Fantasy: Genre Conventions, Political Correctness, and Queer and Feminist Representational Strategies in the Erotic Film

This chapter considers the term “fantasy” as a film genre, a concept central to the debates in feminist theory, and a narrative trope frequently observed in queer and women’s pornography. The inherent associations of fantasy with sexuality and eroticism are traced back to the origins of fantasy in literature, while its political and social significance is observed in writings on sexuality and pornography emerging from feminist theory. Finally, fantasy is discussed as a frequent narrative trope in the earliest adult media produced by women and sexual minorities. Instead of ossifying this often colloquial term, the chapter explores its versatility and import to erotic media, with a focus on how it has been varyingly mobilized by film, literary, feminist and queer theorists alike. This theoretical overview is supplemented by a discussion of fantasy as a central trope in six historically significant adult films preceding the digital revolution, from across the spectrums of gender and genre.