Because you are a guy

[4havokk]

Hopeing to get some responses from some of the women who post or visit the forum on the following question. Is it possible for a guy to write a peril scene now a days? Even if it DOES NOT involve sex, fondleing or whatever, and not be called sexist? That question is a result of a conversation I had with another writer (a woman I might add, who writes far more darker than I do). I was sort of suprized by her its ok if 'I' write -He leered at his incapasitated captive and smiled in desire .- But if I write say, the same thing well its wrong, well because I have balls I guess. I dont know but it sure feels to me that too many creative lines are being drawn.

[DrDominator9]

Good writing establishes its own rules regardless of the sex of the author. If the characters and their actions and their dialogue are all believable, that is the criteria by which fiction should be judged, not by whether the person at the keyboard has a Y chromosome.

That being said, there are certainly differences in how a male author approaches sexual peril versus a female author.

The final judgment should be about the quality of the work and not some sort of superimposed agenda regarding sexism. Frankly 95% of porn is sexist. When you're writing about rape fantasies where the person is treated like a sexual toy with little or no regard to their individuality and more regard to the details of the costume of the person being assaulted, sexism seems pretty much a given, don't you think?

[4havokk]

I agree.. just frustating as hell.

[Mr. X]

Sooo... romance novels have no peril in them?

[Abductorenmadrid]

The beauty is in the eye of the beholder, if you enjoy a story do you have to get concerned over the gender of the writer? And as writers it would be very constraining if what we could write was defined by our gender, we should be able to express ourselves freely (within the accepted rules of course)

Female writers please chime in!

[Dogfish]

Hopeing to get some responses from some of the women who post or visit the forum on the following question. Is it possible for a guy to write a peril scene now a days? Even if it DOES NOT involve sex, fondleing or whatever, and not be called sexist? That question is a result of a conversation I had with another writer (a woman I might add, who writes far more darker than I do). I was sort of suprized by her its ok if 'I' write -He leered at his incapasitated captive and smiled in desire .- But if I write say, the same thing well its wrong, well because I have balls I guess. I dont know but it sure feels to me that too many creative lines are being drawn.

This is a pretty odd sentiment. You can write what you like. Some people may not approve, as is their right. But that's life. If you worry too much that some people might not approve of what you write you'll never write anything.

[Kitten]

As much as we try and claim equality, there will always be double standards between the genders.

Sometimes it works to our advantage, other times it's a glass ceiling that frustrates us.

I think the only way to avoid this is to become a unisex society of one gender, which i'm glad wont happen in my life time cause that doesnt sound much fun.

[Imagineer]

If you're writing porn, and the character is essentially a sexual object, and the point of the scene is to induce arousal with the idea of imperilment, then sexism is irrelevant.

If you're writing a story, the gender of the author does not determine whether or not it's sexist. The story's intent, the choices made, the execution -- these may indicate sexism. The author's identity, of which gender is a part, may contribute to an unfair gender bias or sexism.

If you're looking for an easy rule or black-and-white distinction to remain safe from being considered sexist, good luck in your search, and please report back to the group if you find something

Consider other points of view, be on guard against your own inherent bias coloring your work in dismissive ways you didn't intend, and whatever you do, don't get into an argument over hypotheticals.

[Centurion]

I agree with what Imagineer said above. A certain amount of eroticism is pretty much inherent in a superheroine story, but that doesn't necessarily make it sexist. It's not sexist to admire the beauty of a woman's body, especially when it's clad in clingy spandex. It's not sexist to tell your girlfriend how good she looks or whisper in her ear how much you want her. As Mr. X pointed out, sexual domination can be found in a lot of romance novels. That's why they're called "bodice-rippers". Most women seem to enjoy it, up to a point. It's all in the context of the story as a whole. For me, sexism is the attitude that a woman is inherently inferior to a man, and sex is pretty much the only thing she's good for; when she's treated not as a person but as just a vagina with legs. I'm not saying the characters in the story have to respect her, but the author of the story must.

[harriertalon]

Fetishism *is* objectification. You're taking that thing about a person - male or female - and objectifying it. The sexism goes hand in hand with that, and it really doesn't matter who wrote the actual words. Or as Nigel Tufnel from Spinal Tap put it: "Wot's wrong wif being Sexy?"