A scene from the movie adaptation of 50 Shades of Grey, a smut novel that depicts violence and rape scenes. Photo: supplied. I've covered the rise in popularity of erotic romance novels - known as smut - before and I've heard various versions of this statement from numerous smut readers. It's something I can relate to thanks to a copy of the s prehistoric classic Clan of the Cave Bear that I read in my mid-teens.
It started out innocently enough but by the end, the story clocked up numerous rape scenes. The two sequels I read were a parade of constant sex scenes that mostly focused on female pleasure a positive that we will get to later.
Today's reviews give the series a mid to high spice rating, which typically means graphic, open-door sex scenes not suitable for an under audience. It's too long ago for me to rule whether reading these books were helpful or harmful, but I do remember it felt like throwing kerosene on already volatile hormones.
It was an introduction to the private life of adults, but drunk from a firehose. So, I'm asking the question: how young is too young for smut?
Instead, the global smut community tends to rate itself with some books including trigger warnings for violent content. This is becoming more important as dark romance - known for glorifying rape, violence and iffy consent - is becoming more popular.
