Storylines/Genres you hate

[pink_silk_glove]

Honestly, I did have a hard time figuring out where to put my latest story: Letters & Transcripts or Erotic Couplings*? I decided on the former because that's what it was: a journal. The only reason I thought about Erotic Couplings is the way they met, but when I checked the stories in there I felt even more confused. Glad I'm not the only one, and I've been on the site for years still wondering what the hell did Erotic Couplings mean.

*Could've gone with Lesbian, but it's hard to do that when it starts with a scene that's not lesbian at all.

My L&T story actually gets more eyeballs than my EC stories. That's how bad the EC category is.

 

[FidelityBoss]

I don't like humiliation. I also have a problem with "bully" stories, though I think I could see a way to work that into a bdsm story that could work. I don't like the Magic Cock stories anymore that I like the Magic HooHa trope in romance novels (guy is a total rake and womanizer, alpha male who really embraces the "spreading my seed around is whats best for the whole human race" ridiculousness, then sleeps with the female lead and all of a sudden never wants any other woman for the rest of his life.)

But the thing I hate the most is the cliche (again, mostly in romance, especially period romances) where the MaleHero comes across, either randomly or because he was following her, the FemaleHero in the middle of a sexual assault upon her. He saves her from this traumatic experience, and her reaction five minutes later is "fuck me as a reward for your bravery, etc." Yeah, things don't work that way in real life.. Even if you stop the assault before she is injured or penetrated, it's a majorly traumatic incident for her. She's not gonna want sex immediately after an attempted or completed rape. And the idea that she will fall neverendingly in love with you because you fucked her in that situation is worse, if anything you're guaranteeing yourself a prominent place in her PTSD nightmares.

You’re absolutely right, those tropes can be so problematic and unrealistic, especially when they trivialize trauma or reduce characters to clichés. It’s frustrating how often stories gloss over the emotional and psychological impact of such events. Writing with more sensitivity and depth would make for much better storytelling. It’s great that you’re calling this out and thinking critically about how these narratives could be handled better. Keep pushing for more authentic and respectful representation!

 

[FidelityBoss]

Erotic Couplings is a very bad euphemism for miscellaneous vanilla. 90% of the stories on lit are erotic couplings. It's the second-worst named category right after Loving Wives.

Getting cute or poetic with the category names helps no one. The entire point of categories is to help readers find stories (and help authors place their stories where readers can find them). There should be no ambiguity in what a category means.

Every few months someone comes into the forum asking 'wtf does erotic couplings mean?' This is a dead giveaway that the category is badly named. It should be called Vanilla or Miscellaneous Vanilla.

Same with Loving Wives. Every few months someone wanders in here and says 'whats with the LW category, I dont see much loving going on in there?' Dead giveaway of a badly named category. If the category is about swinging, hotwifing and cuckolds, it should be called ... wait for it ... Swinging, Hotwifing and Cuckolds. Or Sharing and Adultery, or Extramarital. Loving Wives is an absolutely horrible name for the category.

That's right clear, straightforward category names would make life so much easier for everyone! “Erotic Couplings” and “Loving Wives” are way too vague and poetic for their own good. If the goal is to help readers find what they’re looking for (and authors to target the right audience), then simplicity and clarity are key. “Vanilla” or “Miscellaneous Vanilla” and “Swinging/Adultery” would be so much more intuitive. Let’s hope the powers that be take note!

 

[pink_silk_glove]

You’re absolutely right, those tropes can be so problematic and unrealistic, especially when they trivialize trauma or reduce characters to clichés. It’s frustrating how often stories gloss over the emotional and psychological impact of such events. Writing with more sensitivity and depth would make for much better storytelling. It’s great that you’re calling this out and thinking critically about how these narratives could be handled better. Keep pushing for more authentic and respectful representation!

I think what it is is that there are certain kinks that people have that they are actually ashamed of. With these kinks it is important that everything works out happy and accepted by all involved. Basically it is important to provide the reader a world where their kink has no shame so that they can forget their own shame.

Now please take note that I personally hold no shame for anyone's kink. I'm not at all saying that I cast shade on anyone for what turns them on. I have no problem whatsoever. This is fiction and fantasy and it's all good. What I am saying is that with these certain kinks, people are often ashamed of what turns them on. They shouldn't be, but they are.

So, some examples. The obvious is incest. You will hear from those who read and write in incest often, bad ends or any type of badness tends to do poorly in that category. Non-con goes badly in incest. Infidelity is even an issue there. We don't want any bad, only a world where fucking your Mom is actually okay, we get to fuck our brother/sister/daughter/niece but we're still a good person, whew no guilt, no shame. And hey, why not? It's a fantasy. Pure fiction. Another is non-con. Many stories in non-con end with her liking it. Now there is a rule that she has to like it in some way but a lot of stories break that rule anyways. However, if she doesn't end up liking it, the score tends to dip. Why? Because we want a world where you can have a woman against her will (or a woman can be had against her will) and still be a good person, if she likes it anyways, no shame, no guilt, whew. And again, why not? It's a pure fiction fantasy. Go for it. But even if the writer wants to be indifferent to these implications in these categories (neither good nor bad) the readership wants good, so you walk that line.

In other categories, say Mature or Toys or Exhibition, the kink carries far less shame, so the ending and the plot twists matter less. A writer has more leeway to be good, bad or indifferent so long as the kink is presented well enough.

