SmutTalk: Censored! (The Post Script)

Thanks to all of you, both for your support, and for putting up with my frothing at the mouth.

So Wednesday and Thursday’s uproar seems to have run its course. The hammer of the Amazonian gods has been lifted. The publisher resubmitted the book, having eliminated the word “sex” from the subtitle, and it was accepted. “Juliet Takes Off” is up for sale again. In fact, as nearly as I can tell, it never went off sale. So there’s that. Yay.

Unfortunately, we still aren’t sure that that AWFUL word was the cause of the ban. I got what seems to me to be a very likely suggestion from Selena Kitt, who wrote an excellent resource post for authors whose books are banned or stamped with the Scarlet Letter (that is, they’re classified as adult): Surviving the Pornocalypse: Erotica Writers Get Armed and Ready. Her thought was that Amazon’s ever-shifting standards (“about what you’d expect,” my ass!) may have morphed to include as ban-worthy covers that showed a naked woman’s back.

Let me reiterate that: an image of a nude female back may in fact be classified as indecent by Amazon.

Wrap your head around that one.

What are they going to do with Jacqueline Carey’s books?

So the publisher went back and designed a bunch of new covers.

Here they go:

I actually like these a lot. (Yes, that’s Mary Cyn again, the same model from the original cover, and the lovely narrator of the Juliet audiobooks.) I have my own thoughts, but I’d love yours.

Mostly, I’m laughing, because I don’t think any of these is any less (or more) provocative than the first cover. But maybe that’s just me!

In any case, I’d love it if you’d go vote over at Stillpoint/Eros: http://eros.stillpointdigital.com/?p=918

Personally, I think that whichever one you guys choose, we should put a big BANNED ON AMAZON!!! label on it. What do you think? 😉

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SmutTalk: Censored!

I feel like such a big kid now!

I just got an email forwarded by my publisher informing them and me that Amazon is pulling Juliet Takes Off from its shelves because it’s “in violation of our content guidelines.”

Those guidelines (as they pertain in this case)?

I quote:

• Pornography We don’t accept pornography or offensive depictions of graphic sexual acts.
• Offensive Content What we deem offensive is probably about what you would expect.

My publisher expressed bewilderment.

Me? I’m not bewildered; I’m livid.

I’ve obviously read and thought a lot about the distinction between erotica and porn. We’ve thrown around a lot of definitions, but here’s the one that’s in my head right now: sex in the service of the story or the development of the character is erotic; sex for the sake of sex (or $) is porn. Does that cover it?

“Juliet Takes Off” is certainly sexual — it contains an extended scene in which a young woman loses her virginity, and a framing sequence that’s quite explicitly sexual. But it’s absolutely nowhere near the line crossed by something like 90% of the Erotica section on Amazon. (The work of present company, obviously, excepted.) But the whole story sequence is focused on the growth of the two characters and their coming to terms with each other.

Pornographic? I don’t think so. I’d have called it literary erotica — how successful its literary pretensions I can’t say, but that’s the intent. Porn? No.

What actually bothers me even more is the “offensive” bit. Obviously, I’m mortified to have offended anyone — and I assume that someone flagged the story as such. But I have NO idea what in the name of all that is sexy could have offended anyone about this particular story. It’s a story in which two adult characters of opposite gender who happen to love each other have sex. Twice. By mutual consent. And it’s all pretty straight sex, in every sense. Oh — I guess there is a very quick hand job. Still. Offensive?

Amazon says their definition of offensive is “about what you would expect” — which means… what? Me, there’s only one thing I find truly offensive: the glorification or romanticization of non-consensual sex. What does that mean, you ask? Thank you for asking: non-consensual sex means any sex involving anyone incapable of saying yes (children, animals, the mentally retarded, coma victims, sleepers, etc.) or who has said no.

There are other things that folks find erotic that really don’t turn me on — things that when I was reading and writing fan-fiction I was astonished to find where very popular. BDSM, scat, all of that. I don’t find those things offensive; they just don’t do anything for me. Turn me off, even. But rape — statutory or vanilla — portrayed for teh sex0rs? That I find patently offensive. Also illegal in most countries including the US of A.

And the Amazon Erotica category is FULL of those. Here’s the link to a search on “rape” in the Erotica section. And here’s the search on “non-con.” How about some “forced sex“? A few of those are about rape survivors. But most? :-p

“Bestiality”? We got that.

“Underage” shows up with only 17 hits. Yay!

“Chan” mostly shows Asian authors, which is a relief.

You want to know two things that really piss me off? Some of these stories outsell mine, for reasons that I can’t even begin to fathom; and these are all on Amazon but mine isn’t.

Ahem. Psst. As of this moment, Juliet Takes Off is still available on Amazon.

It also remains on sale on Stillpoint/Eros (the audiobook too!), Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Smashwords, and allRomanceEbooks. And the audiobook is on Audible and iTunes.

Oh, and the Goodreads page is here.

And what the heck. Here’s the trailer:

 

There. I’m still furious, but I’m feeling better now.

Related articles

• SmutTalk: Erotica vs. Porn (kdwestwrites.wordpress.com)
• Erotica Isn’t Simply Smut (faithtyler.com)
• Erotica Writers: Fight! (mastererotica60.wordpress.com)

SmutTalk: Erotica vs. Porn

So, I’ve been talking with folks about what constitutes erotica, and what constitutes pornography. Not new subjects, and not subjects any argument is going to solve any time soon.

Here, for what it’s worth, is Joseph Campbell talking about James Joyce’s definition of porn (aka “improper art”):

Joyce’s theory of art included what he called “proper art” and “improper art.” To Joyce, proper art has to do with the esthetic (sense) experience. It is static. It is not moving you to do anything. It is in esthetic arrest. 

For the static art, Joyce goes to Aquinas, Dante (the model for Joyce’s work), and Aristotle. He goes to Aquinas for beauty – beauty is what pleases.

What he called improper art is kinetic – it moves you with either desire, loathing, or fear for the object represented. Consequently it moves you to action – you are not in esthetic arrest. Art that moves you is either with desire or loathing or fear toward the object or away from the object.

Art that moves you with desire toward the object, Joyce calls pornographic. All advertising is pornographic art. You are not simply enchanted by the object you are beholding. You want it. However, if you look at a Picasso portrait, it certainly doesn’t look like someone you would like to meet, but you still like the picture. It is formally organized and interesting.

Art that repels you, Joyce calls didactic. He says that 90% of all writers use didactic pornographics trying to get you to turn away from something, but applying a chocolate coating that will hold your interest. — Joseph Campbell, “Mythic Worlds, Modern Words”

And here’s what I said this morning to Madeleine Marzio over on The Erotic Writers Group on Google+:

Funny enough, I have been discussing this very subject with another writer, Tess Mackenzie, on her blog (here’s a link). We come at the issue in different ways, I think, but we’ve both narrowed it down, for us, to where the focus is: is it on the people, who happen to be having sex; or is it on the sex, and the people are there as props? If the story centers around the characters and their journeys, that’s erotica. If it centers around act A followed by act B, that’s porn. 

At least, that’s how I see it today. 😉

What’s your definition of erotica? Porn?