HEA. MFM. Dubcon. What do all those acronyms and abbreviations mean?

Here is a guide to many of the terms used in romance and erotica.

Romance

• HEA – Happily Ever After. Romances with an HEA always end with the main characters happily in a relationship together, presumably for the rest of their lives.
• HFN – Happily for Now. The book ends with the characters happily in a relationship, but they might not be committed for the long-term, or there may be some questions left to answer.
• RH – Reverse Harem, also called Why Choose? The main female character has three or more love interests, and doesn’t have to choose between them. She gets and HEA with everyone.
• Why Choose? – Also called Reverse Harem. The main female character has three or more love interests, and doesn’t have to choose between them. She gets and HEA with everyone.

Pairings

• MF – Male/female pairing.
• MM – Male/male pairing.
• FF – Female/female pairing.
• MFM – Menage with two men and one woman, but the men aren’t involved with each other.
• MMF – Menage with two men and one woman, and everyone is involved with everyone else.
• MFMM or MFMM+ – Menage with one woman and at least three men. The men are not involved with each other.
• FMF – Menage with two women and one man. The women are not involved with each other.
• FFM – Menage with two women and one man. Everyone is involved with everyone else.
• FMFF or FMFF+ – Menage with one man and at least three women. The women are not involved with each other.

Consent

• CNC – Consensual nonconsent. A scenario in which people agree to play out the fantasy of rape.
• Dubcon – Dubious consent. This isn’t something that exists in real life, or at least rarely. But in fiction, we can enjoy all sorts of gray areas.
• Noncon – Nonconsensual. Rape–no ifs, ands, or buts.

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