Then there are some in the middle. Certain stuff in Fetish might incite shame in the kinkster, etc.

I don't claim this to be scientific and to what degree this phenomenon exists I'm not sure, but I am quite certain that the phenomenon exists in some way and can drive scores up and down according to the good or bad ending. Again, quite category specific.

Then there is the Romance category which is its own separate beast. The readership there is all about the 100% emotional justice, so our perfect good characters deserve their happily ever after justice. Violate this rule at grave peril.

 

[FidelityBoss]

I think what it is is that there are certain kinks that people have that they are actually ashamed of. With these kinks it is important that everything works out happy and accepted by all involved. Basically it is important to provide the reader a world where their kink has no shame so that they can forget their own shame.

Now please take note that I personally hold no shame for anyone's kink. I'm not at all saying that I cast shade on anyone for what turns them on. I have no problem whatsoever. This is fiction and fantasy and it's all good. What I am saying is that with these certain kinks, people are often ashamed of what turns them on. They shouldn't be, but they are.

So, some examples. The obvious is incest. You will hear from those who read and write in incest often, bad ends or any type of badness tends to do poorly in that category. Non-con goes badly in incest. Infidelity is even an issue there. We don't want any bad, only a world where fucking your Mom is actually okay, we get to fuck our brother/sister/daughter/niece but we're still a good person, whew no guilt, no shame. And hey, why not? It's a fantasy. Pure fiction. Another is non-con. Many stories in non-con end with her liking it. Now there is a rule that she has to like it in some way but a lot of stories break that rule anyways. However, if she doesn't end up liking it, the score tends to dip. Why? Because we want a world where you can have a woman against her will (or a woman can be had against her will) and still be a good person, if she likes it anyways, no shame, no guilt, whew. And again, why not? It's a pure fiction fantasy. Go for it. But even if the writer wants to be indifferent to these implications in these categories (neither good nor bad) the readership wants good, so you walk that line.

In other categories, say Mature or Toys or Exhibition, the kink carries far less shame, so the ending and the plot twists matter less. A writer has more leeway to be good, bad or indifferent so long as the kink is presented well enough.

Then there are some in the middle. Certain stuff in Fetish might incite shame in the kinkster, etc.

I don't claim this to be scientific and to what degree this phenomenon exists I'm not sure, but I am quite certain that the phenomenon exists in some way and can drive scores up and down according to the good or bad ending. Again, quite category specific.

Then there is the Romance category which is its own separate beast. The readership there is all about the 100% emotional justice, so our perfect good characters deserve their happily ever after justice. Violate this rule at grave peril.

This is such a thoughtful analysis! You’re absolutely right, certain kinks come with a lot of emotional baggage, and readers often turn to fiction to explore those fantasies in a safe, guilt-free space. Incest and non-con are great examples; the need for a “happy” or “acceptable” ending reflects the desire to escape real-world shame or judgment. On the flip side, categories like Mature or Toys are more about the fun and less about emotional stakes, so writers have more freedom. And Romance? Yeah, that’s all about the feels and the HEA (happily ever after). It’s fascinating how different categories cater to different emotional needs. Great insight!

 

[AG31]

I can't believe I missed this thread! Maybe another example of the problem I've had with alerts and have posted in how-to.

Anyway, at a technical level I was happy to find like-minded people in @sister_jenny, @Jafo, and @KittyOfSteele, in that stories over 3 or 5 pages are not read. Like @sister_jenny, I'm an avoricious reader, but not here, where I come for erotica (and stimulating conversation). And, like KittyofSteele, I think reading on a screen might be part of the reason I limit the length of the stories I read. I never even look at a chapter series, except for special circumstances... see below.

In very special circumstances I'll copy a longer story into Word and then e-mail it to my Kindle. Then I read it like a library book, for its literary value.

As for categories: Sissification. That really turns me off. There are a bunch of categories I just don't visit, but I wouldn't say I hate them. I'm just not particularly interested.

 

[Britva415]

What kinds of storylines, tropes or genres in erotica do you hate?

Almost anything in second-person point of view.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Scat, fisting, and some other extremely unsexy things.

 

[AG31]

I woke up with a start this morning, realizing that some might take "sissification" to cover all sorts of blurring of gender lines. Au contraire. I admit to considerable bewilderment about such things, but would like to redommend @AlexBailey's story, A T-Girl and a Tomboy, as one which went some way to diffuse my bewilderment about cross dressing, for one thing.

No, to me "sissification" implies simpering. I really don't like simpering.

 

[AG31]

As for categories: Sissification. That really turns me off.

I was happy to find like-minded people in @sister_jenny, @Jafo, and @KittyOfSteele,

For some reason, @sister_jenny doesn't show up as a live thing, as do the other two. Maybe it will here.

Edit: Nope - Any idea why this is happening?

 

[jaF0]

For some reason, @sister_jenny doesn't show up as a live thing, as do the other two. Maybe it will here.

Edit: Nope - Any idea why this is happening?

You have it spelled wrong. There is no underscore ( _ ) in the ID


sister jenny, not sister_jenny

 

[AG31]

You have it spelled wrong. There is no underscore ( _ ) in the ID


sister jenny, not sister_jenny

Thank you! @sister jenny, I hope you get alerted and can work your way backwards to whatever it was I said!