Does Gay Erotica Have A Bad Name?

Sometimes I see people who claim to be authors of gay erotica post excerpts on social media from their books. I blink and cringe in most cases, especially when I see poorly written words and phrases like, “tight rosebud,” and “the burrs of his voice fuzzed with sleep.” Then there’s, “thrust of a too-large weapon.” I could go on, but I’d rather not. Some of it is too painful to repeat, because they aren’t joking around. These alleged authors are serious, and in most cases proud of themselves.

So when I noticed that this article talks about how poorly gay erotica is written in so many cases, I finally found some validation to post something about it.

Perhaps the vast majority of erotica is just too poorly written to elicit anything but a chuckle. As a reader, you’re jerked out of the material at every mention of a “man-scabbard” or “throbbing flesh-sheath.” 

I’ve written a lot of gay erotica in my time and I’ve even mentioned this in my novels with characters…where my characters laugh and joke during their own sex scenes about bad gay erotica. I did it quite a bit in The Virgin Billionaire series with Jase and Luis. I’m sure I’ve made a few mistakes in my time as a writer, however, I can tell you for certain I have never, ever used words like “puckered rosebud, man slit, thrusting ram rod, or mystic horn,” unless I was clearly going for a laugh. And I never will.

With that said, this whole piece is about erotica that IS NOT poorly written. It’s a video game about gay erotica, intended for gay men.

Sharp, well-written, and peppered with witty Joss Whedon-like dialogue, the game features characters that are well-rounded and believably goofy — and that somehow winds up making their sex scenes that much more, erm, engrossing once they finally materialize. 

You can check this out here. I don’t know much about the game itself, but it looks interesting. They go into a more detailed description.  

Luxembourg’s Openly Gay First Husband

For some reason I don’t understand, we never see anything about the openly gay First Gentleman in Luxembourg.

As the wives and partners of world leaders – including Melania Trump, Brigitte Macron and Queen Mathilde of Belgium – gathered for a group photo opportunity, they were joined by Luxembourg’s ‘first gentleman’ Gauthier Destenay

Destenay is the partner of Xavier Bettel, the Prime Minister of Luxembourg. The men married in 2015 after marriage equality was passed in the country. 

You can read more here, and there are photos. It’s interesting to note that he’s not only the only gay man in the photos…he’s the ONLY man there.

And, as someone in the comments pointed out, why is First Husband in quotes in the headline? That was my first thought, too.

Online Gay Cruising Before Grindr

Here’s an article that reflects on what life was like for gay men cruising the web pre-Grindr.

“For gay men, the birth of online chat rooms changed everything,” Blum reflects in his new think-piece Cruising Online Was Actually Fun Before Grindr Ruined Everything. “The gay-friendliness of your hometown didn’t matter; all that mattered was that you had a stable dial-up connection and access to a keyboard.”

You can check this out here.   It will take you back to a more innocent time.