@fireeaglespirit @viviane-lefay i do worry sometimes with the stories I write if things might be too much for you. To be fair I dont think in any fanfic Ive ever written anything too explicit but now Im so conscious of other peopleās viewpoints and being inclusive that it is a concern. Ultimately I write what I want to/need to but I am aware it might not be for all tastes hence always trying to follow ratings etc.
Replying here so it doesnāt cause any problems with OP, etc..
Ohh. Iām sorry if this worried you.. tbh this was very random and I wasnāt even thinking about fiction when I rb this. This one reminded me of a few times I went out with friends and colleagues and I just felt starkly asexual, lmao
About my tolerance regarding sex and explicitly in fiction, Iāll be honest with youā¦
Thereās hardly anything I could say I wouldnāt read about. I just donāt feel ātriggersā or anything of the sort, no hard feelings when it gets to fiction and I value your will to be conscious of other viewpoints but its practically impossible to cater to all tastes like you said, so donāt worry about it muchā¦ thereās always someone out there who will feel offended and others who will fiercely love it.
As for myself, Iām very tolerant to sexual content in fiction, idk? I donāt seek it out particularly but its not a deal breaker either.
I know some asexual people are less tolerant, I usually just get a āmehā feeling whenever those subjects are touched in much detail, idk some works do get nasty and bothersome because of much detail involving sexual practices so I just give up on them or put them aside when they bring me no joy but I gladly consume material with sex on it as long as I like some aspects of it. Also, Iām good at ignoring or glossing over things I donāt like in fictionā¦ when I read explicit scenes with intercourse it does nothing to me and my eyes focuses on the sentences I loved such as regarding the feelings between the characters and subtle interactions instead of the physical/carnal aspects of it, and this makes it all worthy it.
Even so, some works might become overwhelmingly depressive or repulsive so I might put them aside even if I enjoyed an aspect of it or I might just skip through them and this happened recently to a series of fantasy books I tried to read which were actually really good but they were so overwhelmingly and unnecessarily dark and had an horrid oppressive atmosphere towards women an sex so I just felt no joy reading them? Its not like I was traumatized by its tone but it felt like a chore and I couldnāt care about it further and no character inspired me whatsoever that the world could change for the better, so I dropped them.
But its not like Iām judging it, I just feel weirded out to some things and I just imagine the kind of mind that takes upon themselves the chore to write a whole series of book which has nothing but suffering and misery in them, especially concerning women, lol. We already had this shit in history and still have in some places in the world so I kinda feel like its not interesting for me to read about it in a fictional setting, especially if I donāt feel like the writer is going to challenge the setting.
But Iām aware most people are much more sensitiveā¦ these things can be horrid for those who are more sensitive, and perhaps my own asexuality protects me from feeling it fully as I donāt even think of myself as a being capable of partaking in this (weird, I know), so I have problem even projecting.
But I did felt really strongly for the way women were oppressed absurdly and had their agency completely obliterated, so that sparked a sort of empathy or kinship in me which made progress in such book a choreā¦
You got my point and this just illustrates a bit my relationship to fiction and things that irk me since you were interested in my opinionā¦ I have another example of fantasy book with lots of sex in it:
I read asoiaf even thought its full of sexual stuff but I donāt feel joy at these parts, yet the work is so good on other themes that I ignore it for the most partā¦ but even so, recently Iāve read F&B and it was kinda overwhelming on the sexist aspect with myriads of female characters turned into child brides and raped and dying at their childbirth repeatedly it just got very tiresome and repetitive near the end, because there where almost no counterpoints to it, unlike in the main series where the situation is dire for women but we have characters challenging it more often and idk. F&B just lacked on that front.
So, this shows a bit my sensitivity towards sex is more related to sexism and the feeling that women are confined to their reproductive aspects: motherhood, childbearing, marriage, sensuality, etc.. I donāt have a problem with sexual intercourse per se as you can see, but thatās from my unique point of view and I know some asexuals are more repulsed towards it, but you asked my opinionā¦
So, if its consensual sex: its not my cup of tea but I donāt feel like its a deal breakerā¦
Just to give you a positive sex example: when I see an OTP of mine getting to the point of having sex I think its pretty sweet, like when Jon and Dany consummated their love on that boatā¦ I was happy for them, for all that it means, the symbolism between the union of ice and fire and just two characters which I love dearly, finding happiness and comfort in each other. Whatās not to love about it??
