Sexuality and Sex in Novels
Sex & sexuality in novels
Sexuality: how does the author approach sexual scenes in novels?
Sexuality and sex: gratuitous and explicit sex alone in a psychological novel, or any novel for that matter, cheapens that piece of literature. Such scenes should not simply titilate the reader as pornography. If applied in a realistic and thoughtful manner, sex can bring enhanced drama and carry the story further along. The approach to the scene must follow the storyline in a way that we become more engaged, driving the reader to wonder what will happen next as the steamy episode approaches (“Will they or won’t they?”) and what occurs after the sexual event (“Good Lord, now what?”).
In The Telegraph Freya North, discussing sex and sexuality, points out,
“For author, character and reader alike, context is key. Scene setting and anticipation make a sexy tangle in a mainstream novel far more fulfilling and erotic than porn.”
In The Blog when Randy Susan Meyers was asked how she wrote about sex, the author informed us,
“By remembering that writing about sex isn’t about insert Tab A into Slot B — it’s about the emotion behind the writhing.
…By remembering what Elizabeth Benedict said in her wonderful book, The Joy of Writing Sex: ‘A good sex scene is not always about good sex, but it is always an example of good writing.’”
From The Neurosurgeon: Ira, and his mistress, Stephanie, meet again–
“…‘Now! Just lie on your back, big boy. Let me do the labor. You need a rest.’ She chewed on her cheek, stared, and sighed. ‘A challenge, but mountains were meant to be climbed.’
Stephanie straddled my pelvis with her knees while kneading my rigid penis, then lowering herself onto me. Tingles billowed into tiny detonations inside my body as I felt myself slip deeper and deeper inside her. She paused a moment, as if to savor a sensation, and then launched into slow thrusts against me. And then faster as the tide within her rose up, each movement catalyzing the next, driving both of us into wave after wave of animate bliss.
‘Steffi…Angel, you make me feel so damn good!’ I clutched her feral breasts and taut nipples.
Purring, then strange guttural sounds came from her throat, followed by a bizarre ululation as she ramped up a sensory firestorm so powerful that every nerve in my body was singing. For a heartbeat she seemed to waver but then recovered. Minute by minute, Steffi labored her pelvic thrusts into a primitive frenzy, perspiration now a sheen on her forehead, her hair matted in sweat. Faster and faster she fucked, bringing me into a state of galactic rapture, my loins about to explode.
The woman now appeared oblivious to me or her surroundings, as if hurtling toward some ill-defined destiny. She squeezed her eyelids closed, peering, perhaps, at a vision, a daytime dream of an ancient past. She must have been under the command of another master from long ago, a puppeteer battling her love for me. Torrents of tears now rushed over her cheeks, dropping to my chest.
I let out a gasp, tiny creatures of life feeding into Steffi by the thousands. She knew it was happening. Her body collapsed on top of me. Aftershocks.
My ears were ringing, and the pitch of her respirations started to change, but then
‘Watch out! Watch out, Stella! The sh…shark! Dear God, help!’ came a scream from above me.
Suddenly, Steffi’s mouth formed a rictus of pain, yet no immediate sound came forth. The woman broke out into a keening, shattering, high-pitched wail so terrible it froze my heart and sent bubbles of fear chasing along my spine…”
If Dick meets Jane at a bar and convinces her to join him in a motel followed by the obligatory foreplay and sexual intercourse, the reader might be left with a feeling of “That’s it?” Real life rarely happens like that. We become more interested–and even fascinated–in the protagonist and his or her battle between good and evil if the foreplay is a natural or even hoped-for occurrence in the chain of events. Then we become so engaged in the story that our adrenalin rises in anticipation (whether it be delight or disgust) of the coupling, even if the actual intercourse does not occur. We can leave unemotional rutting to the animals. Hopefully, we sense intimacy included during the copulation, though even stronger tension occurs if the girl is raped.
An American Psychological Association website states,
“Sexuality has three stages: Desire is an interest in being sexual. Excitement is the state of arousal that sexual stimulation causes. And orgasm is sexual pleasure’s peaking. A sexual disorder occurs when there’s a problem in at least one of these stages.”
