Yesterday, for our Today in Books newsletter, I wrote briefly about how, previously, Muslim erotica writers in Nigeria were being censored, with some even having their books burned. But now? Now the girlies have found another way. They’ve been outsmarting religious censors by sharing their stories on WhatsApp.
A New York Times reporter covered the story, sharing how she had been invited to a WhatsApp group by an erotica author, Oum Hairan, who would post a chapter that would get the readers all hot and bothered (the title of the book being published, chapter-by-chapter at the time, was Nymphomaniac King), then apply a paywall. And Hairan isn’t alone. Other Nigerian erotica and romance writers have been using the app to get their stories to readers—stories that explore everything from queer relationships to sugar daddies to polygamy, to abuse, all of which opens them up to be reprimanded by the morality police. This is a great example of how, in a world that has long dictated women’s worth and how they should respond to things, the romance genre is subversive and rebellious. I can’t wait to see what the...
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