Talking Shop: Taboo, Bestiality, and "Monster Porn"

So, in case you haven't heard, monster porn is a thing.

 

(I love how this "cavewoman" is wearing
jeans and a designer bikini, but
that's besides the point)

 

From what I've been able to glean, Cum for Bigfoot is one of the most notorious titles, along with T-Rex here. There seems to have been a major surge in the popularity of this brand of erotic story, and while you can imagine they come with a fair amount of criticism, you can't ignore the fact that usually about half the reviews on these stories are, yes, positive! 

 

As of this posting, T-Rex here has a total of 52 reviews and an average score of 3.8 out of 5 stars. Of those 52 reviews, 23 are 5-star! Only 8 are 1-star. If you want to dig in and see what reviewers are saying you'll find that several seem to be posting humorously (I especially like one commenter who states "It is very uncommon to find accurate depictions of dinosaur on woman sex.") What can't be denied, however, is this book has an audience. Ranking #40, 984 in the Kindle Store, something about it is appealing.

 

Likely, of course, it's the novelty of the thing. Then again, look at several other titles in this genre.

 

                  

Pretty much every one of these is exactly what it looks like. Bear is even an award winner!

 

Obviously these stories arouse a lot of varied reaction. Many are entertained by them, find them comedic and enjoyable in that aspect, rather than as erotica. Some are disgusted by it's very existence and marvel that it's made it to the Amazon sales pages at all.

 

The proliferation and reaction to the existence of "monster porn" intrigues me. The "monster" label sometimes only thinly veils the outright bestiality of the story: Tyrannosaurs, dogs, and great apes romp along these pages with the Sasquatches, werewolves, minotaurs and satyrs. 

 

There's a less "monstrous" and even more popular version which nudges the boundaries as well: "shifter" erotica, and while readers vary in their opinions of what exactly crosses the line from "shifter" to "bestiality", most take much more serious enjoyment from these stories.

 

There's also a version of monster porn that's existed for years now, though in a more "underground" manner (at least in the US): "tentacle" porn. Exceptionally popular in Japanese hentai, this kind of erotica is pretty much a built-in gangbang of monster porn.

 

Now, some readers may already be aware that I've written my own monster porn: Bad Dreams, published last October as part of a Halloween collection.

 

Bad Dreams falls into the last category of monster erotica I've described above: tentacle porn. It was originally written in response to a reader request on this very blog, to write something "as transgressive as I dared". I thought tentacles fit the bill nicely.

 

What is it about monster porn that interests readers of erotica? There's something about it, that's for sure.

 

That thin veil of separation between mythical monsters and true bestiality provides enough of a buffer to keep us from outright zoophilia, but we can indulge in the primal, greedy indulgence of interests that would otherwise be completely unacceptable.

 

This is the appeal I was aiming for when I wrote Bad Dreams. That built-in gangbang aspect, combined with a wicked, sinful desire for the forbidden. Because as much as we might balk, we do like "the forbidden", don't we? The element of prohibition in and of itself is highly arousing. Isn't that part of the appeal of erotica in the first place?

 

When it comes to "monsters", primal desire, and hot sex, shifters probably provide the safest form of indulgence. Take werewolves for example, perhaps the most popular of shifters featured in paranormal romance. In a werewolf's erotic tale, one can indulge in some of the most savage desires, the most uninhibited sexuality, in a form which is ultimately without transgression, because the love interest is a human underneath it all. You are free to satisfy deeply carnal desires and fantasy.

 

There's also an aspect to this attraction that idolizes animal characteristics we find appealing. The loyalty of wolves who mate for life, perhaps, or the lithe sexuality of a prowling tiger. 

 

The "furry" lifestyle celebrates these aspects openly, though they are most often criticized for it. We go wild for shifter erotica and monster porn, which offers little threat to our social sensibilities; yet we castigate a sexual identity which brings evidence of those interests out into the public eye.

 

I suspect more readers are drawn by the idea of this "near-bestiality" that will admit it. Sure, we have a lot of details we can use to defend our interests, but deep down, I think to some extent it does, in fact, appeal. I find myself very curious how these growing interests will develop and change the market in erotica, as well as the social expectations of readers.