Sex-Positive Feminism and Me

Is Splatterpunk Inherently Misogynistic?

I read a few reviews of my writing recently where I was accused of being sexist because of the very sexual descriptions of the female characters in my books. One even called it misogynistic. Now, not coming from a mainstream or vanilla point of view, I struggled a bit to understand why celebrating the female body would be considered misogynistic. When I write detailed descriptions of male bodies, right down to the size of their cocks, I never get accused of being a misandrist. That accusation seems to be exclusively when a man describes a woman in sexual terms, not in the reverse. 

Now, I do understand that women have been historically objectified in our society. It has only been recently that the abilities and accomplishments of women have been widely recognized, and that recognition is still not where it should be as evidenced by the wage gap and the way the physical appearances of female politicians are discussed in the media. It's natural to get a bit defensive when a male author describes a woman's impressive cleavage before, or in absence of, her wit or intelligence. Here's the thing though, some women want to be recognized for both. Some women do want to be sexualized, especially women who don't get seen as sexual beings often enough, and that doesn't make them any less of a feminist than the women who only want to be recognized for their competence and intelligence. It also doesn't make me sexist for fulfilling that need.

When I first began writing, I made a conscious decision to celebrate more full-figured, voluptuous, women in my books and stories. I grew up reading books and watching movies and TV shows where the only women acknowledged as beautiful or desirable were those who were a size 2 or smaller.  A woman who was a size 12, 14, or 16 could only hope to be comic relief. I thought that was bullshit and wasn't going to perpetuate it in my work. I wanted my writing to show appreciation for plush, curvaceous women.  So, that's what I do. Appreciation. Not objectification.  Though I recognize that's a fine line, and really not for me to define. I can only speak to my intent. I love thick curvy girls and want to show them love in my books.

Here's another reality of my writing, I write erotic horror. Yes, it's also Extreme Horror. It's also Splatterpunk, but make no mistake, with some exceptions of course, it's intended to sexually arouse the reader as much as it is to shock and terrify. It's written to both titillate and horrify. When I am describing a woman who's bra-size is somewhere in the middle of the alphabet or a man who can stir a 40 quart pot of chili with his cock, it's because I am trying to get dicks hard and pussies wet. And yes, sometimes to give the readers a chuckle. And that brings me to my other point, not all feminism is the same. Yes, some old school feminists object to any and all mention of women as sexual beings. Some post me-too movement feminists feel the same way, but there's a whole group of feminists in between who fight for a woman's right to define her own sexuality anyway they see fit without being slut-shamed for it or getting their feminist card pulled.

Now, I have seen TikTok videos and Instagram posts from critics railing against Splatterpunk as being inherently misogynistic with its lurid depictions of rape and torture. And in truth, there are some books that make me question the ethics of the author because the writing veers so close to editorializing, but I give the author the benefit of the doubt unless I know something about them personally and their real-life interactions with women. I don't assume that because an author writes a sexist or misogynistic character or situation, that they are misogynistic themselves, even if the character is the story's protagonist. And, I know, that's a hard pill for many to swallow. I also don't cry sexism or misogyny if the books have lots of sex in them.

It seems weird to me to assume any depictions of sex or women as sexual beings automatically makes the book misogynistic if it's written by a man. Even if the sex scenes are badly written. Even if the women are bouncing boobily along with their heaving bosoms, I personally wouldn't call that sexist unless her breasts were her sole personality trait. Who cares what I think about feminism in the long run, but I just don't think the goal of feminism is or should be to completely desexualize women.

The first wave of feminism, back in the 1890s to the 1920s, was centered around the suffrage movement and a woman’s right to vote. The second wave of feminism in the 1960s and 1970s was mostly about sexual and financial freedom, breaking gender barriers in employment and the right to own property, abortion rights, reclaiming their bodies and asserting themselves as sexual beings with needs and desires that had been historically ignored. This was when people actually began talking about women having orgasms, and having sex outside of marriage as a nonscandalous act. The third wave of feminism took place in the 1980s and 1990s, right when I was coming of age. Third Wave is when feminism finally began addressing the differences in the wants and needs of women of color. It's when the term “Womanist” began being heard more often, referring to women who still wanted to have doors opened for them, and men fix their cars, and carry heavy shit. This was mostly a movement of women of color who didn't feel in line with the goals of feminism. You see a lot of womanist ideology in the lyrics of black women rappers and singers from Queen Latifa to Foxy Brown and Lil Kim to Lizzo. The cultural differences between that and many of the views of white feminists could not be more opposite.

