CAN MEN WRITE GOOD SEX SCENES? – Black Velvet Seductions

After reading script’s all weekend, I have to ask the question why don’t men write good sex scenes? This is a massive generalization, and I would like to say sorry to all the male authors out there who do write really good sex scenes. As I said I have been reading scripts all weekend, three written by men and all three stories had the most appallingly written sex scenes. Women also write pretty bad sex scenes, but on the whole, men seem to be more consistently guilty of cringe-worthy prose.

I once chatted with the editor of the Erotic Review, Rowan Pelling, at a show in London, who said, “The nominations for the Literary Review Bad Sex awards are always dominated by men. So why are women so much better at writing about sex?”

I think women generally apply themselves to the task of writing sex scenarios with sincerity, drawing on their own experience and desires in pursuit of genuinely erotic prose. By contrast, men do struggle with that level of sincerity. I have read so many that fall into the realms of comedic, absurd, embarrassing or downright disgusting. With a great deal of Anglo-Saxon language thrown in for good measure. From my experience of reading scripts, it seems to me that the majority of male writers think that bedroom scenes are all about sticking things into holes. Again by contrast women are much more interested in the detail surrounding the story; they can’t turn it into a satisfactory fantasy unless they have striven to make it realistic: who is this woman, what is her backstory and motivation, and even what makes are her shoes? It is my opinion that when women write sex scenes, they often sound truer and less ridiculous. Though I could mention some that have strayed into the absurd.

Again sorry to the men who can write good scenes, I am truly not knocking you. This has just been a weekend reading some pretty awful stories.

I’d love to hear your comments here on the blog, the BVS Facebook page, or my Facebook page. We have a twitter page too, and we are always happy to follow people that follow us.