Filth on Friday: Mummy porn - a rant

I don't think I need to mention any names do I? I'm counting myself as one of those Christian readers who will be avoiding that book because, well, that kind of stuff serves no purpose in my life, and I have no wish to add to the already completely out of control publicity machine.

Also, having not read that book, I am admittedly not in a position to comment upon it, but I do feel the need to comment on the genre which has, rather grotesquely, I think, been reborn as 'Mummy porn' largely off the back of that book.

There seems to be a bit of a love-hate thing going on with this book, right across society, including among Christian readers. Yes, there seem to be some professing Christians who find this sort of thing somehow acceptable. Apparently that book has a redemptive story. I guess you couldn't find one of those that didn't have a truckload of unmarried, violent sex before the actual redemption then?

But I wasn't going to comment on that book was I. while we're there though, let's deal with this fact: the author of that book thinks women are reading it (and by extension other erotic novels) because it allows them a 'holiday from their husbands'. What the crap? Seriously, if you need that kind of holiday from your husband, you have the wrong husband.

And the other good thing people have to say about this book? 'It's revived our marriage!' Really? Well, if you'd let your husband try some of the things he saw in those porn movies your marriage wouldn't need reviving now, would it?

What's that you say? That's different? Well, newsflash girls: no it ain't.

Guys get turned on more by pictures, girls by mental stimulation (ie reading). The end result is the same: tittliation, arousal, sexual feelings that don't involve your spouse. And I don't know about anyone else, but I don't want my man thinking he needs something else - a warm up act - to get him in the mood to make love to me. If I'm not enough for him, porn is not going to be the answer, and the same works both ways - if he's not enough for me, then reading about someone else's bondage fantasies (or whatever) isn't going to address whatever underlying issues there might be, is it?

Marriage guidance might cost more than a paperback from Tesco, but I'll bet it will have a longer lasting effect.

Geekery

Ah yes, the other great love of my life: all things geeky - to be specific, sci-fi geeky.

And as I'm busy trying to increase the geek chic of the man in my life, let's have a look at the things that make me geek out (with a little help from this handy guide for anyone planning on dating a geek).

1. Star Wars. I have the original trilogy (theatre release and 'special edition') and the prequels on DVD. I have ensured that the man in question is aware that Han shot first.

2. Star Trek. No DVDs in my collection, but I have seen them all (TV and movies) at least once.

3. Comic books. I have only a passing acquaintance with these, but I have seen a lot of the recent movies like Iron Man and the X Men ones. OK, I'm a little geek-lite on that one.

4. Lord of the Rings. The man has one up on me there! I've always been more of a sci-fi girl, so this kind of passed me by.

5. Firefly. Awesome! On the DVD shelf, along with Serenity.

6. Anime. Yes, I know what it is, although I haven't watched a great deal. Akira, and:

7. Neon Genesis: Evangelion.

8. RPGs. Epic fail for me there.

9. Geek terms. There are two I'm woolly on, which I think go back to my epic fail on RPGs.

10. Trivia. My sf trivia knowledge is much more British in scope than the preceding 9 items. I can quote Red Dwarf and Hitch-hiker's till the Arcturan Mega-Cows come home, and occasionally surprise myself with some random fact remembered from classic Doctor Who.

11. Memorabilia. Yes, I've dressed up as Leia. No, I will not be posting photographs.

12. Books. Geeks read, don't they? Neal Stephenson, Iain M Banks, Stephen Baxter, and of the classics, Philip K Dick ftw!

So who's out there geeking out with me?