Why Erotic Fiction Is More Radical Than You Think

Pleasure isn’t trivial. When women write it into being, they’re reclaiming power, voice, and space in a world still uncomfortable with female desire.

On the quiet shame, quiet power, and radical honesty of writing about sex.

Not too long ago, someone asked what I write. Just small talk at a café. I said, “Mostly fiction,” and they smiled politely. Then I added — maybe too casually — “erotica, mostly.”

The smile vanished.

They gave a short, polite nod, like I’d just said something that required discretion. Or pity. Or a therapist. Their eyes darted toward their coffee cup. As if I’d confessed to something indecent instead of describing, you know, a literary genre.

I laughed it off. That’s what we’re taught to do when things get awkward — disarm it with humor. But later, that moment lingered. Not because they were rude or dismissive. It wasn’t what they said, but what flickered across their face.

Judgment. Discomfort. Maybe even embarrassment — on my behalf.

And I’ve seen that look before. Too many times to count, actually. Especially when you say it as a woman. Especially when you say it without apology.

So I started asking myself — why are we still so weird about women writing about…