Do Older Women Want to Read Erotic Fiction About Older Women?
Vonnie Kennedy writes for Senior Planet, among other publications. This piece was first published at vonniekennedy.com as “Do Boomer Women Want to Read About Other Boomer Women Having Sex?” Read more of Vonnie’s writing on Senior Planet and explore her blog.
I have to admit that I haven’t been thinking about sex lately. Not because I’m over it – it’s just been on the back burner while I move house. But when I found this post by Erica Jagger on HuffPost 50, “Where Are the 50-Year-Old Heroines In Erotic Fiction?,” it got me thinking about sex again, not just as a woman, but also as a reader and writer.
Jagger writes, “I love erotic fiction, but I’m fed up reading about 22-year-old virgins who start f**king like porn stars immediately upon deflowerment. I’d really love to read a sizzling slice of smut featuring a protagonist I can actually relate to.”
I agree wholeheartedly, Erica, but where do we find it? Or the real question may be, do we really want erotic sexually explicit stories about women our age or would we be as grossed out as with the younger versions of ourselves?
A couple of years ago, I wrote a post about the same subject on Vibrant Nation. I received some positive feedback from other women who longed for erotic fiction about women over 50, but I didn’t get any suggestions as to where to find these stories.
I also posted a video on my blog back in 2012 featuring Joan Price, who seems to be the lead spokesman for Ageless Erotica – which is the name of the collection she edited. But are there other authors out there writing erotic stories featuring older woman?
I have to confess that I haven’t read Joan’s book yet, but it’s on my Kindle list along with lots of other books I want to read.
Before writing this post, I googled “mature women erotica” for research purposes. Warning: DO NOT Google “mature women erotica” unless you’re into slimy porn sites involving older women. Nuff said.
So, I regoogled (is that a word?), using the phase “erotic stories for boomer women,” and came up with an article on Grandparents.com by Joan Price: Sexy Books: Erotica for Boomers. I scanned through Price’s list of authors but didn’t find any boomer-age women (or men) as the lead characters. Hmmm.
Next on the Google list: Why Boomer Women Are Hot for Erotica E-books at Next Avenue. Again, I found no recommended stories or novels about hot and sexy older women, so I have to wonder, do older women want to read about other older women having sex? It certainly isn’t a phenomenon that’s taken off since I wrote about it two years ago.
So, what do mature women want to read? Give me a hint, I’m interested.
My all time favorite steamy/erotic memoir is Free Fall: A Late-in-Life Love Affair by Rae Padilla Francoeur. So, Rae, if you’re still out there – write another book, will ya?
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Comments
Hello, I just found your website as I looked for novels about older women, a subject I will be talking about to library group. I chose the topic because I write about older women, not necesssarily about their sex lives, just the lives in general. However, one of my books UPRUSH deals with four women who meet at a beach house, and involves their back stories from the time they were college sorority friends.
The sex spans their lives, gently, and ends with them continuing to be interested in sex in their sixties. It is not the main thrust of the book, but is a natural part of their lives. Amazon lists my book, if it is of interest to your readers along with two others with older protagonists.) I call my genre HENLIT.
Dear Vonnie, This is an interesting subject to me. My wife got into erotic books a few years ago starting with the 50 shades books and she has inspired me to try writing a few. I am working to have one published now, still doing the grunt work. As for older people fooling around, we are technically retired, but stay busy with a gym three times a week, dancing and bowling. And a decent amount of sex, about 4 or 5 times a week. I feel the erotic books are what got her going, but anything that works is fine with me. We are having a lot of fun here. We are both in pretty decent shape so that helps. I know I could self publish one but right now I have a book on Amazon which is taking it’s old sweet time getting going even though it is a good book. That one is “Bedtime Horror Stories for Homeowners” It is a collection of funny stories about people and their homes plus some good information. I am also writing a book about people over 50 giving advice to the world. That is going to be called “I Didn’t Get This Old Being Stupid” If you are interested in putting in your two cents in that book just e mail me and I will tell you what I am looking for and send you a sample page. We are both 68) Thanks, Paul
How about “Round Heeled Woman: My Late Life Adventures in Sex and Romance by Jane Jusca.” This is a wonderful, and sexy memoir, by an older woman.
I am sure many women would resonate with Round Heeled Woman, but I found it feel sorry for me both on detail about her internal journey and on erotic detail.
In my opinion, those interested in reading for erotic content should go to the list Joan provided. Round Heel may best serve those who are just doing a toe back into their sexual side.
A very fine example of a great read, perfect for everyone between 21 and 101 would be Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander Series.
I should add on to my comment about
Diana Gabaldon’s writing the outlander series is about a WW1 nurse who suddenly finds herself in Scotland during the Jacobite years. It’s a fine read for anyone. The books hold sales records all over the world. The remain on New your best sellers list for years. Just about anyone with an interest in reading will enjoy these books. The follow Clair and Jammie thought their lives.
How timely for me. I’ve been thinking seriously of expanding into erotica and, as a woman who knows sex after 50 is hot, have been wondering whether mature women characters would be a turn on.
I’m encouraged to go for it by your article!