Just last week (at least by the time I’m writing this post — it might come up a little later) I finished my Smutathon readathon… and like last time it was a lot of fun (it’s the second time I did this ) but it also reminded me of the controversy surrounding the word Smut
It’s funny how it almost seems like a derogatory term for romance novels… and it’s not only used by the snobbish romance haters but even among ourselves hardcore romance readers… But let’s get down to basics…
Definition of Smut
“A story, usually a book or a fan fiction, that includes one or more sexually explicit scenes.”
That’s it… it’s just a book with explicit sex in it. A lot of romance books have sex in them (some more explicit than others), so calling them smutty books should not be offensive, but why does it feel like it is … Why do we add that connotation to a mere descriptive word…
I find it funny how some of the bloggers and booktubers I follow completely avoid the word, or on the contrary, they will give you a lecture on what exactly a smutty book is… most times making the connection to the Erotica side of the spectrum and I get that, not all romance books are “smutty books” after all.. but let’s not forget that we are talking about sexual content in books and there are degrees to that.. levels of explicitness sort of speak, so I might be using the word smut correctly if I’m referring to a book even if it’s not an Erotica Novel..
Which brings me to another tangent… I could be reading a sci/fi book without romance in it… that maybe talks about alien reproduction or something like that and it uses explicit sex to explain it… So, in this case, I’m sure people would avoid using the word smut, but it would still be accurate, wouldn’t it? Calling it a sci/fi smutty book..
It upsets me how we turn one simple word or expression into the enemy… I recall the hated (I do hate this with a passion) “Mommy Porn” back when Fifty Shades was a huge thing… What?? Everyone and their dog read those books. Why is it called Mommy Porn? What the heck? It was just another way to demean the romance genre… just like this ridiculous thing with the word smut…
So, why not take back the word despite its underlying notions of darkness and its metaphorical use of “indecent or obscene”… After all, what’s considered smut is in the eye of the beholder, like most things in the realm of entertainment.. And once again, we shouldn’t feel wrong about enjoying sexy smexxy books… what’s the harm in that? It doesn’t make them any less good or even relevant to have sexual content..
Okay.. ranting discussion over, more or less, but now I’m curious … what’s your stand on the use of the word Smut?? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below…
As Always
Happy Reading
Chelle's Book Ramblings 
What’s in a name. You could not have chosen a better title! I am of the opinion that to each his own and read what you want! There is not bad or right read. Excepet maybe extreme hate propaganda or something like that, I don’t care what you read. If you enjoy it that’s what’s important!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Exactly… just enjoy what you want and let others do the same regardless of what it is called…
LikeLike
I use the word smut all the time to refer to my romance reads! I think it’s the easiest way to get my point across, because not all romances are particularity smutty. I also just really like saying the word smut! It makes me happy for some reason!
LikeLiked by 2 people
LOL… you just made laugh and you are right the word does have a funny ring to it
LikeLiked by 1 person
SMUT, SMUT, SMUT! You’re right, we should take back that word, LOL!😁 Great topic!
LikeLiked by 2 people
My opinion is that we should all read what we want to read without the judgement or labels being put on it. I really don’t understand why romance has such a bad rep. I mean it’s human nature.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t see anything wrong with anyone reading whatever they want to read, but I do agree that there is a negative connotation to the word “smut.” Even if the dictionary definition of the word isn’t negative, the word is generally used that way. But if you want to use it positively, more power to you. LOL! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
So I have to admit that I’m confused about the exact meaning of smut. The meaning I’ve read is that it’s a porn content. So when you think of porn, you logically think of porn movies.
So if you don’t like porn because, let’s face it, it can shock a lot of people, when you see a porn movie, someone who keeps that meaning in mind, the person is going to say that they wouldn’t like to read it because they don’t like porn. And they’re going to find that offensive because they’re going to have a different meaning in their mind.
And as many people are verbally aggressive, even when someone says it not meanly, just because they read that meaning, you doubt it. I’ve seen a few slash stories and some of them have raw language. I’ll give an example, sorry. I took his dick in my hand, jerked him off and his cum splattered on the wall.
Can this be considered porn because of the way it’s written? Honestly, that’s what I’m going to think but others will say no. Honestly the word smut is a real headache for me, I would need to really know because I don’t have much knowledge on the subject.
LikeLiked by 1 person