Where are the happy, chill lesbians?

[joy_of_cooking]

Sorry for the provocative title.

I've been reading some LS stories recently, including works by AH regulars like @onehitwanda @THBGato @Areala-chan and noticing this pattern where... They're all sad. Like, really, all of them, as far as I can tell. The characters have these tragic back stories. They're all fresh out of bad break ups, or they cut themselves, or they're super lonely. Something. And then they have these incredibly dramatic interactions where they fall madly in love but somehow it all goes terribly wrong for essentially stupid reasons like they've convinced themselves they're unlovable or they refuse to talk to people or something.

I'm obviously exaggerating. @Jackie.Hikaru has https://www.literotica.com/s/mistress-beatrix @genzsub has a bunch of stories like https://www.literotica.com/s/how-i-became-a-lesbian-sex-slave (amazing title, by the way).

But it feels like LS really likes sad angsty women crying about their extremely dramatic internal or interpersonal conflicts.

Do I just have a bad sample?

 

[WCSGarland]

Sounds like there is a niche ripe for exploration... happy, chill, lesbians

 

[AwkwardlySet]

I suspect you aren't the target audience for such stories.
Yes, LS has a good deal of such stories, and those are the stories that do best ratings/views/comments-wise. They are the mom-son stories of the LS category.

Edit: Judging by your portfolio, you might enjoy some of my stories @joy_of_cooking

 

[Jackie.Hikaru]

You forgot to mention my story, Puanani’s Popsicles
in which a lesbian is quite literally chilled.

But it feels like LS really likes sad angsty women crying about their extremely dramatic internal or interpersonal conflicts.

As long as we’re generalizing here… it might be helpful to reframe your sweeping characterization (caricaturization) of the stories to instead thinking about it in terms of raw and unmitigated emotional honesty written in the context of self discovery clashing with internalized societal norms. Then might it follow that queer readers are deeply connecting with these stories?

 

[Areala-chan]

Broken writers write broken characters.

"Write what you know."

And knowing is half the battle.

 

[Bamagan]

Broken writers write broken characters.

"Write what you know."

And knowing is half the battle.

I was surprised to learn that only 10% of the battle (on average) is actual fighting. The other 40% is taunting and/or posturing.

 

[StillStunned]

I suspect that the happy lesbians have better things to do than write.

 

[stickygirl]

What an odd remark to make. Given that their portfolios are ablaze with red H's, I think it says more about you than them.

 

[onehitwanda]

Life is pain, and Art mirrors life. Joy is fleeting, but sorrow lingers for a season.

People appreciate happiness, and sometimes find pleasure in the happiness of others, but it's hard to write happy without it being saccharine. Happiness is the payoff - the potential happy-ever-after or the more likely happy-for-a-while is only worth something if it has been earned.

Finally, I'm a broken writer, © @Areala-chan. I write sad, overwrought stuff because it's what I need to write. Any happy that I wrote would come out reading like the bipolar scrawlings of a lunatic, and I'm not there yet.

 

[EmilyMiller]

What a strange observation to make. I think a lot of LS stories are more reflective of real life, and maybe more literary, than other categories. That’s a good thing, IMO.

 

[StillStunned]

Now I'm curious. If the "broken writers" argument is true - and I'm in no position to judge whether it is or it isn't* - do the Gay Male and Transgender categories show the same pattern?

* I don't think of myself as broken, but my recent Lesbian story "Tammy, Jessica, Yuliya" did draw on some personal issues of mine.

 

[joy_of_cooking]

What an odd remark to make. Given that their portfolios are ablaze with red H's, I think it says more about you than them.

Well hold on. I didn't claim these stories were bad or poorly received. Quite the opposite:

it feels like LS really likes

Maybe this is the problem?

it might be helpful to reframe your sweeping characterization (caricaturization) of the stories to instead thinking about it in terms of raw and unmitigated emotional honesty written in the context of self discovery clashing with internalized societal norms.

Yes, that is a much better phrasing. I'm sorry. I was being very glib. I write strokers so I'm used to talking pretty casually about my writing. I shouldn't have assumed it was okay to do that with other people's writing.

If the "broken writers" argument is true - and I'm in no position to judge whether it is or it isn't* - do the Gay Male and Transgender categories show the same pattern?

For that matter, bdsm and fetish involve no small amount of "self discovery clashing with internalized societal norms" but those categoryies do not have the same motif.

Nor is I/R awash with stories about the difficulties of reconciling incompatible or at least unfamiliar cultural practices, to put it mildly.

I think there's opportunity to write sad, serious stories in any category. It's just striking that even in my brief time reading LS I've found so many more authors there taking advantage of that opportunity compared to other categories.

 

[joy_of_cooking]

Oh, here's an interesting data point: I/T is all about people realizing desires society discourages. Does I/T have a lot of sad moms and sons?

 

[WaxPhilosophic]

Lesbian space pirates who are pretty chill and sometimes rather hilarious: https://www.literotica.com/series/se/265295552

 

[genzsub]

Being queer in the US right now is not exactly rainbows and sunshine. And lesbian dating, especially if you are not publicly out, can be depressing. I try to write what I want to read, which is usually a happy ending (stop snickering! ).

 

[EmilyMiller]

For that matter, bdsm and fetish involve no small amount of "self discovery clashing with internalized societal norms" but those categoryies do not have the same motif.

