Soapgate

Soapgate refers to the online controversy surrounding an 2018 A Court of Thorns and Roses-themed book subscription box from Bookish and Stuff (now known as Book Boyfriend Box) that included a penis-shaped soap and a bound book of explicit fanfiction. The box, inspired by characters from Sarah J. Maas's popular but sexually explicit ACOTAR series, sparked debate about the legality of selling fanworks, age-appropriate marketing, oversexualization in young adult (YA) literature, and the line between sex positivity and fetishization.
== The Box ==
The "Illyrian Boyfriend Box" offered ACOTAR-themed items including a pillowcase, lip balm, fanart, "a personalized smutty character love letter," and a "mystery item." Unboxing photos revealed the mystery item to be a realistic, blue penis-shaped soap with a suction cup base. The box also included a bound book of explicit fanfiction titled "A Court of Smut and Wingspans".
The product listing included the following content warning:
== Soap ==
The "mystery item" included in the Illyrian Boyfriend Box was a realistic, blue, penis-shaped soap with a suction cup base intended for shower use. Many felt this overtly phallic soap was an inappropriate and sexualized item to include in a book box.
The Illyrian characters in Sarah J. Maas's A Court of Thorns and Roses series, such as Rhysand, Cassian and Azriel, are described as muscular warriors with large wings, with implications that the size of their wingspans correlates to the size of their genitalia.
There were widespread jokes and memes dubbing the soap the "YA dick soap crisis", or more commonly "#soapgate", as well as serious warnings cautioning against misusing the suction cup feature for sexual purposes. 
Sarah J. Maas classified A Court of Thorns and Roses as "new adult" fiction (NA) geared towards adults between 18-25, and containing sexually explicit content. Despite this, the book series was frequently marketed and sold in the young adult (YA) category, which typically targets readers between 12-18 years old. This incident raised concerns on the book's marketing.
== Fanfiction ==
Another point of controversy was the box's inclusion of a bound, printed book of explicit ACOTAR fanfiction titled "A Court of Smut and Wingspans." The book contained three smutty short stories: "A Court of Wings and Thrusting," "A Court of Groans and Water," and "A Court of Crowns and Passion."withcindy. "🚫 Unboxing Soap Gate 🍆 " August 16, 2018 
Many YA authors spoke out against the unauthorized use of copyrighted characters and settings for profit, regardless of the "fan" label. Victoria Aveyard, author of the Red Queen series, expressed her disappointment on Twitter:
Maggie Stiefvater, author of The Raven Cycle series, also weighed in on the controversy, challenging the perceived dichotomy between fans and creators:
== Response from Bookish and Stuff ==
== Further Reading ==
=== News Media ===
* Young Adult Novel Twitter Is Losing Its Absolute Mind Over Penis-Shaped Soap on Electric Literature
* What’s This About Dick Soap? on Book Riot
* How ‘d*ck soap’ turned Book Twitter upside down on Daily Dot
=== Bloggers === 
* Drama Alert – Book Boyfriend Box + Selling Fanfiction #soapgate on The YA Drama
* Bookish: Discussion On #Soapgate on BookNook UK
* Smut and Wingspan – How We Got #SoapGate and Illegal Fanfiction on MyLibraryCardWoreOut
* The Rise of New Adult - Sex, Soap & Sales by Madeleine E. Vaughan
* Fandom and Phalluses by Minerva
=== Reddit ===
* Penisgate AKA Soap Dick in a Box on r/HobbyDrama
=== Videos ===
* 🚫 Unboxing Soap Gate 🍆 by withcindy
== References ==
Category:Scandals
Category:A Court of Thorns and Roses
Category: 2018 Events