The Erotic Novels

Many women are proud devotees of erotiske noveller—they have no problem talking about it in public and publicly drooling over the hot alpha male heroes they adore. Whether it’s the love story, the suspenseful plot or the explicitness, the stories draw readers in and hold them captive.

Passion’s Forbidden Flames

In our survey of adult female erotic novel readers, the overwhelming majority (85%) describe themselves as avid readers. They are from a broad age range, highly educated and in committed relationships. They say reading erotic novels gives them excitement and feels like a safe space to explore their own sexuality and feelings.

When asked what characterizes a typical erotic novel, most of our participants named EL James’ Fifty Shades trilogy as an example. The pre-eminence of this story about the unexperienced Ana and her sexy rich lover Christian Grey with his dark desires seems to have contributed to the recent surge in popularity of the genre.

However, the respondents also pointed out that there is much more to erotic fiction than this specific genre. They discussed the emotional aspects, the safe space and natural curiosity as well as the desire to represent pleasure in all its forms. They also talked about how a good erotic book can be a great catalyst for sexual empowerment in personal life. It could lead to a stronger discussion with partners about their own desires and sexuality as well as help women become more comfortable about asking for what they want in their relationship.