Isabelle settled herself, luxuriously, on the feeling of impalement...

I'm reading this book called Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks. My professor assured the class that it was a both a captivating and steamy read. Mostly I've just been laughing, which is not the reaction I think good old Faulks intended.

Isabelle and Stephen are having a tawdry affair (she's married, he's 20). We the readers are told in great detail exactly how their first romp in the bed turns out. This sex scene is just so obviously written by a man. Women don't compare sex to being impaled. Another really funny bit was after he performed oral sex on her, she orgasmed but then thought to herself, He's still not fucked me yet. "The joy is still to come." Seriously? She has just climaxed but still she's not experienced any joy because she's not been impaled yet? Isn't that just like a man to think that his penis is what a woman REALLY wants.

Just think about all the violent language associated with sex. And, in heterosexual sex, it's always the woman who is the victim. A woman gets banged, screwed, nailed, etc and men are always the perpetrators. This type of language is definitely misogynistic. There's no denying that. So I think I'm right in being put off (and not turned on) by the imagery of Isabelle being impaled by Stephen's dick.

Now before you roll your eyes and write me off, let me tell you my first red flag from this book and maybe you'll understand my distaste. The issue of consent is very near and dear to my heart. I will fight the rape culture for as long as it takes to ensure no woman, man, or child has to fear sexual assault. So knowing this, imagine me reaction to the beginning of this raunchy sex scene. "She pulled away from him and ran from the room. Stephen went to the window and held on to the frame as he looked out. The force that drove through him could not be stopped. The part of his mind that remained calm accepted this; if the necessity could not be denied, then the question was only whether it could be achieved with her consent" (pg 58).

As you could possibly imagine, I had a difficult time getting into the mood after reading that. I cannot believe the "calm" part of his mind rationalized raping Isabelle. This just reinforces the idea that women say no at first so we don't seem slutty. I promise you this, if a woman says no, she means no. Not yes. No never means yes. Unless you're into bdsm in which case pumpernickel (or whatever your code word is) means no.