Peep Show: Tales of Voyeurs and Exhibitionists
If the internet is anything to go by, with the advent of social networks and everything web-cam related, exhibitionism and voyeurism are common in all of us. The most recent phenomenon, in the form of a ‘randomized’ chat site, aptly named Chat Roulette, indicates that the unknown intrigues many, even if that unknown happens to be a middle aged man dressed in an animal printed catsuit on the other side.
The eclectic collection of erotic shorts within Peep Show (Cleis Press) vary on the scale of sexual detail, albeit in a positive way. Some stories are relatively conventional (masturbation) while others go further by way of sexual positioning, choice and risk. Even so, many of the couplings tend to be one on one and some characters beat the same drum, in the expression of their view of ‘being discovered‘ as the aphrodisiac or central . As a reader, I would like to delve deeper into the psyche and the common held view of the ‘risk of discovery adding to the appeal tends to be overdone and stereotypical. Any one who has experienced the unexpected exhibitionist first hand will know that the experience is more than ‘the risk of being caught’. Then again, the word count requirements of short fiction can limit the writer. It’s not my thing to outline every single story in an anthology, except to say that certain things (like stereotypes or the occasional cliché) may stand out more so than others. Every reader will have their favorites and each favorite will, undoubtedly reflect a personal experience, identification, amongst other things but such lists are ultimately biased on some level. Besides, this collection ought to be approached in the same way one approaches the subject matter: unexpectedly.
The first story of the collection, the aptly titled ‘Showtime’ perhaps displays voyeurism and exhibitionism in a simpler, yet effective manner and provides an ideal introduction to the collection. The – perhaps accidental exhibitionist – muscular stationary cyclist across the way rivets two women to the point of masturbation that goes beyond phallic worship. The two women, one an older and conflicted voyeur to her younger co-worker, submit to their primal urges in a darkened room that is fitted out to enable free viewing. The simplicity of the story is what makes it successful, whereas other stories tend to condense detail -sometimes to the point of being illogical or, clichéd. A part of me will always shake my head when authors add references to content that has been done before (or done to death), such as the song ‘Leave Your Hat On’ (Joe Cocker), which was done and dusted in the film 9 ½ Weeks to wind up as the usual student/professor sex story. If only my own university lecturers were so sexually attractive. I guess that is what fantasy is all about. Some stories like Rosse Buurt and People Who Live in Glass Hotels, will have readers using Google to respectively locate Amsterdam’s red light district and the Arcotel Hotel Velvet Berlin with glass walls facing the street. Former hotel guest reviews posted on various sites vary and don’t actually reflect the sophistication described in the story but fiction tends to reinvent some realism and, hopefully, makes up for everyday shortcomings by way of plot and characterization and, in the case of erotic fiction – the sex.
In this collection, you can be guaranteed scintillating mind-altering sex but getting there – for a few stories – requires more work from the reader. For example, Audience Participation requires readers to suspend reality over two pages and accept the fact that a group of research scientists simply accept their miserable lot (being prohibited to access the internet) and not use their own – separate – wi-fi enabled laptops to access the internet via their own private internet providers. It is a flaw in characterization and doesn’t make for great foreplay (unless the story is set in China or Iran, which it isn’t, where internet censorship is a reality) and one hopes that the upcoming sex will make up for it. In my daily life at a university, I see plenty of researchers and students use their own plug-in wi-fi connections (or failing that, their iPhones). Audience Participation won me over on a personal level as I have experience anal-retentive IT staff, restrictive company policies and corporate repression. Based on my own personal identification and experience, I read on and was plunged – pleasantly, I may add – into a hot conclusion, but along the way, and up to the hot conclusion, the two central characters of this story witness the sexual shenanigans of a supposedly rigid supervisor. Here, the central female character experiences revulsion juxtaposed against pleasure, as her body involuntarily responds to the sexual scenes via the in-office webcam. Thus, voyeurism -in any way or form, feeds in to sexual arousal and, actual foreplay. Scenes witnessed in the past or present, can be recalled as sexual props to enhance or ignite a tryst.
Thus, with exhibitionism and voyeurism, there is a sense of revulsion and pleasure. For some, the revulsion may reflect their personal morals, or morals that were a part of one’s upbringing. As for the sexual or pleasurable response, this tends to operate on a primal – near involuntary- level. Without wanting to delve too much into the Freudian view of the subconscious, the almost immediate physical sensations occur before any logic enters the thought process and all of the stories in Peepshow address this emotional reality while exploring the sensual physical outcomes that will appeal to every erotica aficionado. If you want to get your sensual pulse racing, get your hands on this book.
© 2010 Lucrezia Magazine
Read more about this anthology on the official blog and watch the Peep Show trailer here. This book is available from all good book outlets and via Amazon.
