Lately, I have been wondering when the turn of demur reserved female readers turn to valiant-spirited readers. From Vampires, Mafia bosses to CEO Billionaires... readers aren't in short supply of dominant people with sexual kinks. As a result, books fly off the shelf to indulge individuals in their wildest fantasies, often reaching the N.Y. Best Sellers list. 

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What was the point in history when we embraced sexuality and shamelessly read books like Fifty Shades of Grey openly in public? This question sent me down a rabbit hole of history and banned books. 

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Let's travel back to 1748 and discuss Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure, framed as letters written by Fanny Hill and published by Author John Cleland. Due to its indues of sexual acts, British officials arrested Cleland in 1749 for "corrupting the King's subjects."  Therefore, becoming one of the first banned books. 

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In the early 1800s, the book made it to the United States via underground and on the desk of the Massachusetts Supreme Court during an obscenity trial, where they ruled against men who had been printing illustrated copies of the novel. Later, in 1965, it made it to the U.S. Supreme Court, where it was ruled not obscene and protected by the First Amendment. 

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So many other novels containing sexual content followed; Leaves of Grass (1880),  Ulysses (1920),  The Well of Loneliness (1928), Lady Chatterley's Lover (1928), and the list goes on—the reason why you may ask, because of The Comstock Act of 1873. 

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Anthony Comstock, an anti-vice activist and devoted Christian made it his mission to oppress obscene literature, abortion, contraception, gambling, and prostitution to align with his values. He maintained a censorship campaign of considered obscene materials, mostly around sexual context, claiming that "books are feeders for brothels." 

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The Comstock Act of 1873 made sending obscene, lewd, lascivious, immoral, or indecent publications through the mail illegal. The law also made it a misdemeanor for anyone to sell, give away or possess an obscene book, pamphlet, picture, drawing, or advertisement. The law remained in place until it was terminated in 1957. 

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In the late 1970s, the Romance genre turned from the victorian and demur-based context to modernizing the plots, characters, and boundaries, providing readers with relatable content that increased the genre to growth at an alarming rate. 

Learning this taught me one thing, it was never about the readers that made sexual content taboo but those who did not appreciate the art. Whereas today, we can openly discuss Twisted Lies without worrying about criminal charges, 66 years ago would not have been the case. 

Romance Novels generate over $1.4 Billion in revenue. They are the leading genre, with 48.8% of all popular paperback fiction sold in the U.S. So readers, pick up a book, a glass of wine (or tea) and indulge as Anthony Comstock curses us from his grave.