I hope I’ve written thoughtful BDSM exploring feelings and motivations. But a lot of the genre is wish fulfilment written by people with no IRL experience. LS is not like that.

Nor is I/R awash with stories about the difficulties of reconciling incompatible or at least unfamiliar cultural practices, to put it mildly.

Again, I/R is mostly racist coded BBC stories.

I think there's opportunity to write sad, serious stories in any category. It's just striking that even in my brief time reading LS I've found so many more authors there taking advantage of that opportunity compared to other categories.

I’ve written broken people in E/V. I’ve written people with insecurities and real life issues in Anal, Group, and Fetish. And yeah in LS too.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Oh, here's an interesting data point: I/T is all about people realizing desires society discourages. Does I/T have a lot of sad moms and sons?

You need to stop with these bizarre comparisons. Comparing the experience of LGBTQ+ people to incest is frankly deeply offensive. Drop it!

 

[Omenainen]

I've seen my fair share of stories with "happy, chill lesbians". They've been written by men and read like a boy playing with barbie dolls: "Now this redhead one goes down on this brunette, and oh, what should the blonde with the big tits do meanwhile? I know! She can touch her boobs because it's just so hawt when she does that! Pussy! Pussy! Boobs! More boobs! All the boooobz!". It's all pretty surface and male gaze pleasing fluff that reads like narrating a porn flick. That's maybe the other half of the category, they just don't make the top lists. There's readership for those too.

Answering more seriously, I think utilizing trauma is a way to foster emotional intensity and intimacy. The other category ripe for that stuff is Romance. I've done that myself, unashamedly wielding dead children and cancer, among other things. So my bet is that it's so popular in Lesbian because women often value emotional intimacy, and some of the lesbian readers are, in fact, women.

Disclaimer: I haven't read any of the stories or not really the authors of the original post and I'm exaggerating on purpose. Also I'm aware by how cis-centric this post is but can't be arsed to do anything about it.

 

[Cagivagurl]

Sorry for the provocative title.

I've been reading some LS stories recently, including works by AH regulars like @onehitwanda @THBGato @Areala-chan and noticing this pattern where... They're all sad. Like, really, all of them, as far as I can tell. The characters have these tragic back stories. They're all fresh out of bad break ups, or they cut themselves, or they're super lonely. Something. And then they have these incredibly dramatic interactions where they fall madly in love but somehow it all goes terribly wrong for essentially stupid reasons like they've convinced themselves they're unlovable or they refuse to talk to people or something.

I'm obviously exaggerating. @Jackie.Hikaru has https://www.literotica.com/s/mistress-beatrix @genzsub has a bunch of stories like https://www.literotica.com/s/how-i-became-a-lesbian-sex-slave (amazing title, by the way).

But it feels like LS really likes sad angsty women crying about their extremely dramatic internal or interpersonal conflicts.

Do I just have a bad sample?

Not your fault you don't understand....
If the question is, why do the readers of LS enjoy incredibly beautifully crafted stories. The answer is of course. They enjoy literature.
Stories filled with real characters, displaying real emotions... Stories that convey the difficulties of being a gay woman in a mans world...
Happy lesbians are everywhere. They simply enjoy reading beautifully written stories....

Reading those stories gives them joy, so yeah. There's lot's of joyous lesbians....

Of course that is only my opinion...

Cagivagurl

 

[StillStunned]

I've seen my fair share of stories with "happy, chill lesbians". They've been written by men and read like a boy playing with barbie dolls: "Now this redhead one goes down on this brunette, and oh, what should the blonde with the big tits do meanwhile? I know! She can touch her boobs because it's just so hawt when she does that! Pussy! Pussy! Boobs! More boobs! All the boooobz!". It's all pretty surface and male gaze pleasing fluff that reads like narrating a porn flick.

But in my defence, I submitted it in Erotic Couplings and Laurel decided that Lesbian would be a better fit.

 

[EmilyMiller]

There is nothing inherently wrong with writing an overtly sexy lesbian story. Women enjoy reading about sex too. But it is inherently wrong to suggest there is a problem with ALL lesbian stories not being like that.

In my three years here, I have written my most personal and emotional stories in LS. It fits both my own experience and the general vibe of the category, which is more literary, and more thoughtful. I’ve written emotional stories in other categories, but most of my more serious work is in LS.

I’ve also written LS stories which have sex to the fore. There is nothing wrong with either. But it’s unreasonable to suggest that every LS story should be happy go lucky gay girls fucking.

 

[onehitwanda]

happy go lucky gay girls fucking

 

[AwkwardMD]

We're at least a decade into the backlash against this kind of sentiment. I know JoC was joking, but it's also touching a real, exposed nerve for some of us.

EDIT: Those are less-directed-at JoC and more representative of the way that LS category represents a space where we haven't had to.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Oh, here's an interesting data point: I/T is all about people realizing desires society discourages. Does I/T have a lot of sad moms and sons?

I/T is largely a fantasy category. Very few authors there are trying to write something that depicts the emotions of a realistic incestuous relationship*. In LS, on the other hand, a lot of authors are trying to channel something real, even if the story itself is fictional.

*and thank fuck for that.

 

[stickygirl]

We wouldn't be having this discussion if only the right guy would come along and fix the broken lesbians