Harem Stories

[allenknott3]

I have noticed that several 'harem' stories seem to have different definitions of what is a harem story. Most are just a single main character (normally male) having sex with a bunch of other characters (normally female) and while that is part of it, several of the stories include the main character sharing and engaging in sexual behaviors with the other female characters that including for example sharing the women with another man, but then that is no longer a harem story in my opinion.

So for example, the main male character has several girlfriends but one of them is also hooking up with other guys and might even have an MMF threesome, that IMO is not a harem story. Harem is a single male character having sex/relationship with several different women. A reverse harem is a single female character having sex/relationship with several different men. You could also have a gay harem or a lesbian harem. But it is the same format as a single character having sex with multiple other characters.

I am wrong on this? Do others agree or disagree? Just curious about what everyone thinks.

For me, a harem story required two things: a male character having sex/relationship with several female characters, who share him but he does not share them with other men. Second, they exist around him, i.e. he is the main character and the focus, hint this is a harem. The word harem comes from a Muslim household where the wives, unnamed daughters, female domestic servants, pre-pubescent male children, and other unmarried female relatives, and in the past, harems also included concubines, guarded by eunuchs. So basically, one male and a bunch of females since the moment male children hit puberty were moved elsewhere with them now being considered to be a man. It also reflects polygamy/Polygyny.

Just something I have noticed.

 

[AlinaX]

I suspect any Mind Control story that involves the main character collecting live-in lovers (regardless of their other activities) can be squeezed into a 'harem' category.

 

[alohadave]

Seems kind of sexist to me that men can have a harem, but not women.

Consider this:

For me, a harem story required two things: a female character having sex/relationship with several male characters, who share her but she does not share them with other women. Second, they exist around her, i.e. she is the main character and the focus, hint this is a harem.

All I changed were the pronouns, and it is functionally identical. Women can have a harem. It's exclusionary to think that only men get to enjoy the concept.

The word harem comes from a Muslim

Doesn't matter where it came from. Lots of words we use are different from the source language, and lots of words that are native to English (and any language really) have changed meaning over time.

 

[Vitriolhack]

Personally, I am more concerned with a well written story than it sticking to the exact definition on the type of tale it is.

I give the writer a lot of leeway on the subject may it be Harem, reversed harem, poly, as long as the story is entertaining and keeps me engaged.

 

[allenknott3]

Seems kind of sexist to me that men can have a harem, but not women.

Consider this:

All I changed were the pronouns, and it is functionally identical. Women can have a harem. It's exclusionary to think that only men get to enjoy the concept.


Doesn't matter where it came from. Lots of words we use are different from the source language, and lots of words that are native to English (and any language really) have changed meaning over time.

I never said women could not have a harem, it is just a reverse harem.

 

[allenknott3]

Personally, I am more concerned with a well written story than it sticking to the exact definition on the type of tale it is.

I give the writer a lot of leeway on the subject may it be Harem, reversed harem, poly, as long as the story is entertaining and keeps me engaged.

I agree with you on the well-written story. It is just for me, I do not want to read something where they might be something that does not reflect my personal tastes. It is just with Netflix or Amazon, everyone watches what they like or what they think they are going to writing.

All I am asking for is things to be clear from the start. So, if a story includes a tag that the reader does not like they can skip that story.

 

[allenknott3]

I suspect any Mind Control story that involves the main character collecting live-in lovers (regardless of their other activities) can be squeezed into a 'harem' category.

What do you mean by regardless of their other activities?

 

[alohadave]

I never said women could not have a harem, it is just a reverse harem.

Like reverse racism is just racism.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

Seems kind of sexist to me that men can have a harem, but not women.

Consider this:

All I changed were the pronouns, and it is functionally identical. Women can have a harem. It's exclusionary to think that only men get to enjoy the concept.


Doesn't matter where it came from. Lots of words we use are different from the source language, and lots of words that are native to English (and any language really) have changed meaning over time.

I believe that there have been matriarchal societies identified in the past where female harems were common. South Pacific and Polynesian cultures once had these if I remember correctly.

 

[allenknott3]

Like reverse racism is just racism.

No, you are wrong on that. You are comparing two things (harem and racism) that are different.

 

[allenknott3]

I believe that there have been matriarchal societies identified in the past where female harems were common. South Pacific and Polynesian cultures once had these if I remember correctly.

There was an African Queen who once kept a large number of men in a harem-type situation. However, where the term comes from and how it is used, describe a situation where it is a single man and several women. A female harem/reverse harem is the same thing. Not saying you cannot write a harem story with a gay harem, lesbian harem, reverse harem, etc. but that should be tagged separate from a harem. Just like an orgy is a subgroup of group sex (group sex is anything with more than two people) but an orgy traditionally required both genders. But that is different than a threesome which itself is still part of group sex.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

Polygamy, as practiced by certain sects of the LDS religion could be considered a "harem" relationship.

In my "Uncle Sugar Daddy" series, the MMC has sexual relations with two nieces and their mother, but I wouldn't classify it a a harem story because the characters got together primarily for sex, with little to no domestic relationship beyond this. In my opinion, a harem involves greater familial involvement between the participants, whether consensual or not.

