Why is Erotica "Trashy"?

From 50 Shades of Gray to every trashy romance novel sold for 50 cents on the dollar, erotica is considered the bastion of the creatively deaf author. Its most well-known titles, such as the one mentioned previously, are notoriously (and genuinely) awful. Filled with awful prose, stilted dialogue, and laughably bad sex scenes erotica isn't exactly what one would call 'high brow.' However, is erotica irrevocably bad, or has it been unfairly shoved to the wayside due to societal taboos?

I consider it a bit of both to be quite frank.

For one, you'll find no shortage of poorly written books, erotic or otherwise. And I believe the monkey brains inside each and every author are more inclined to let their work slide when they are focused on the more tantalizing aspects of their work. Additionally, many individuals who care deeply about their craft and have been led to believe erotica is trash fiction may be less likely to write erotica because they want their work to be respected. This creates a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts wherein authors who want to improve their work and deliver a high brow experience are turned off from the genre while those who are less inclined to a higher level of detail and effort in their writing are more likely to be at ease in the genre. Authors also seem to be a lot 'looser' when it comes to erotica and won't always shy away from quirky subjects (I'm looking at you, Chuck Tingle) when writing as the work is more for entertainment value than for awards season.* The publishing industry also rewards genre authors who produce large amounts of content on a regular basis for paperback publishing rather than investing in small amounts of content leading to an overall decrease in quality as authors struggle to make deadlines and keep up with the ever-evolving fiction marketplace.

That being said, you'd have to bend over backward to deny that erotica, and romance in general, haven't been victims of stereotyping, shunning, and sexism for decades.

The most obvious explanation for erotica being tossed aside is the taboo western society has (up until the last few decades) enforced upon artwork and individuals regarding sex and sexuality. The idea that sex is inherently dirty, primitive, or low-class is a rather traditionalist and unhealthy notion that bleeds over into art criticism. This frames sex not as an aspect of the human experience worthy of being explored in literature but as filth unbecoming more noble human influences. Sexuality, particularly female and queer sexualities, are additionally often placed as the butt of the joke. Many commentators have mocked works of erotic literature as 'mommy porn' or ridiculed and dismissed the activities of sexual minorities as particularly strange or unholy. This perspective reinforces erotic literature as little more than a novelty that should be relegated to the backs of bookstores and hidden away from respectable society.

Romance as a whole has faced a similar problem. Romance novels have often been considered as little more than genre fiction and mocked for fulfilling female fantasies. Any film branded with the moniker of 'chick flick' is likely to be dismissed as a bad film. The term chick flick has no set definition but generally refers to films that are romantic in nature and have female leads. Confusingly, films like Titanic or The Princess Bride which are near-universally acclaimed often aren't considered a chick flick, but films that are comparatively less acclaimed (see every other Meg Ryan film) often are. The conflation of low-brow and 'female' is an inherently sexist notion that also limits our horizons when considering what media to engage with.

The combination of an industry that perpetuates the publishing of the lowest common denominator, a stigma that pushes away authors who may want to make quality erotica, and the sexism that demonizes an entire genre as trashy and ready to be mocked is a sad affair. Especially when sex is such a significant and emotional experience for so many of us. Especially when writing is uniquely equipped to delve into the more surreal and taboo elements of the human experience. And especially when so many marginalized people have underrepresented or misrepresented sexual experiences in media. Critical acclaim, while begrudged by many, is also how much of the general public determines what they will read and what they will take seriously. If we keep accepting poorly written erotica and accepting the industry's snubbing of the genre as a whole we limit our ability to empathize with many parts of the human experience and push aside an important, provocative, genre.

*I find it pertinent to point out the false dichotomy of entertainment vs artistic works. Often times entire classifications of music, film, television, literature, etc. are tossed aside as low brow or entertainment for the masses rather than genuine expressions of artistic talent. This dichotomy and stereotyping are often laced with a hefty side of classism and lack of critical thinking rather than actual artistic critique. I also believe that there is an unfortunate trend to label stories that invoke melancholy as inherently better than stories that evoke joy. A deeper discussion into broader trends of low and high art is certainly important but is beyond the scope of this article.