Pan-Taxonomic Relationships and Other Quirks
In the 20th century, a mainstream or genre book that was purported to contain lots of sex was pretty predictable. 75% of that sex would be homogenous and heterosexual, created largely for the coveted 21-34 year old white male demographic. Playboy and Penthouse were major taste makers of the day. Another 20 per cent or so would be just as homogenous and heterosexual and intended to titillate women from 30 to 54. Think Valley of the Dolls . The rest was aimed at literary and cultural niches with writers like Henry Miller and Anais Nin leading the charge (again mostly male, heterosexual, and relatively unadventurous). Within the smaller niches hid all sorts of lesbian, gay, bi, fetish; any sort of sex that was considered marginal was frowned upon - if not criminalized at the time, so discretion was mandatory. Books and stories that explored sexuality within that context were pretty brave. Great stories by the likes of Joanna Russ, Ursula Le Guin, James Tiptree Junior and Samuel Delany. Co...