This was also the time when LGBTQ+ rights were beginning to be addressed with the rise of queer theory. But, what had the biggest impact upon me, was the rise of sex-positive feminism and the reclaiming of words like “whore” and “slut”.

Back in 2015, I listened to a speech at a BDSM event by porn actress and self-proclaimed Fifth Wave Feminist, Nina Hartley in which she talked about sex-positive feminism and how many feminists take issue with her profession, her relationship with her husband (in which she identifies as his slave and calls him Master,) and her BDSM lifestyle. She very passionately spoke about how true freedom and equality means a woman should have the right to do whatever makes her happy whether that's climbing the corporate ladder and becoming CEO of a Fortune 500 company, running for political office, or putting on a latex catsuit and a collar and bowing at her lover’s feet. If feminism isn't about a woman’s right to pursue her own happiness, then what's the point of it? In an interview with the Las Vegas Sun, Nina Hartley had this to say:

“I thought feminism, in addition to social justice—equal pay for equal work, on-site child care, parental leave—was about my choices and my life…

“The idea that owning my own body is somehow dangerous for other women just astounds me,” Hartley continues. “I am grateful that I was raised at a time when feminism told me that I had a right to my life on my terms. For me, feminism has been an amazing gift of mental and physical freedom.”

The greatest consumers of my books, by far, have always been women. When my first novel, Succulent Prey, was released by Leisure Books in 2009, there was an immediate backlash due to all the sex and sexual violence, and I was accused of sexism and misogyny right away. My accusers, however, were all men, self-appointed “White Knights” saving what they perceived as damsels in distress from the big bad Extreme Horror author. The women who read the book overwhelmingly loved it, and the cannibal sex killer, Joseph Miles, remains one of my most beloved characters and the one readers mention most often as the character that turns them on the most.

My more vanilla readers, I'm sure, cannot fathom why any woman would be aroused by descriptions of a gorgeous man cannibalizing voluptuous women. Many of my less than vanilla readers may already be reaching into the top drawer of their nightstands while simultaneously typing “Succulent Prey” into their Amazon search bars.

Look on Instagram and TikTok right now and search “Splatterpunk” and “Extreme Horror” and you will see the most rabid fans of this guesome subgenre are women. That doesn't mean to suggest there isn't some questionable shit being written. It doesn't mean there isn't some straight up sexist, misogynistic garbage being written in the name of shocking readers and pushing the envelope. It doesn't mean some of the authors of this shit aren't absolute fucking despicable human beings and complete predators. We all know there have been issues, but we also know they do not represent more than a fraction of the majority. Most of us who pen lurid tales of sex and violence are kind, generous, sensitive, gentle, absolutely lovely human beings. It doesn't mean we shouldn't be having discussions about how far the envelope really should be pushed in terms of writing about violence against women, particularly sexual violence; and when those depictions do descend into little more than pornography for women-hating incels. We should absolutely ask those questions. What we shouldn't do is paint an entire subgenre with one brush or be reactionary and defensive and label any sexual descriptions involving women as sexist, because that, in my opinion, takes power away from women.

When I think of feminism, that's just not what I think of. I don't think of it as anti-sex, but pro-female sexuality, pro-choice in every aspect of the word. Not shaming women for doing sex work, or wanting to experience pain or humiliation in the bedroom, or read about it in books. Not questioning their commitment to women's rights because of their choice of reading material, because they read a Dark Romance or Erotic Horror or Splatterpunk. Not the assumption that women cannot be celebrated for their beauty or sensuality without it being inherently objectifying and dehumanizing, or that for every mention of her hips or ass one must also mention a woman's college GPA or IQ scores or else it's automatically misogynistic. Not the idea that women cannot be celebrated for both their beauty and sensuality and their intelligence, capability, and strength simultaneously or even separately. Not the idea that you can't be a feminist and also enjoy picking up a Wrath James White novel and reading about thick, curvy, voluptuous women getting railed by tall muscular men with cocks like police batons.

I think of feminism as an affirmation of a woman's right to be and enjoy whatever the fuck they want, whether that's rough sex, vanilla sex, romance novels about handsome billionaires or sexy faeries or cannibal serial killers. If you are trying to reduce women to one thing, if you are trying to limit what they are and are not allowed to be or think or desire or consume, in my not-so-humble opinion, you're not a feminist, you're a hater.