 

[AlinaX]

What do you mean by regardless of their other activities?

Why do members of a harem need to be exclusive lovers? It's hardly fair.

 

[allenknott3]

Polygamy, as practiced by certain sects of the LDS religion could be considered a "harem" relationship.

In my "Uncle Sugar Daddy" series, the MMC has sexual relations with two nieces and their mother, but I wouldn't classify it a a harem story because the characters got together primarily for sex, with little to no domestic relationship beyond this. In my opinion, a harem involves greater familial involvement between the participants, whether consensual or not.

I would say that would be a harem if the MMC is not sharing the two nieces and their mother with another male character. What you are separating is harem from polygyny. Again, a harem is a male character having sex with several female characters, who exist around the main male character and are not being shared with other males.

Polygamy is the practice of having multiple spouses, when it is a man with multiple wives, it is called: polygyny

 

[allenknott3]

Why do members of a harem need to be exclusive lovers? It's hardly fair.

First, who said it has to be fair? A fair is a place that has rides, and games, and where judging of different things takes place.

Because that is what makes it a harem. If the main character is sharing their lovers with other individuals, then it is not a harem but a polyamorous relationship. Harem exists around the single main character, that is the entire point.

 

[alohadave]

No, you are wrong on that. You are comparing two things (harem and racism) that are different.

Good luck splitting hairs.

 

[allenknott3]

Good luck splitting hairs.

I am not trying to split hairs. I just asking for tags to be accurate and understood. So that ALL readers do not read a story with a tag that they dislike. I am entitled to read or not to read based on what I like and what I do not like, the same as everyone else is.

 

[onehitwanda]

Like reverse racism is just racism.

uno reverso!

 

[EmilyMiller]

I have a minor in anthropology and I have to say that this place can be fascinating at times.

Emily

 

[SimonDoom]

I agree with @allenknott3's concept of a harem, but I also think it's pointless to engage in debates over definitions and categories because everybody sees things differently. Definitions and categories in this strange place are driven by what turns people on, not by logic and definitional precision or consistency.

In fiction, women could have a harem, too, but how many have that fantasy? Some, I suppose, but probably far fewer than have fantasies about a man with a harem of women. Fairness has nothing to do with it. It's all about what actually turns people on.

I have two "harem" story projects in the early stages, and I think they both meet the OP's definition. One is about an ordinary suburban dad who, at his wife's encouragement, acquires a harem of sorts of women in the neighborhood who are dissatisfied with their husbands.

The other is about a woman who is "enslaved" by the sultan of an island country to be part of his harem, and her adventures that follow.

 

[Jackie.Hikaru]

I have a minor in anthropology and I have to say that this place can be fascinating at times.

Emily

At this point, that minor probably grew into a major.

 

[allenknott3]

I agree with @allenknott3's concept of a harem, but I also think it's pointless to engage in debates over definitions and categories because everybody sees things differently. Definitions and categories in this strange place are driven by what turns people on, not by logic and definitional precision or consistency.

In fiction, women could have a harem, too, but how many have that fantasy? Some, I suppose, but probably far fewer than have fantasies about a man with a harem of women. Fairness has nothing to do with it. It's all about what actually turns people on.

I have two "harem" story projects in the early stages, and I think they both meet the OP's definition. One is about an ordinary suburban dad who, at his wife's encouragement, acquires a harem of sorts of women in the neighborhood who are dissatisfied with their husbands.

The other is about a woman who is "enslaved" by the sultan of an island country to be part of his harem, and her adventures that follow.

I do not mind differences regarding what turns people on, I just think Literotica itself should be consistent with the definition for tags.

When you are done with your first harem story, about the ordinary suburban dad, let me know because I will read it. Because you are right, it meets the definition of a harem.

Again, I am not saying women cannot have a harem, just label it a reverse harem, the same as a reverse gangbang. Why would that the so hard?

 

[Bamagan]

I do not mind differences regarding what turns people on, I just think Literotica itself should be consistent with the definition for tags.

When you are done with your first harem story, about the ordinary suburban dad, let me know because I will read it. Because you are right, it meets the definition of a harem.

Again, I am not saying women cannot have a harem, just label it a reverse harem, the same as a reverse gangbang. Why would that the so hard?

Literotica has minimal control over the tags people use. They prohibit a few based on things not allowed here (like bestiality), but otherwise, it's a free-for-all in terms of terminology.

There is also an incentive for authors tagging their stories to use shorter, less specific ones in order to be found in more tag searches.

 

[MrPixel]

I just think Literotica itself should be consistent with the definition for tags.

You are asking for structure which is not there, nor should it be.

 

[allenknott3]

Literotica has minimal control over the tags people use. They prohibit a few based on things not allowed here (like bestiality), but otherwise, it's a free-for-all in terms of terminology.

There is also an incentive for authors tagging their stories to use shorter, less specific ones in order to be found in more tag searches.

I get that but I strongly disagree with that. Just like I disagree with Literotica policies over some things that they prohibit. It also means, for me anyway I have read stories that if correctly tagged, I would not have, which results in me not reading authors' stories because I am always worried I might read something I dislike.