Yes, Outlander is a compelling love story and a rollicking adventure tale. But what about Outlander and lady porn?
Some people watch Outlander for the gripping love story. Others love the Starz period drama/sci fi show for its wonderful historical details and time travel. But for a lot of women watching the show — yes, my hand is raised— Outlander is on instant replay all the time because of the lady porn. Now before the Cult of Dianagets all up in arms — and I count myself a seriousmember, people — and the porn police start screaming, let me explain what I mean by lady porn.
Lady porn is sex from a women’s perspective, specifically from the perspective of white women of a certain age. (While I absolutely think it’s likely gay men and lesbians are having a field day with Jamie and Claire respectively, writing about that is not in my wheelhouse. Anyone who wants to take that one on should make a pitch to the owners of this blog.)
For too long, sex in print — and then on TV and online — have been predominantly about what men want and how they want it. And that means it hasn’t resonated with a lot of women.
Now, for the first time in what certainly seems like forever, Outlandergives us sex from a women’s point of view. It’s feminist. It’s powerful. It’s liberating and —this is key — it’s tasteful and therefore safe for its intended audience. Let me explain.
The incredible sex scenes are just one reason thousands of women everywhere read and then re-read and then re-read again (and maybe again) Gabaldon’s amazingly well-written books. (I read all 8 books in four months this year and have already re-read books 1-3.) The woman is an impressive writer and storyteller, able to juggle multiple details across centuries, a plot-twister extraordinaire. But dear God, can the woman write a good sex scene.
And that means the TV series has plenty of good material to work with. And work it, Executive Director Ron D. Moore and his crew do, playing up and into women’s fantasy sex lives across the globe. To wit:
First and foremost — and a critical part to getting women’s lady parts fluttering — Outlander is an epic love story. Like many adages, that old saw about how men have sex and women make love is based in an element of truth. For women, romance is critical to good sex; the best sex is an expression of love.
Jamie and Claire epitomize this in spades. We watch them fall in love gradually. They are the perfect couple once they do fall in love. Not because they don’t fight or have issues, but because they work them out. Claire is a strong, savvy woman who knows — and says — what she wants and thinks! Jamie is an evolved man! He says he’s wrong. He makes changes. For God’s sake, he tosses away centuries of men owning women and telling them what to do and holds a dagger to his chest saying he won’t ever hit Claire again. And then they have the most amazing make-up sex ever — and that’s before the part where Claire, riding on top, takes the dagger while the in the throes of passion, holds it to Jamie’s throat and tells him she will cut out his heart if he ever hits her again, and he agrees. Dear God, are you kidding me?????
Which brings us to how Outlander plays out sex from a woman’s — not a man’s — perspective in the show. Men may watch the show and fantasize about having a partner as sexually receptive and adventurous as Claire, and plenty of women watch wishing they were, too, and maybe even rekindling their libido a bit while getting inspired by Claire, yet another aspect of lady porn. But the reality is that the show, by focusing on the romance and Claire’s strong feminist behavior, is all about women’s sexual power. And that’s hot. It’s liberating for women who maybe haven’t felt that way in a while and it’s reinforcing for women who regularly and openly scratch their sexual itch.
Every single woman I know was — dare I say it? — blown away by the opening scene in episode 10 in which Jamie is pictured with his face in Claire’s private parts while she moans in pleasure. When was the last time such an act was even portrayed like that, much less one shot so lovingly and elegantly?
And then there’s the wedding episode. It is an hour of foreplay, brilliantly played out in flashbacks, as we watch two people fall in love before our very eyes. It has the romance, the tenderness, the emotion, the gentleness, the human rawness that is the stuff of women’s fantasy. In this episode alone Jamie and Claire become Everycouple for women everywhere.
None of which would be possible without point three: the two actors, Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe. I don’t know what Ron D. Moore did in a previous life, but he hit the actor lottery when these two ended up in the casting room together. Not only are they wildly talented — the “To Ransom a Man’s Soul” episode alone — but the chemistry between them is palpable. And they are both drop-dead gorgeous. Plenty of woman watch Outlander inserting themselves into Claire/Caitriona’s spot and picturing Jamie/Sam looking into their eyes and then lightly touching their lips before …
Bottom line, for women, Outlander is the total love package. Women may come at it from varying points in their lives — some partnered forever and looking for a fantasy boost, others looking for the next Mr. Right — but in the meantime, Claire and Jamie are reason enough to be thrilled.
So what’s the scene that gets you all aflutter?
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