Romance Novels Inspire Better Sex for LDS

Here’s an interesting article in the Salt Lake Tribune describing how romance novels help LDS women have better sex: Mormon Women Less Frigid in Bed After Reading Romance Novels

If only Emma Smith had read a few bodice rippers, the whole polygamy issue would have never gotten off the ground.

In reality, the romance novel genre is widely misunderstood. Here are the top five romance novel myths:

Myth #1: Romance novels are a form of literary pornography.
Wrong. Yes, there often is sex in romance novels, but it includes character arcs, realistic emotions, feeling good about a monogamous sexual relationship, bonding, cherishing each other, and growing in character. Furthermore, some romance novel sub-categories do not include any sex. Some romance novel categories emphasize abstinence and sex only after marriage. Romance novels are far cry from the junk soft-porn fiction stereotype.

Myth #2: Romance novels are for uneducated, sit home Moms, who are sexually repressed (either redneck or Mormon), and watch Oprah.
Is it just criminals who read crime novels? Or people with special powers who read super hero comic books? Or astro physicists who read science fiction. Nope. Readers of romance novels come from a vast spectrum of social, educational, and economic backgrounds.

Myth #3: Anybody can write a romance novel.
According to one editor I talked to, getting published in romance is one of the hardest categories to break into. If anybody can write romance, why doesn’t everybody do it? Try it if you think it’s easy.

Myth #4: Romance novels give women unrealistic expectations about life.
Romance novels center on character arcs and overcoming fears, and resolving problems. Modern romance novels are nothing like the bodice ripper stereotypes that many people think of. Women are strong, independent, and thinkers in modern romance novels. There’s nothing unrealistic about that.

Myth #5: Romance novels are full of cookie cutter, stereotypical characters, and simple prose.
Nope. Romance novels are full of unique, sophisticated, and inspirational characters. Romance novels are character driven; the characters have to be strong and resourceful. The language to describe these characters has to be creative and oftentimes complex. Go read reviews on Amazon of recently written romance novels. These reviews reveal the depth and breadth of this literature genre.

Discussing Pornography with Mormon Relatives

Here’s a gem from the Mormon-friendly Meridian Magazine: Mormon tips for talking porn with your son-in-law

From the article, here’s some hard-core advice on how to start a pornography conversation with other Mormons:

• Tell me about your experience with pornography over your lifetime.
• Is there a history of pornography use in your immediate or extended family?
• How do you define pornography? Follow-up: What are the major categories of porn? Valid answers include gay, hard-core, soft-core, fat on fat, lesbian, animal on human, and so forth. Ask for specific examples to ensure they understand the category.
• Does gay or lesbian porn turn you on? If it’s your son-in-law, consider that lesbian pornography is perfectly natural for him to want to watch.
• How have you healed from the impact of pornography on your life?
• Who helped you overcome your problems with pornography?
• How do you currently protect yourself from pornography?
• Do you have a preference for porn media such as magazines or DVDs?
• Have you ever wanted to stop viewing pornography, but couldn’t?
• Have you or anybody in your extended family ever been a registered sex offender? Follow-up: If yes, what is their address?

From the article, here are some answers to take note of:

• Admits that he used to look at pornography, but says that he stopped doing it, but fails to explain how he was able to stop.
• Claims he overcame the problem on his own without any help from others.
• Won’t admit he occasionally masturbated furiously while viewing porn.
• Hasn’t said anything to his girlfriend/fiancé about his history with pornography.
• Vague about where he keeps his porn stash (acceptable answers are like “under mattress” or “bottom of dresser drawer”).
• Admits he used to have a problem, but doesn’t define what exactly that problem was.
• Admits to the use of back door vibrators while viewing gay porn.
• He insists that he’s never even seen pornography and appears “too perfect” in his responses.