This is a rare stance I can say I saw a pair I ship get to that point xD
I love shipping as you know, but its more about the psychological aspects and potential for character development and even when Iām reading fanfic about my OTPs I enjoy more the angst and symbolism than the āhotā parts which usually just makes me go āmehā (again).
So this makes me say: when sex is the focus of works I could feel like Iām too asexual for this, even if it regards an OTP, it just doesnāt have a very exciting effect on me or Iām not explicitly interested in this part of a relationship, when so many other things caught my eyeā¦ sometimes subtle interactions and dialogue and and gentle approximation (touches, caresses, kissing, etc..) is so much more exciting for me to read about than the āthingā itself, lol.
To sum it up: when its there just for p*rn or even worse, shock value it just makes me go āmehā or āughā or āuhh why am I even reading this?ā
This reminds me of Viviās take on the āhiero gamosā, in this case I just say I might even enjoy the theme as long as the scenes involving sex are meaningful and passionate and the aspect I value the most about them are sublime and platonic instead of carnal but Iām aware the carnal aspects are very important for the characters and the audience so I also worry when I get to show my stories people will think they lack sexual content ^^ Ā I get you.
Now that you know my feelings towards sex in fiction, to a broader sense I just wanted to say..
Thereās no way to guess peopleās sensitives but it doesnāt mean you need to walk on eggshells afraid to trigger people all the time, hell no! Iām all for freedom of creation. At least around me there are no metaphorical āeggshellsā.
Everyone has their own set of opinions which makes them unique, not just me, I meanā¦ Ā even so I will let my snowflake syndrome show but Iām quite peculiar if you could say, so I sort of grew a strong ācarapaceā towards the world as I deal with people with completely different views and values on a daily basis which might make me have inflamed political opinions while at the same time, Iām very flexible and forgiving when it comes to fiction in general.
I donāt expect much of the population to be like this so Iām also self conscious when it gets to writing my own stuff because I know people can feel very strongly about it and youāve seen the way fandom reacts to minor things and bash creators when they perceive flaws in their workā¦ Iām just not a judgmental person, its not in my nature. I just ignore things in fiction if I donāt like and I became even more relaxed over time in regards to this all, lol I nearly reached a ānirvanaā as I donāt even feel strongly negative feelings in regard to this.
Snarky and bitter comments from time to time? Yesā¦ but no hard feelings. RL needs my hatred, lol so I donāt have it to spare with fiction any longer.
Anyway, on an unrelated sub noteā¦ as you might have noticed, I donāt feel comfortable about current fandom trends and specially policing, and with reason as this gets very serious and quick with literally āwave chain reactionsā of hatred sparked apparently from nowhere. I hope people could create more freely instead of the political correct police and restraining of creativity we have now. It was good for a while and Iām all for diversity and change in status quo (for the better), but I think this has gone too far and I perceive a lot of rigidity in fiction right now due to fear of fandom backlash we have creators afraid to make their thing and afraid it isnāt āinclusive or progressiveā enoughā¦ so they bend themselves endlessly until fandom āapprovesā them, but even so someone is bound to scream and say the work is offensive and the cycle of hatred is restarted.
I know this reply was like a huge egocentric monologue and I strained with non related issues at the end, but you asked my thought on this so I tried to convey it with detail.. including things related to the perception we have concerning fictional themes and I just kinda had to vent at some parts of it.
etcā¦. This doesnāt mean I forbid judgment from others or criticism or that I forbid people from harshly criticizing works of fiction, just that sometimes it gets more harmful than beneficial and scare people off, and I felt like saying that.
Anyway,,, just want to say nonetheless I find it very sweet and considerate that you are taking different opinions in mind while writing, but you donāt need to worry at least from my part, and I donāt think you ever got even close to being explicit in your writings so thereās absolutely nothing to worry about.
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