This article was written by The Zillennial Zine’s spring editorial intern Gahnique Bell. Find her on Instagram at @s14rbur81_g4l4xy. If you would like to share an article with The Zillennial, send us an email at thezillennialzine@gmail.com.
Smut has recently resurged in popularity, quickly becoming controversial among the BookTok community. But what are these spicy books anyway? According to good smut or erotica is the art or writing that is sexually arousing or stimulates feelings in materials such as magazines, books, pictures, movies, jokes, and other forms of media. Though it appears to be a new trend, smut has been around since the medieval times.
It was at first used in ballads and poetry that expressed explicit and sexual language. Then it was pressed into literature that quickly became popular among women during the Victorian Era. However, it was often read in secret due to women not being able to express their sexualities and sexual desires fully in the result of following societal norms.
Now in the 20th century, smut is being consumed drastically and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down. It is featured across many genres such as fantasy, romance, and YA Fiction. From what I’ve seen on TikTok, it also has its fair share of weirdness and questionable storylines. It has become a cultural phenomenon that is mainly written for women by women and a way for people to explore their sexual preferences. But why was it such a problem?
Smut in YA Fiction
One of the reasons people are upset about smut is because it has been sneaking its way into teen fiction—specifically young adult books. YA fiction is for readers who are ages from 12 to 18 (however, many readers are adults in their 20s). Now, while it is known that teens have sex, it is still very VERY weird to have graphic sex scenes in a YA book that involves teenage protagonists. There is a difference between a kiss and a small sex scene to a very detailed and graphic sexual scene that becomes borderline exploitation of children. Sex is normal and for teens it is something they are bound to explore. However, it becomes a problem when authors use sexual scenes involving underage people for the arousal and consumption of adults rather than a moment to represent a teenager making their way into adulthood. It takes away from how teens and young adults gain an understanding of certain topics from stories that could help them navigate their lives better.
The Pros
It Helps Build Sexual Confidence
Despite the controversial talk on smut there are some positive things to take away from reading it. With the lack of sexual education, many people grow up being left in the dark when it comes to learning about sex. For many people, people grow up without knowing how to properly deal with relationships or how to feel confident in their own bodies. Building sexual confidence is one of the ways erotic fiction helps readers in a positive way by allowing them to explore themselves and become more aware of what they like and don’t like when it comes to relationships.
It Allows People To Feel
Another way reading smut can be put into a positive light is that it allows people to feel their emotions and lean not to be ashamed of those feelings. I have seen many people on BookTok and other social media platforms shame other people for reading smut. While some of their points are valid, it is important for people to understand that for many people, especially young people, reading smut it how they find out and learn about sex. And learning about sex is okay and the feelings and desires that come with that shouldn’t be shut down or deemed as “bad”. It shouldn’t have to be this taboo thing that people are afraid talk about. With smut, it gives people a safe space to explore sexual excitement without feeling guilty or ashamed.
It Provides A Form Escape
As any type of form of entertainment does, smut provides a way for people to escape reality and reduce stress. Smut isn’t just all sex. Most of it involves a storyline or some sort. Genres like romance and fantasy are really popular for having erotic themes in them. They revolve around relationships between characters and follow an overarching plot. It is still a form of entertainment. Entertainment media whether it’s movies, tv shows, and even music is all meant to take you away from reality for a while. Reading books about characters who are in relationships and exploring the concept of love is how many people choose to fulfill their own desires of wanting to be with someone and having the type of relationships the characters have in the book they’re reading. Reduce stress/escape form reality.
The Cons
It Romanticizes Toxic Behavior
Of course, smut has it’s cons. It’s no surprise that it doesn’t with the controversy surrounding it. One of the biggest downsides of reading smut is that it romanticizes toxic behavior. Authors lie Sarah J. Mass have gotten major backlash for including abusive relationships and mask it as a healthy situation for the characters to be in. These harmful depictions of relationships can be detrimental to young adults and teens who hasn’t been in many relationships or just dipping their toes into the realm of relationships. They could mistake a toxic relationship to be the norm and tolerate behavior that is unacceptable from a partner.
It Promotes Unrealistic Sex
While smut is filled with sexual and erotic scenes, it is still considered fiction at the end of the day. Most scabrous in smut are completely exaggerated and idealized which can be harmful to people who consumes it on a daily basis. It could give the, the idea that all sex and relationships are like the ones in the books that they read. It can become hard for them to differentiate it from reality as well as decrease satisfaction when dealing with romantics relationships in their own lives. Smut promotes unrealistic expectations of sex by making it seem as if sex will turn out perfect when in reality, sex is sometimes awkward, messy, and awful at times.
What are your thoughts on smut? What are spicy books that come to mind? Let us know in the comments!
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