"For her it was a sacrifice": A study of power and sexual consent in four erotic short stories

This essay examines how erotic literature portrays sexual consent in terms of power, gender and sexuality. The material consists of four erotic short stories, namely “Lilith” by Anaïs Nin (2000), “Biancaneve” by Torbjörn Elensky (2003), “Trosorna” by Daniel Möller (2015) and “Terapi” by Anki Määttä (2011). The four short stories differ in how they portray sexual encounters between the characters, where desire and pleasure are embodied in different ways depending on the context and subjects. To further dissect how the material portrays sexual consent Anna Hultman's (2022) dissertation Vid pornografins gräns is used as a theoretical framework. The analysis is based on literary connections between the material and other relevant literature. The analysis utilizes Hultman’s (2022) analysis tool of provocation and legitimization to further categorize the material as erotic. The study shows that the material follows a male-centered gender order, where elements of heteronormative and patriarchal perceptions emerge between women and men. The order results in women being seen as biologically inferior to men, and as a result being seen as naturally subordinate to them. This gender order influences how the sexual encounters are received by the female and male characters. The results show that the female authors are more likely to write texts that critique the societal pressures women face in a male dominant society. Meanwhile the male authors are more prejudiced to focus on the male desire and pleasure than the treatment and wellbeing of the female characters. The conclusion is that the material can be interpreted as containing variations of sexual abuse by depicting sexuality based on traditional gender roles and a gender power order that oppresses women.