Caitlin Kunkel - New Erotica for Feminists: Satirical Fantasies of Love, Lust, and Equal Pay

Erotica is a written genre intended to arouse. Satire is a form of comedy designed to ignite. If erotica and satire made some questionable choices in the back of a Volkswagen van, their baby would be New Erotica for Feminists.

We would love for you to believe that when the four of us started riffing on funny feminist fantasies together one afternoon, we were thoughtfully deconstructing the patriarchy with erudite, highbrow wit from the get-go. In reality, we were goofing off in a group chat while editing The Belladonna (the comedy and satire site we cofounded, by women and nonbinary authors, for everyone), devising far-fetched and sensual schemes to convince the fine people of LaCroix Sparkling Water to deliver cases to us under the guise of a corporate sponsorship. And hey, while were speaking these desires into the universe, why not send, say, Tom Hardy to make that delivery?

This collective reverie turned into New Erotica for Feminists, a short satirical piece made up of twelve original vignettes that ran on McSweeneys Internet Tendency. In the days following publication we watched, jaws agape, as our group cackle spread across the internet like wildfire. It quickly became clear that our erotic feminist daydreams had hit a deeper throbbing nerve, one that runs through every date, conversation, and breath of many a womans life. Its the nerve that stands on end every time you see a best of list that includes exclusively men. Its the nerve that frays every time a date loudly talks over you to explain how important the Womens March was. Its the nerve that flares up when youre mommy-tracked at work, told to wear more or less makeup, given a side-eye for the food you order, or told to smile more.

It was endless, bawdy fun to flip well-worn tropes of pornography and erotica. But the more we wrote, the angrier we got. Ah, yes, the angry feministthe most erotic of characters! Why should these thingsequal pay, decent maternity leave, construction workers who catcall about books rather than lookshave to remain so far from our grasp in 2018?

Can one book of smutty jokes bring down our problematic patriarchy? Sadly, no. (Unless you literally hurl it at a lurking creepers nugget pouch in a parking garage; then, partially.) But as the serious and necessary global conversations sparked by the #MeToo and Times Up movements continue, think of this book as your humorous release valve, providing a moment to laugh, think, and ignite the new batch of fire and energy well need to bring about our utopian future ruled by an immortal Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Erotica invites readers to imagine themselves in different scenarios; our book is no different. We hope weve left just enough room in each vignette for you to slink in as the main character. In that vein, weve intentionally removed many identifiers to allow a diverse array of readers to superimpose themselves onto the page. While feminists of many ethnicities and orientations are celebrated and name-checked throughout, we strived to be responsible allies, rather than presuming to speak on behalf of anothers experience or struggle. Weve also included a resource chapter, inviting and emboldening us all to get more involved in relevant issues and step outside our normal spheres.

So get crazy, dear and sexy reader. Lets gather at the crossroads of personal passions and righteous anger. Grab your friend, spouse, or book club hookup, and let your wildest satirical fantasies flow.

Because theres nothing sexier than love, lust, and equal pay.