not acknowledged as a potential audience by pornographic filmmakers until 1985 when former adult star Candida Royalle created her first adult movie for women, Femme. The movie featured explicit sex but focused on the woman’s pleasure and refused to include “pop shots” (external ejaculation scenes). Since then she has made 16 adult films for women. In April 2007 she launched a new line of films, Femme Chocolat, which depicts the sexual fantasies of black women.

For many years Candida Royalle was the sole producer of erotic films for straight women. In the 21st century a number of other women have stepped in and created their own vision of women’s erotica. These include:

• Independent filmmaker Estelle Joseph, who used her own money to fund the City of Flesh series, set in New York.
• UK based director and producer Petra Joy who's created four films, Sexual Sushi, Female Fantasies, Sensual Seduction (an 18c version of previous two) and Feeling It!
• Spanish filmmaker Erika Lust whose short film "The Good Girl" was well received and whose feature film "Cinco Historias Para Ellas" (Five Stories For Women) is due to be released soon.
• Nina Lennox, who has produced the Inpulse line of films. These focus mainly on good looking male talent.

In 2006 Playgirl in partnership with adult company Wicked produced and released their own line of adult films for women.

Magazines
Cosmopolitan was the first magazine to include a nude male centrefold – Burt Reynolds bared all in April 1972. Australia’s Cleo magazine followed suit in November 1972 with a spread of actor Jack Thompson.

Playgirl magazine, an answer to Hugh Hefner’s Playboy, first appeared in 1973 and offered a full-nude centrefold with its second issue. The magazine regularly features nude male models, erotic fiction and sex advice. While ostensibly aimed at women, former editor Michelle Zipp has said that around 30% of the readership is gay men .

Other women’s erotica magazines include:

• Australian Women’s Forum which ran from 1993 to 2001.
• For Women, a now-defunct British women’s mag
• Scarlet, a UK-based magazine which primarily features erotic fiction for women
• Sweet Action, an independently-produced US magazine that prides itself on featuring non-stereotypical male models
• Gluck, a German-language independent erotica magazine
• Blam! Blam! magazine

External links

• Porn Movies Directed by Women
• Oysters and Chocolate Erotica Erotic fiction, poetry, articles and art.
• The Erotic Woman Erotic fiction, product reviews, discussion forum for women.
• Jane's Guide Reviews of adult-oriented web sites
• Erotica Cover Watch Feminist analysis of the marketing of erotic fiction