Last year, I was sitting in a Barnes & Noble cafe with a group of local authors. One of them shared about her experience attending a secular romance conference. She recalled how the store was filled with objects like 3D-printed figurines and even magnetic shoulder plushies—all of a certain male body part. She was horrified by such overt objectification of men and decided she didn’t belong there.
After a similar incident involving bookmarks, Catholic fantasy author Elisabeth Wheatley unexpectedly announced that she would be removing the sex scenes from her books. Known for her funny and relatable reels featuring her Book Goblin alter ego, Wheatley has gained hundreds of thousands of followers across multiple platforms. Since she’s been very open about growing up in what she has referred to as a fundamentalist Christian cult, readers viewed her as a woman standing against the evils of purity culture.
Content that was once reserved for erotica is now in much of mainstream romance.
Her followers were shocked by her announcement, to say the least. Although she received encouragement from her Christian followers, the response from many romance readers and authors was more visceral. They felt betrayed, accused her of wrongful censorship, and took to social media and YouTube to express their disappointment and anger.
Meanwhile, an audiobook narrator announced she would no longer narrate “open door” romance—meaning romance with explicit sex scenes—so that her professional platform aligned more with her faith and spiritual convictions. The romance community reacted in much the same way as they did to Wheatley, by condemning her actions as a direct result of purity culture infiltrating the book community.
Reframing the Spice Conversation
In the past, we could simply point out that these books are pornographic and therefore immoral. Yet among romance readers, pornography in literary form is not considered immoral, harmful, or shameful. The conversation has now been entirely reframed.
The general consensus among Wheatley’s dissenters is that those opposing open door romance should no longer be able to claim the moral high ground. In fact, pro-sex scene readers view themselves as the righteous ones. Open door romance is seen as a corrective to purity culture’s oppression, with those scenes touted as empowering and liberating, even ones that promote extremely unhealthy or abusive relationship dynamics. Consensual sex scenes between partners in a committed relationship are held as healing for women who have been sexually abused. In other words, sex in fiction is not just allowable. It’s morally good.
It naturally follows that any outright refusal to read, write, or endorse open door romance is considered a direct attack on their art, their community, and their core values. No longer is erotic content hidden away as a woman’s guilty pleasure. It’s now publicly upheld as a right and a moral good that will heal the wounded and free captives from the oppression of fundamentalist purity culture.
There is some truth in the assertion that the purity culture of the 1990s was harmful. Yet the extreme reactions to announcements like Wheatley’s reveal a gross overcorrection.
Redefining Spicy Terms
The definition of words can change over time as culture shifts. This is the natural ebb and flow of language. There are times, however, when language changes so quickly and drastically that it signifies an intentional rebranding of not only the words being used but the very values they represent. This is currently happening with “spice” and “smut.”
In an online discussion about “spice,” a friend reminded me of a passage from The Screwtape Letters where C. S. Lewis’s Wormwood instructs his nephew to create ambiguity around a certain word so he might be able to twist its meaning. “Either application of the word could be defended; but our business is to keep the two going at once so that the emotional value of the word . . . can be placed now on one side of the account, now on the other, as it happens to suit us.”
As words are redefined, their definitions begin to blur. They can be rewritten or used in a variety of contradictory ways in order to confuse rather than clarify. You used to say a book was “spicy” when it had a level of sexual content that went beyond your individual comfort level. That could mean anything from open door romance to a descriptive kiss, depending on the reader’s personal boundaries.
But now, the vague language of “spice” and “smut” are typically (though not always) used to describe open door romance. Since these words have been redefined in the last few years, the label of sexually “clean” has been redefined along with it. Terms like “clean” and “closed door romance” are now somewhat synonymous, typically referring to a book that doesn’t have any explicit sex in it. As a result, “clean” book lists are full of titles that feature no explicit sex but still contain a lot of sensuality and descriptive kissing. This has led many women who simply don’t want to read any sensuality to distrust “clean” book recommendations even from fellow believers.
Essentially, content that was once reserved for erotica is now in much of mainstream romance. What used to be considered “spicy” is now “clean.” And what was once a wise and balanced Christian approach to sexual content in literature is now branded dogmatic “purity culture.”
Give Them Jesus
I don’t write this to enrage Christians against the romance reader and author communities. I merely desire to inform you of the changes in these literary spaces so you can know how to navigate bookstore shelves as well as conversations. When choosing books for yourself and your kids, ask specific questions about content, look it up online, and join online communities where Christians share book reviews and content warnings. We don’t all need to have the exact same boundaries, but we do need to stay informed and use more specific language.
You can search using questions like, “Does [book] contain sexual content?” Or “Does [book] contain descriptive kissing?” If you use the AI answer, be sure to check its sources (i.e. Goodreads reviews). There are also wonderful Facebook groups such as “Book Reviews for Christian Families” where you can ask about a book or search for reviews. When asking about content, avoid terms like “spice” or “spicy” since not everyone will define those words the same way. Instead use words like “sex,” “sensuality,” and “descriptive kissing.”
How do we navigate conversations about open door romance with women we know are reading it? Instead of trying to convince people in comment sections, it’s usually better to have a personal relationship with someone who trusts your judgement. Start with questions and have empathy since they’re often looking to fill a void with pornography rather than Jesus. As I read through the comments responding to Wheatley, I noticed that some of these women have experienced sexual abuse and are looking for healing—yet in all the wrong places. Above all, remember to point them to Jesus, the only one who is able to truly heal and satisfy the longings of their hearts.