Today’s reader topic comes from QSFer Hank T Cannon :
The role of sex in genre fiction. I wasn’t introduced to sexy books in romance, but in decidedly non-romantic sci fi and contemporary fiction (hello Harold H. Robbins) where it was depicted as a description of power, personality, or outgrowth of culture, and and kind of treated like sport.
Only later as my reading expanded did sex as a conduit for romance, or as an ignition for romance enter the picture.
Was the “sporting sex” gratuitous, or did it serve to convey how the characters interacted with the world? Do some genres allow more for sport-sex than others without creating the expectation of romance?
Writers: This is a reader chat – you are welcome to join it, but please do not reference your own works directly. Thanks!