Why do women like to read erotic romance?

Why do women like to read erotic romance? One of my loops is discussing this topic this week. Personally, I'm an emotion junkie - romantic emotions, that is. I want to feel as if I'm falling in love and maybe I'm oversexed, but I like those feelings, too. When I was a kid reading Harlequins and Silhouettes, I used to cheat and read that back of the book to make sure there was a happy ending which of course there always was. I also dog-eared the pages where the hot sex was so I could re-read those parts. I know some women profess sex is dirty, that it should be secret and hidden behind the closed bedroom door. Some of those same women have 8 kids. Hmmmm. That makes me think they're not so against sex. I'm sure others are like me and enjoy sex - both the real deal and the emotions it evokes. I'm sure I have at least one kid as a result of getting hot from reading a fictional sexy romance. For some reason, we don't want our mothers, grandmothers, and aunts to read our erotic stuff - at least not most of us. For some odd reason, we don't like to think of them as sexual creatures but obviously they were at least once if we're here - well, maybe not the aunts, but usually. I was in a workshop listening to a famous author a few years ago who is hilarious in person as well as in writing. Maybe more so in person. Anyway, she had me laughing so hard when she told this confession. She had told us that her mother professed to be shocked (I don't recall exact words) about her erotic romance scenes, but then she'd catch her sneaking to read them. She then told us that she was afraid her mother would get so hot she'd jump her father and she'd wind up with a new baby brother. It happens. That's life. :) If you like to read them, why? What are your reasons? Do you mind if other people know you like them? I imagine a lot of women like to read them but don't want other people to know. That's one reason they're so hot in e-book format. No one else gets to see a cover with naked, entangled bodies - a dead give away. Try explaining that one to your pastor or Bertha-better-than-thou if they see you reading it at Borders. You'll also want to see what Amarinda Jones, Anika Hamilton, Anny Cook, Barbara Huffert, Brynn Paulin, Bronwyn Green, Dakota Rebel, Kelly Kirch, Molly Daniels, Sandra Cox, Regina Carlysle, and Cindy Spencer Pape are up to, so make sure to visit them also. :)