Guilty (Un)pleasures: The Reception of Muriel Tramis's Erotic Trilogy in France and the United Kingdom

This paper examines the sharply divergent reception of Muriel Tramis's Erotic Trilogy, comprising Emmanuelle (1989), Geisha (1990), and Fascination (1991), in France and the United Kingdom. Although the trilogy drew harsh criticism in British publications, French magazines elevated at least the third installment to cult status. The author seeks to account for these disparities through a paratextual analysis of contemporary and retrospective reviews, drawing on a methodology derived from Švelch's work on paratextuality in game studies. The corpus includes French outlets such as Tilt, Génération 4, and Joystick, alongside British titles including Amiga Power and PC Format, as well as retrospective pieces by Richard Cobbett in PC Gamer.

The findings show that Emmanuelle and Geisha received uneven treatment in France, while British publications dismissed them almost universally. Fascination, notable as one of the early digital games with a Black female protagonist, illustrates the contrast most clearly: British journalists mocked its erotic content and plot inconsistencies, whereas French critics praised it, and it continues to attract positive attention in contemporary blogs.

The author proposes several explanations for British hostility. Tramis's role as lead designer across all three games may have made her a target, and none of the cited reviews were written by women. Cultural differences also play a role, as France is regarded as erotically permissive and tied to the popularity of the Emmanuelle books, while the UK's Protestant and Puritan traditions made sensitive content less welcome. British responses often took a hypocritical tone, and the games became easy targets amid Franco-British rivalry.

The study identifies three patterns in British reviews: they were gendered in response to Tramis's sexuality, customarily discriminating, and steered toward chauvinistic tones. The author links these patterns to the aggressive masculinity that Graeme Kirkpatrick identifies in British gaming culture of the 1980s and 1990s, while noting that French gaming culture, though not free of sexism, was comparatively more accommodating toward its female designers.