Yup. It's a huge issue. I don't mind that he's up-front in what he wants, or even that he presents it as a take-it-or-leave-it, because, hey, we all have our dealbreakers, but he pressures and coerces her into participating when she hasn't agreed, and that's not okay.
Control/rape kink IRL, properly, is very negotiated. Control/rape kink in books is a different matter; I've mentioned the book falling under that category elsewhere in comments. The thing is, I don't expect what is essentially a written fantasy to be healthy. Problem is how these books are being taken, and how the community is responding to them.
Erotic fiction has been selling like hotcakes in e-format for about ten years now. It really started taking on when you started seeing PDAs and some e-readers but mostly it was taken by early adopters or people reading on their computers. Nowadays, there are smartphones, tablets, and dedicated e-readers that aren't too expensive. That Ellora's Cave novel with the explicit cover? Yeah, you don't have to worry about people seeing you reading it. It's awesome. (I pretty much don't care what people see me read, but for some people, it's major, especially folks with kids or in conservative areas.)
Yes! And honestly, that's why I have said elsewhere I probably would not have spoken up about the book if not for the fact that it's being treated as a how-to guide and such. Because this sort of unhealthy control kink is really common to vanilla romance; there's a long history of it dating back to the 80s or so. But, there are a lot of people who are unfamiliar to the scene that don't recognize this is just a control fantasy and that this is not how it's supposed to be anymore than your olde fashioned bodice ripper romance depicts a healthy vanilla relationship. It sets people up to be taken advantage of, and hurt.
Its parent novel, Twilight, has done the same thing; someone on fandomsecrets was talking about how in their area, there have been serious issues with teen boys convincing girls that they are vampires and biting them to the point of broken skin and infections. (And ISTR reading articles about this so I believe it.) I mean, yeah, that's teenagers but still.....
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Control/rape kink IRL, properly, is very negotiated. Control/rape kink in books is a different matter; I've mentioned the book falling under that category elsewhere in comments. The thing is, I don't expect what is essentially a written fantasy to be healthy. Problem is how these books are being taken, and how the community is responding to them.
Erotic fiction has been selling like hotcakes in e-format for about ten years now. It really started taking on when you started seeing PDAs and some e-readers but mostly it was taken by early adopters or people reading on their computers. Nowadays, there are smartphones, tablets, and dedicated e-readers that aren't too expensive. That Ellora's Cave novel with the explicit cover? Yeah, you don't have to worry about people seeing you reading it. It's awesome. (I pretty much don't care what people see me read, but for some people, it's major, especially folks with kids or in conservative areas.)
Yes! And honestly, that's why I have said elsewhere I probably would not have spoken up about the book if not for the fact that it's being treated as a how-to guide and such. Because this sort of unhealthy control kink is really common to vanilla romance; there's a long history of it dating back to the 80s or so. But, there are a lot of people who are unfamiliar to the scene that don't recognize this is just a control fantasy and that this is not how it's supposed to be anymore than your olde fashioned bodice ripper romance depicts a healthy vanilla relationship. It sets people up to be taken advantage of, and hurt.
Its parent novel, Twilight, has done the same thing; someone on fandomsecrets was talking about how in their area, there have been serious issues with teen boys convincing girls that they are vampires and biting them to the point of broken skin and infections. (And ISTR reading articles about this so I believe it.) I mean, yeah, that's teenagers but still.....