Advice on picking a category

[ColtonWrites]

I have a new story I want to post. As per my usual writing, it's another gay male/trans guy power exchange. However, in this particular story it doesn't end up mattering much. It's an S&M story and there's no penetrative sex. The point of the story is very much about the main character's masochism. His gender identity is mentioned exactly once, and he uses "cock" to describe his parts. (it works in context, I promise)

In my mind, it's clearly a BDSM story. But I've gotten poor ratings/feedback when I put my stories anywhere but in the Transgender category.

Thoughts?

 

[cw5523729]

I have a new story I want to post. As per my usual writing, it's another gay male/trans guy power exchange. However, in this particular story it doesn't end up mattering much. It's an S&M story and there's no penetrative sex. The point of the story is very much about the main character's masochism. His gender identity is mentioned exactly once, and he uses "cock" to describe his parts. (it works in context, I promise)

In my mind, it's clearly a BDSM story. But I've gotten poor ratings/feedback when I put my stories anywhere but in the Transgender category.

Thoughts?

Having a trans character in your story doesn't automatically mean it needs to be in Trans but my gut feeling is that if it's important enough for you to specify that the main character is trans, then it probably belongs in trans. Which is always going to be your safest choice. If you do opt for BDSM, make sure you still tag it correctly with every possibly interaction someone might bitch about.

But I don't entirely follow your description either. Is the main character gay male? You say gay male, then say trans guy but then mention "he" and "cock" so I'm not following unless we are talking about different characters.

 

[ColtonWrites]

Having a trans character in your story doesn't automatically mean it needs to be in Trans but my gut feeling is that if it's important enough for you to specify that the main character is trans, then it probably belongs in trans. Which is always going to be your safest choice. If you do opt for BDSM, make sure you still tag it correctly with every possibly interaction someone might bitch about.

But I don't entirely follow your description either. Is the main character gay male? You say gay male, then say trans guy but then mention "he" and "cock" so I'm not following unless we are talking about different characters.

The dominant is a cis man, the masochist is a trans man (so they both use he/him pronouns). Some trans men use the same words for their genitalia as cis men, and thats what I did in this story.

As far as whether its important enough to mention - well, its my fantasy. I want it in there.

 

[cw5523729]

The dominant is a cis man, the masochist is a trans man (so they both use he/him pronouns). Some trans men use the same words for their genitalia as cis men, and thats what I did in this story.

As far as whether its important enough to mention - well, its my fantasy. I want it in there.

Sorry, I'm still confused. Where does the "gay male" come in?

 

[cw5523729]

The dominant is a cis man, the masochist is a trans man (so they both use he/him pronouns). Some trans men use the same words for their genitalia as cis men, and thats what I did in this story.

As far as whether its important enough to mention - well, its my fantasy. I want it in there.

I'll stick with my original feeling that with only a cis male and trans male as the primary characters, Trans will be your safest bet. If there is NO sexual contact between these two characters then possibly BDSM with the appropriate tags as mentioned above. But if there is any sexual contact, I'd stick with trans.

 

[cw5523729]

As far as whether its important enough to mention - well, its my fantasy. I want it in there.

To be clear, I'm not judging in any way - and, frankly, couldn't care less. But it's guaranteed that at least some readers will judge and rate accordingly if they feel you're being deceptive about categorizing.

 

[ColtonWrites]

Sorry, I'm still confused. Where does the "gay male" come in?

Because a trans man with a cis man is a gay relationship. They're both MEN.

Im sorry if this is rude but if youre confused by that you dont know enough about trans people to have an opinion on stories about them.

 

[cw5523729]

Because a trans man with a cis man is a gay relationship. They're both MEN.

Im sorry if this is rude but if youre confused by that you dont know enough about trans people to have an opinion on stories about them.

I was confused because you mentioned a cis man, a gay man, and a trans man in your description of the characters which would be 3 separate people, not 2.

But sorry for trying to help. Feel free to use whichever category you like. Good luck with the story!

 

[ColtonWrites]

I was confused because you mentioned a cis man, a gay man, and a trans man in your description of the characters which would be 3 separate people, not 2.

But sorry for trying to help. Feel free to use whichever category you like. Good luck with the story!

I said it was a gay male/trans male story, then said it was a cis male dominant and a trans male masochist. 2 characters - a gay cis man and a gay trans man. I really dont see how that was in any way confusing, unless youre confused by me referring to the pair of them as gay. (Or you're conflating sexuality and gender identity...in which case, see previous statement.)

 

[Off_base]

I said it was a gay male/trans male story, then said it was a cis male dominant and a trans male masochist. 2 characters - a gay cis man and a gay trans man. I really dont see how that was in any way confusing, unless youre confused by me referring to the pair of them as gay.

Being defensive about the validity of trans and it's definitions, is different than asking for help on picking a category for the story?

Who's judging whom?

 

[ColtonWrites]

Forget it. Sorry I asked.

 

[ChloeTzang]

I have a new story I want to post. As per my usual writing, it's another gay male/trans guy power exchange. However, in this particular story it doesn't end up mattering much. It's an S&M story and there's no penetrative sex. The point of the story is very much about the main character's masochism. His gender identity is mentioned exactly once, and he uses "cock" to describe his parts. (it works in context, I promise)

In my mind, it's clearly a BDSM story. But I've gotten poor ratings/feedback when I put my stories anywhere but in the Transgender category.

Thoughts?

I think you answered your own question there. Trans trumps gay trumps cis, so Trans it is. Unless you don't sweat the ratings and comments. It's always a toughie when you have conflicting categories but that would be my take.

