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In 1944, writer Ismat Chughtai was put on trial on charges of obscenity for Lihaaf, a short story about same-sex female relationships. In 2022, the Supreme Court of India slammed TV producer Ektaa Kapoor for 'polluting young minds' in her latest web series XXX.
Seventy-eight years between Ismat and Ektaa – and yet, nothing seems to have changed. Women talking about sex still offends society.
But when and why did sex become only a man's prerogative? Women not only enjoy sex; they also enjoy writing about it.
There's a new generation of erotica writers who are breaking the rules.
For The Quint's latest documentary, I interview three erotica writers from Maharashtra, and they are out there to intimidate, offend, and titillate.
Sanjana Chowhan, who hails from Mumbai, has written several erotic novels. Nandini Desai from Ratnagiri writes erotica in Marathi for digital platforms, and Manisha Jha – also from Mumbai – writes Hindi erotica for digital platforms and soft porn for an adult OTT platform, ULLU TV.
All in their 30s and 40s, these writers don't use pseudonyms because they are proud of their work.
Shame, blame, and censorship never stopped women from writing erotica, where women are more than just conduits of pleasure; they are the story.
And yet, for reasons known to all of us, women's pleasure continues to be taboo, often neglected and not free from the male gaze.
Sanjana wrote her first erotica for Juggernaut in 2015-2016. Her series on 'Office Quickies' earned a lot of popularity. It was her mother who insisted that she doesn't use a pseudonym and be proud of her writing.
Nandini, on the other hand, has been writing a blog on romantic stories from her college days. In 2017-18, she started writing erotica for online platforms. Being a Marathi, she felt most comfortable expressing herself in her mother tongue when it came to writing.
From writing dialogues for 'Crime Patrol', Manisha switched to writing erotica full-time for online platforms in 2020.
Two years into the scene, she struggles to make her voice heard. Manisha wants to exclusively write about sexual encounters and not decorate the story with romance; she wants to use the name of the body parts and not use other suggestive, fantasy words.
There are several online platforms catering to different kinds of audiences. There are sex stories in regional languages, audio stories, stories of personal experiences, and so much more. Digital platforms have opened doors to reimagine erotic fiction in India. You can download and read and later delete it.
You can even privately read and even listen to audio stories on your smartphone and turn up the volume of your pleasure.
Free erotic fiction websites like Antarvasna and Literotica have over a million registered users. There is always shame associated with consuming erotica but the droves of people who consume it actually show that it is not all that shameful.
Amateur authors contribute stories, poems, essays, illustrated stories, and audio stories in a variety of categories on these online self-publishing platforms. The only difference is that the stories on Antarvasna are written in a very raw form and in Hindi.
Sex stories in Hindi can be offensive for some and titillating for others, Savita Bhabhi is empowering for some women; for others, it is unreal and a big stereotype.
But that's what! Erotica has always been subjective. That's what differentiates it from porn, erotica is an expression and art.
Reading relatable stories, free from the male gaze, women also feel a sense of companionship on their erotic journey – that there are other women who also feel the same way.
Women are overcoming the shame of talking about their desires, the more they talk – the more they write. What has changed is that now a collective expression and relatability about pleasure and sexuality is finally showing in our literature, which was earlier missing.
And it not only caters to women; stories of queer love are also finding a voice.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)
Published: 12 Dec 2022,05:30 PM IST