@bookbinge: Dear Authors: I haven't met a man alive who thinks of nipples as "berries", ripe, pink, succulent or otherwise. Very distracting to read.
I saw this in my Twitter stream and decided to share my thoughts about it in far more than 140 characters.
Does it really matter what men think? Or more accurately, how they word things?
It’s not really men that read romance or write it. Sure, their numbers have raised in both aspects, but the person most likely reading a romance is a woman.
A sex scene is designed to reflect feminine tastes. It is meant to give us what we want and is written the way we would word things.
Ripe berries is of course a metaphor for erect tits. Both have their place. The first in mainstream romance, the second in erotica romance.
I suspect ripe berries and the like are found as they are in historical romances and in several contemporaries because they give the story a romantic slant. We get erect tits in real life, why do we want it in every one of our books?
In normal situations we’d slap a guy for saying or even thinking of our tits (unless it’s our intention to show them off). It’s crude and rude. Ripe berries is poetic and if you forgive the pun, sweeter. In a way it shows respect and manners, two things all heroes must show.
When it comes to the male pov in romance, it is supplanted in some ways by the feminine gaze. These ways are shown by word choices, actions, and expressed feelings. We are reading our fantasies, where do men fit in?
Well… that’s a bit obvious. Ahem. Evil grin.
Loading ...Photo Credits: http://weheartit.com/
This post was written by...
Keira – who has written 1066 posts on Love Romance Passion.
Keira's favorite type of heroes are blind, scarred, and tortured... yes, she understands those should be separate, but all 3 at once is also nice! She enjoys historical romances best and adores audio books because great narrators turn books into auditory/mental movies (and she loves her romantic dramas like Pride and Prejudice/North and South!) Learn more about Keira in My Instant Turn Ons, Offs, and Ifs.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
One of the best male P-O-V sex scenes I ever read had a teenage male protagonist blurt out the line, “God, your tits are brilliant!” It was funny and tender because it was so totally in character. It was a first time sex scene which developed in a way the boy did not expect. He had dreamed about this girl for years but was totally surprised by her offering herself to him at this point. “Brilliant” had been established by the author as an adjective the boy habitually used to describe something spectacular that impressed him deeply. It made the line for me: “brilliant” made it tender, respectful and loving, whereas the use of “tits” entirely made it seem like something a teenage boy would say.
Hmmm..I voted for peaked nipples..but I don’t know. Why are they described in those ways..:)
peaked, pebbled, pointed, ruched, stiffened, straining… of those ruched when looked up reverts to ruche which references ruffles on feminine clothes.
What is it about these heroes who think of nipples as a piece of fruit? Cherries I guess I can understand but imagine if in the moment he decides her nipples look like blueberries?
Love Karl from Endearment when he compared Anna’s breasts to blueberries… in size.
Blueberry nipples might be for an alien woman or a normal one in body paint. lol
a hero from a book actually compared a woman’s breasts to blueberries??
No joke he did.
It’s a real cute scene they’re talking/giggling in bed in hushed whispers the first day after they consummate their marriage and he says something about how her breasts are like two ripe blueberries and she says something about him wishing they were watermelons and he says no way blueberries are his favorite fruit.
One of the funniest articles I’ve ever read deals with the nipples issue, and it’s written by a man:
Step 1 Never compare a woman’s nipples to:
* Cherries
* Cherry pits
* Pencil erasers
* Frankenstein’s bolts
Nipples are tricky. They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and shades. They do not, as a rule, look like much of anything, aside from nipples. So resist making dumbshit comparisons.
Note: I am guilty of the last.
He goes on to talk about how NOT to write a sex scene, so there’s graphic language here, but it’s hilarious. Here’s the link for the entire article: http://www.utne.com/2005-03-01/HowtoWriteaSexScene.aspx
I really don’t care how the hero compares them. As long as i can see him salivating for the heroines….that way i can pretend am her!LOL