Artistic Merits of Fictive Sex

What is Good Sex vs. Bad Sex writing in literary fiction? Is there even a “need” for fictive sex in this day and age?

“Nobody needs it anymore”, says Rhoda Koenig [co-founder, along with Auberon Waugh, of the Bad Sex Award]. “Not that long ago, people would read quality fiction (as well as, of course, lots of rubbish) to discover what actually went on during sex, how people did it. Virgins wanted information, and experienced people wanted inspiration. If you were too young or poor to buy pornography or instruction books and had to go to the library, it was a lot less embarrassing checking out Lady Chatterley than a sex manual.”

Read more: Bad Sex Please, We’re British: Can Fictive Sex Ever Have Artistic Merit? by Arifa Akbar for The Independent.