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How Heated Rivalry Predicted the Protests in Paris

November 5, 2026 · 32 min

Show notes

In an age of intense global disruption and economic anxiety... Is smutty fiction here to save the day?!

In this weeks episode of #KinkyHistory , I break down the history of erotic fiction and how it has been tied to political protest since its invention. The fandom of Heated Rivalry and the political protests currently happening in France may appear to be entirely unconnected phenomenon... But I am here to argue that they actually have far more interconnection than you may initially think!

(And big shout out to Texas, who turned blue in the middle of my recording session!)

Further reading for this episode:

  • Peter Wagner, Eros Revived: Erotica of the Enlightenment in England and America
  • Lynn Hunt, The Invention of Pornography
  • Lynn Hunt, The Many Bodies of Marie-Antoinette: Political Pornography and the Problem of the Feminine in the French Revolution.
  • L'Autrichienne en goguettes, ou, L'orgie royale : opéra proverbe
  • Justin J. Lehmiller, Justin R. Garcia, Amanda N. Gesselman & Kristen P. Mark. "Less Sex, but More Sexual Diversity: Changes in Sexual Behavior during the COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic", Leisure Sciences 43, no.1-2, (2021), 295–304.
  • Read my thesis

And, of course, if you're looking for your next smutty read... Why not check out BECOMING VENUS by me!

To support my work:

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Chapter:

00:00 Introduction

03:03 Origins of Pornography

04:13 Turin Erotic Papyrus

06:12 Medieval Manuscripts

07:37 18th Century Literature

12:31 The French Revolution

17:12 What Does All This Mean?

21:03 Let's Get Deep

23:45 What's New Today?

27:38 Conclusion



Clips included from Audible's Dracula and The Guardian's coverage of the Paris Protests.

All episodes of Kinky History

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