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"Mainstream" vs "Taboo" Erotica
Conventional industry-standard book classification systems do a
poor job of distinguishing mainstream erotica from taboo erotica.
This makes it difficult for retailers and readers to distinguish
one from the other. At Smashwords, we carry a wide variety of
legal erotica, including books that contain taboo themes.
In September 2017 we implemented new erotica classification
requirements for Smashwords authors and publishers.
The purpose of this effort is to provide retailers and
their customers greater transparency about a book’s
categorization. This erotica categorization policy was
announced in a Smashwords Blog post titled
Smashwords Implements New Classifications for Erotic Fiction
Below is a summary of “Taboo” themes and their definitions.
These definitions were developed in close consultation with our
largest retail partners to ensure uniform policy enforcement
across our distribution network.
Erotica titles which have been certified by their authors or
publishers as containing none of the themes listed below are
considered "mainstream erotica" and will be shown if readers
select the
"Include mainstream erotica"
option from the filter.
Books containing one or more of the themes listed below are
considered "taboo erotica," and these, along with older erotica
or erotic romance books which have not yet been certified, will
be filtered out of a reader’s Smashwords search results unless
the reader selects the
"Include all erotica"
option.
“Taboo” theme definitions
-
Age play -
One or more consenting adult characters role playing,
pretending to be babies or children.
-
Bestiality -
Sexual relations between humans and real-world animals (sex
with Big Foot, dinosaurs, shape shifters and other imaginary
creatures is not bestiality).
-
Dubious Consent (dubcon) -
A common and popular theme in mainstream fiction. Dubcon
explores the gray area between consent and non-consent. Not
clear if the receiver of the sexual act was fully on board
or not at the time of the act. Most major retailers carry
dubcon erotica.
-
Incest or pseudo-incest -
Sexual relations between family members, whether biologically
or non-biologically related. Includes stepbrother, stepsister
and step-anyone.
-
Nonconsensual sexual slavery -
Erotic depiction of a person captured or held against
their will, such as kidnapping, imprisonment or human
trafficking. Not to be confused with BDSM, which is predicated
upon informed consent and negotiation between both parties
before the act, and which provides safe words so either
partner can end the act if it goes too far. If the book
adheres to BDSM best practices, we instruct authors and
publishers to not classify it as nonconsensual sexual slavery.
-
Rape for titillation -
The dominant theme of this book is rape — whether the
rape is by one person or a character is raped by a group of
people, i.e. a gang rape or nonconsensual "gang bang" —
and it targets readers who are titillated by the fantasy of
nonconsensual sexual relations.
The above list is not all inclusive. There are many other
taboo themes that have never been allowed at Smashwords.
For a full summary of Smashwords erotica policies, please
review Section 9f of the
Smashwords Terms of Service.
