How Arya Uses Fantasy Stories To Inspire Erotic Exploration
This article was written for Arya by Karolina Wilde
Karolina Wilde is the author of House of Pain, the first book in a seductive dark fantasy romance trilogy, a journalist, and a sex-positive freelance writer who worked with some of the biggest brands in the world. She has a serious obsession with chocolate (dark or milk, never white, and always with salted caramel), and when she's not writing another book or another client article, she can be found playing World of Warcraft or trying to conquer her never-ending TBR pile.
What's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear someone mention erotica stories? If it's Fifty Shade of Grey, you're definitely not alone!
The Fifty Shades franchise popularized reading erotica, which was a positive step in the right direction when it comes to the sex-positive movement.
Yet, erotica stories are still a crucial part of eroticism we don't talk about enough. Here at Arya, erotic fantasy is a key component of each Scene. So, let's uncover why erotica stories are important for our sexuality and Arya experience.
Erotica Stories: How Arya Uses Erotic Fantasy To Inspire Erotic Exploration
Erotica Stories: Definition
Erotica (or erotic literature) is a work of art that focuses heavily on sexual activities and relationships with the intent to arouse and elicit sexual desire in a reader. In other words, erotica stories are literary porn.
A bestselling erotic romance author Sylvia Day defines erotica as "stories written about the sexual journey of the characters and how this impacts them as individuals. Emotion and character growth are important facets of a true erotic story."
So, while erotica stories are heavily focused on various aspects of sex, it's much more than that. Through erotica stories, we can explore and learn more about ourselves as individuals and our relationship with our sexuality.
Erotic literature has gained mass recognition with the popularity of Fifty Shades of Grey, but erotica has been a lively genre for many years before the success of the E.L. James series. Women like Anais Nin, author of Delta of Venus, Pauline Regine, author of Story of O, and even Anne Rice, author of The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty, have been publishing erotic novels successfully for decades.
In fact, erotic literature isn't a 20/21st-century phenomenon. The very first erotica literature dates all the way back to Ancient Greece and there have been many prominent works of erotic literature published throughout the years.
Why Are Erotica Stories Important for Our Sexuality
Sexual fantasies are a very natural and common part of our sexuality, with even 97% of people admitting they have them, and have them often, despite their gender.
Social psychologist Dr. Justin Lehmiller surveyed over four thousand Americans to find out more about their sexual fantasies and he found that the three most common reasons why people have sexual fantasies are:
To experience sexual arousal and desire
Curiosity about new, different sexual experiences and sensations
To meet unfulfilled sexual needs
Erotica stories are a way to explore different sexual fantasies we have. They can act as portals, giving us access to worlds and experiences we haven't experienced before. And that's a fundamental part of eroticism.
“Eroticism is a very imaginative, fantastical place where the rules of every day don’t necessarily work and you may need something to show you a new experience that you could be a part of," explains Nicholas Velotta, the Head of Relationship Science at Arya.
What Is the Erotic Fantasy Role in Arya?
Fantasy stories play a huge part in every Arya experience. With every Scene, you receive access to three audio and written erotica stories that are curated specifically for each Scene. The decision to include erotica stories in an Arya experience wasn't an accident – erotica stories are essential to the Scenes and your overall Arya journey.
Communication about sex is often a barrier to a fulfilling and adventurous sex life for many couples. Arya offers a unique way to overcome this obstacle by allowing partners to share the erotica stories they enjoyed.
During their Scene journey, both partners receive erotica stories tailed for the Scene, and once they finish reading the stories, Arya concierge allows the partners to send the story they enjoyed the most to their partner with one easy click. And even over 63% of couples decide to share their fantasies with their partner via the Arya concierge to get each other excited before the Scene.
This interaction allows couples to express their sexual desires and fantasies without words, which can be a great way to open the lines of communication about sex. Plus, what better way to turn your partner on than send them your favorite erotica story?
Arya uses erotica stories as a way to build excitement and anticipation for the actual act itself as well as give you prep on what you may expect to experience or do in that Scene.
“We're prepping people for a Scene, so <...> it’s very much intentional that we give you the fantasies a few days before you engage in a certain Scene so that you can sit on that, think, and imagine using the erotic imagination to put yourself in that Scene,” Velotta says.
Erotic Fantasy Structure in Our Scenes
Now that you know why erotica stories are important for Arya's experience, let's dissect how and why we deliver our fantasy stories to you the way we do.
Formats
Arya currently offers two formats for all erotica stories: audio and written. The decision to offer multiple formats was easy, knowing that different people prefer to consume content in different ways.
Some might have the best experience while reading, while others are much more comfortable with audio or even dynamic video. “We have visions of moving into multiple mediums for fantasy besides just the audio and written stories,” shares Velotta.
Length
Life is busy, online and offline. And because Arya values your time, we choose to serve you a bite size pieces of erotica stories. Each story is between 2 and 5 minutes in length, whether you choose to read it or listen to it.
“It’s like ‘Hey, we know that your time is few, so we’re going to condense the erotica for you to read in an easy and casual way, making it similar to reading a quick article that pops up on your phone'," Velotta explains.
Scene Adaptation
All of our erotica stories are adapted to the Scene and its theme to inspire you for the Scene specifically. You get to see a sneak peek of the products you'll be receiving in your box, as well as activities you might engage in. It's part of the preparation process.
But that's not all. An important reason why Arya adapts its erotica stories to the Scenes is to offer a broader view of each theme explored and break down any stigmas or reservations you might have about it.
Spiciness Levels
Each of the three erotica stories that come with a Scene varies in the spiciness levels. Every fantasy story is marked with one of the three ratings – mild, medium, or explicit. The decision to offer a variety of spiciness levels to our erotica stories was also very intentional.
“We want diverse people and diverse sexualities to come to [Arya] and be able to find what level or what aspect of this playstyle they’re going to resonate with,” Velotta explains. Arya wants to ensure that there is a story for everyone.
“People will get turned on by different things, people will have different Erotic Personas. We can speak to those differences both in terms of Erotic Personas and experience level through different levels of spiciness of the erotica we provide,” Velota explains further.
Because people's sexuality is so diverse and everyone has a different preference for erotica stories and the language that's used, we also ensure that the mild and medium-level stories don't use explicit language.
POVs
Another way Arya ensures our fantasy stories are as diverse as they can be is by offering multiple POVs to our readers. You can find stories that are told from the first-person perspective, and stories that are told through the third-person perspective.
Each Scene has at least one story from a female POV, and at least one from a male POV. Also, you get multiple perspectives of a person who is being pleasured, as well as of a person who is taking on a role of a pleaser to really help you immerse yourself in different roles you can take on during your Arya journey.
Only 21.8% of adults had acted on their favorite sexual fantasy. We’re about to change that.
It’s time to stop holding back your fantasies! Unlock a world of erotic and intimate exploration with your partner to deepen your intimacy and reignite the spark – Try Arya.
About Arya
Life is so grown up and you two deserve some play time. Insert your new bestie Arya — a monthly subscription to reignite the spark, try new sexual experiences, and grow closer with your partner. Don't hold back your fantasies! You'll get access to a personal relationship concierge, expertly guided activities tailored to your deepest desires and a curated box of goodies delivered discreetly to your door.
