Letters. They have quite an important role in erotica and erotic romance book synopses. If you’re a seasoned reader of titles from these genres, you’ll know immediately what I’m talking about, but if Fifty Shades of Grey was your first foray into racy reading, you may be somewhat curious – or perhaps confused – as to what all the letters and acronyms you’re encountering in erotic book descriptions actually mean. Should you pay any attention to them? Are they important? Is there any difference between a book that has M/F/M listed in its description from one that has M/M/F?
In a word, yes. Many (but not all) erotica and erotic romance authors and publishers use letters and acronyms in online blurbs to give readers an idea of how the characters in their stories relate to one another sexually. And that’s important, because it lets you know what you’re getting yourself into before you start reading. Turned on by lesbian sex? Love the idea of a threesome? Behold, Chintz’s quick and dirty guide to the erotic alphabet …
The letters ‘M’ and ‘F’
The basics: M = male and F = female.
- F/M? A story in which there is sex between a man and woman.
- M/M? A story in which there is sex between men.
- F/F? A story in which there is sex between women.
But it’s not just the genders in involved that you need to pay attention to; the placement of the letters in relation to one another is important as well:
- F/M/F? A story in which there is sex involving more than one woman. The women only have sex* with the man and not each other.
- M/F/M? A story in which there is sex involving more than one man. The men only have sex with the woman and not each other.
- M/F/F? A story in which there is sex involving more than one woman. The women have sex with the man and each other.
- F/M/M? A story in which there is sex involving more than one man. The men have sex with the woman and each other.
- M/M? A story in which there is sex between men.
- F/F? A story in which there is sex between women.
* In this definition (and those that follow it), the word ‘sex’ is intended to mean a focussed encounter, penetrative or non-penetrative, between characters. Depending on your point-of-view, the fact that two women are actually in bed with one another, regardless of whether they’re actually touching, could conceivably be considered sexual relations.
My personal favourite? M/F/M.
BDSM
They’re aren’t many people who don’t now know what this means, in the broadest sense, thanks to E. L. James. But before Fifty Shades became popular, I was regularly asked what this acronym stood for. It’s important to realise that there’s a lot of information contained in these four letters – and they don’t always sit together as a nice, neat quartet. For example:
- B/D (or B&D) = bondage and discipline.
- D/s (or Ds, D&s) = Dominance and submission (note the capitalisation here – it’s significant as it further highlights the nature of the relationship being described).
- S/M (or S&M) = sadomasochism (or sadism and masochism).
Keep in mind that there are other ‘kinks’ that fall into the BDSM category even though they aren’t specifically represented by the letters – or combinations of them – described above. (A story might have all or some of more recognisable BDSM elements in it – D/s and B&D, for example – but it may contain others, too.)
The letters ‘M’ and ‘E’
If you see these two letters applied to the end of the word ‘Dom’ – it means that the ‘top’ or ‘dominant’ in the story is female. So:
- Dom = male top.
- Domme = female top.
An important distinction, depending on your BDSM reading preferences.
Useful? I hope so. Now go forth and find that M/M/M/M/M D/s cowboy romance you’ve been looking for!