I had a chance to peruse through Madonna's 1992 book Sex the other day, and it got me thinking about erotica for women.
Madonna's book contains numerous photographs of Madonna in various stages of undress, posing in sexual situations. No real sex is shown, however the photos include depictions of cunnilingus, spanking, fetish, lesbianism, interracial sex, threesomes and even rape. The premise is that Madonna is exploring her own sexual fantasies through photography, and that none of the written depictions reflect reality.
I thought the book was very arousing. A lot of the situations reflect many women's sexual fantasies, not just Madonna's. Nancy Friday's book My Secret Garden revealed that many women dream of just these sorts of sexual encounters. Naturally, any decent women's erotica deals with women's fantasies.
The book's lack of explicitness adds to its appeal, I think, because it gives the imagination a little more scope than hardcore porn. At the same time, the very fact that a celebrity such as Madonna is naked and exposed in this book adds an element of shock to the titillation factor.
The power relationships in Sex are definitely in the woman's favour. There is a photograph of Madonna receiving cunnilingus from a giant biker in an alleyway. I think this pic is the epitome of Madonna's sexual philosophy - she is in charge, no matter how powerful the man may seem. Again, good erotica for women should reflect this kind of power.
Perhaps more importantly, Madonna's Sex is a prime example of women's erotica because Madonna herself is always being given pleasure. That is, a woman, rather than a man is the centre of attention. So much mainstream porn and erotica is written for the male viewer, but Madonna reversed this; everyone else in the photos exist purely to give her satisfaction
I can only conclude that Madonna's Sex book could almost be considered the godmother today's erotica for women on the internet. It's now over ten years old, but the book still impresses with it's boundary-breaking sexuality. And those who are seeking to create good erotica for women should go back and have a look at this book. There are enough ideas here to create hundreds of erotica for women sites! :D