The following material is from the "Sex in the Romance" section of the Ferri Tales web site at http://home.epix.net/~jlferri by John L. Ferri.
Sex in the Romance:
A Review of Romantic Encounters of the Close Kind
- Table of Contents -
- Background Information ... The authors of modern romance novels create a love scene with words and phrases that are traditionally used in their genre. They describe sex organs and sexual activities without the use of anatomically or clinically correct, commonly used, or vulgar language.
- Introduction ... The love scenes of modern Romance novels are the subject of this book because of the intimate and popular nature of the topic.
- Kissing ... Kissing is the first physical expression of serious attraction between two people. They may hold hands, or they may dance closely, but the relationship can't progress until they kiss.
- Locations for Sex ... Some common places were a local park or playground, parking lot, public restrooms of restaurants, woods or wilderness, and the beach.
- Skin - Smooth and Naked ... Contrary to the beliefs of most men, the skin is the largest organ of the human body.
- Breasts ... Breasts! I could write about them for hours, look at them for days, and fondle them every chance that I get.
- Mammary Undulation Proposal ... Stephanie Howard writes that the heroine clenches her stomach as the hero impatiently reaches around her and unhooks her bra so that her breasts "spill excitedly" against him.
- Nipples ... When describing those delectable protuberences, romance authors used some form of "hard" or "hardened" 18% of the time, "taut" or "tight" 16%, and "erect" 10%.
- Male Physique ... It is surprising to me that romance novels, with predominately female authors writing to predominately female readers, have such brief descriptions of the male.
- Vulva (not the car) ... Besides body chemistry and fat distribution, the most singular distinction between the sexes is between the legs.
- Penis, the Staff of Life ... Whether or not a penis is an absolute necessity for a love scene depends on your point of view. If the point of view is from the owner of an erection, the penis is vitally important.
- Penetration ... If any single act is ever equated with sex, it is the act of penetration, the consummation of all the previous social maneuverings of conversation and dating and kissing and whatever other precursors there may be.
- Motion ... The proper motion, the thrust, causes the vagina to envelop the penis to varying depths, release it, then repeat. This requires considerable coordination and control of both participants.
- Breathing ... During arousal and subsequent sexual intercourse, there are physiological changes in both the male and the female. Breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure are the systems most commonly measured, although there are certainly other indicators.
- Male Orgasm - I Came, Therefore I Am ... When does sex actually start? When does it end? These are difficult questions that depend entirely on the definition of sex.
- Female Orgasm - You Came, Therefore I Am ... What is the goal of sex? For willing partners that care for each other, answers would include pleasure, comfort, love, relaxation, closeness, and tenderness. These and many others are partially correct, but if the list doesn't include procreation, it is grossly incomplete.
- What About Love ... "Although the biological link between love and babies seems clear enough, most of the literary rhapsodizing about love omits any association with reproduction." (Batten)
- A Sex Scoring System ... The scoring system requires that the intimate acts actually be described by the author of the romance novel. Scoring is based on descriptions written in the style typical of that used in the popular romance novels currently published by Avon, Bantam, Harlequin, and the other major romance novel publishers.
- Excerpts from High Scoring Love Scenes ... Excerpted from "Sex in the Romance: A Review of Romantic Encounters of the Close Kind".
- Frankie and Sally ... My attempt at a "love scene" in the style of the Romance genre.