 

[Bamagan]

I have a new story I want to post. As per my usual writing, it's another gay male/trans guy power exchange. However, in this particular story it doesn't end up mattering much. It's an S&M story and there's no penetrative sex. The point of the story is very much about the main character's masochism. His gender identity is mentioned exactly once, and he uses "cock" to describe his parts. (it works in context, I promise)

In my mind, it's clearly a BDSM story. But I've gotten poor ratings/feedback when I put my stories anywhere but in the Transgender category.

Thoughts?

The Trans community, like other 'subcultures' before it, has developed special terminology (or co-opted existing terms to new uses) that are primarily relevant only within the community, and will be confusing or opaque to outsiders. For that matter, the BDSM community is the same way, having its own vernacular of sorts. As the exchange above indicates, people who are not closely affiliated with any (openly) trans people are not particularly likely to understand the nuances of language use they might encounter in a story with trans characters, whether or not they are hostile to the existence of said people (in literature or otherwise). While I suspect that trans people are, as a whole, about as likely to be interested in BDSM as the population at large, the BDSM community as a whole probably has no particular interest in trans people, one way or another, so a substantial portion of the readers in that category may well be baffled when reading about them.

To more specifically address your question, since the story seems to be told from the POV of the trans character, it probably makes more sense to categorize it as a Transgender story with tags to indicate BDSM content than the other way around. Readers who appreciate trans characters are more likely to be reading in that category, after all, and they will probably be your principal audience regardless of where the story is posted. Making it easier for them to find it is likely to be your best bet for reaching them. The 'conventional wisdom' may change someday, but for right now I believe trans content is still more 'niche' than BDSM, and should usually take precedence over it for categorization purposes on this site.

(As a side note, your reactionary hostility to the other poster's expression of confusion is not particularly helpful in broadening awareness of or 'mainstreaming' trans characters, even if it is understandable for you to feel that way.)

 

[ElectricBlue]

In my mind, it's clearly a BDSM story. But I've gotten poor ratings/feedback when I put my stories anywhere but in the Transgender category.

Thoughts?

Are you chasing integrity (if you think the story is predominantly about BDSM, there's your answer) or about reception? In which case I'd go with the others and suggest Trans as the better category.

You need to consider how readers will react to the category placement - they're the boss here; your views as an author are secondary.

 

[YmaOHyd]

I have a new story I want to post. As per my usual writing, it's another gay male/trans guy power exchange. However, in this particular story it doesn't end up mattering much. It's an S&M story and there's no penetrative sex. The point of the story is very much about the main character's masochism. His gender identity is mentioned exactly once, and he uses "cock" to describe his parts. (it works in context, I promise)

In my mind, it's clearly a BDSM story. But I've gotten poor ratings/feedback when I put my stories anywhere but in the Transgender category.

Thoughts?

In this situation I would put it in BDSM, and I would make it extremely clear that this is a story about gay male and trans characters. Some people suggest doing that with tags; I don't think tags are valuable for this purpose. I would have a really really clear author's note at the start of the story informing people of the orientation of the characters, and inviting them to move on to a different story if a gay/trans-male masochism story isn't what they're looking for.

 

[Rambling_Chantrix]

From a trans liberatory pov I'd ask you to post your BDSM story in the BDSM category. Lit categories are fucked, though, and other posters may be right that you could be punished by your readership for so much as ~daring~ to treat trans people like any other person. Good luck out there!

 

[Bramblethorn]

For minimal friction, Trans. If you feel that the BDSM aspect is more important to the story and you're willing to deal with some homophobic/transphobic/just confused commenters and downvotes, BDSM. I don't read GM often so I'm not sure how they'd react to a trans guy; you could search for trans and/or BDSM content there and see whether you like the vibe.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

You'll get more readers in BDSM, but even with a note at the start stating the sexuality/gender of the characters, you may get rude comments. But also get more comments than in Trans.

You may get more views in GM even - they seem fine with BDSM and chilled about genitalia as long as someone has a cock, but they just about never respond or comment.

Take your pick.

 

[TheLobster]

Because a trans man with a cis man is a gay relationship. They're both MEN.

Im sorry if this is rude but if youre confused by that you dont know enough about trans people to have an opinion on stories about them.

Funny you would call @cw5523729 confused, when you seem quite perplexed about what it means to be a gay male.

By your measure, based just on the kind of relationship a person is in, every closeted gay person in decades past who married an opposite-sex person — in order to avoid legal discrimination or other societal pressure — was actually a straight person because they were in a straight relationship.

It sounds like nonsense, because that’s exactly what it is. And yet, this is your explanation for your gay male character; which suggest you probably don’t know enough about gay people to have an opinion on stories about them; or indeed, to write those stories.

 

[Rambling_Chantrix]

Funny you would call @cw5523729 confused, when you seem quite perplexed about what it means to be a gay male.

By your measure, based just on the kind of relationship a person is in, every closeted gay person in decades past who married an opposite-sex person — in order to avoid legal discrimination or other societal pressure — was actually a straight person because they were in a straight relationship.

It sounds like nonsense, because that’s exactly what it is. And yet, this is your explanation for your gay male character; which suggest you probably don’t know enough about gay people to have an opinion on stories about them; or indeed, to write those stories.

People can be in all kinds of relationships for all kinds of reasons. Two men being in a BDSM and/or sexual relationship doesn't make them gay, but presumably Colton's assumption here is based on his knowledge that his characters are queer and are in this relationship in part because of their orientation rather than in spite of their orientation.

Jumping to "you don't understand gay people and shouldn't write gay characters" feels extreme to me?

 

[SimonDoom]

I'll echo what most others have said here, but I'll put it in crasser terms. My view is, my story (the text) is my art and the rest is marketing. That includes categories. I'll generally put a story in the category where I think it will get the best reception (usually, for me, that means the most views, but not always), not where I think it conceptually fits best.