Dick Soap Controversy

Overview

Dick Soap Controversy refers to the reactions from Twitter users about a bar of soap shaped like a penis that was sent out as part of a gift package for preorders of the "New Adult" novel A Court of Thorn and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. The gift package also contained erotic fanfiction and art. The package caused an uproar among "Book Twitter," a collection literature fans and people in the publishing industry.

Background

On August 14th, a screenshot from the Instagram story of user librovert showing the dick soap received in gift box for the book A Court of Thorn and Roses began circulating around Twitter (shown below).

The package was crafted by Yaira Lynn of Bookish and Stuff, who creates gift packages as part of a "Book Boyfriends" series,^[1] and is not a licensed package from the book's publisher. The A Court of Thorn and Roses package also included erotic fan art and fanfiction about the characters.

Developments

After the image of the Dick Soap hit Twitter, many users raised issues about the package for a variety of reasons, some of which were based on a misunderstanding of the genre for A Court of Thorn and Roses. The book is New Adult, which means it is intended for college-aged readers and contains graphic sex scenes. However, many users thought the book was a Young Adult novel, meaning for teenagers not of legal age, and expressed outrage at the concept of gifting children graphic materials. User @cupcakeandy expressed this concern, gaining over 300 likes, and so did user @laceliteracy, gaining over 175 likes.

Others expressed concern that the dick soap would be improperly used as a dildo, which is unhealthy and could lead to a yeast infection. User Sarah Hollowell begged users who received the box to not "fuck the soap" (shown below, left) and user @authorandiej expressed concerns about the potential health risks of trying to use the soap as a dildo (shown below, right).

Another issue users brought up with the package is that the selling of unlicensed fan fiction is illegal, meaning the erotic fan fiction included with the package was problematic. Examples of tweets about this topic came from users @jennifercarolyn (shown below, left) and @VictoriaAveyard (shown below, right).

Yaira Lynn defended the package on Instagram, saying that the package was perfectly in line with the content of the books and not unlike adult-themed gift packages sold in normal sex shops. The book's publisher, Bloomsbury, said they were aware of the package and clarified neither they nor Sarah J. Maas was associated with it. The controversy was covered by Buzzfeed^[2] and Daily Dot.^[1]

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