Readers: Does knowing the sex of the writer make a difference?

[El_Lion]

Well hello erotica fans!

I've been wondering, does knowing the sex of a writer make a difference for you?

Are there automatic perceptions about a story that you instantly draw, based on the sex of the writer, or their name?

What do you feel are the core elements, to every erotic story you enjoy, that make for a fun and enticing read?

 

[oggbashan]

Almost all the authors on Literotica are not writing under their real identity.

How do you know whether the writer is male or female except from clues in the story?

I write as oggbashan (male) and (jeanne_d_artois) female. I try to make the stories different but do I succeed?

 

[Zeb_Carter]

It doesn't to me. If the story is good, what matter does it make what the sex of the writer is?

This question was asked awhile ago, well not this question, it was actually a statement by a member who said he couldn't get off to a male writer. Of course that's ridiculous, because there are any number of writers here that are male and writing under a female name.

So, what does it matter?

 

[tomlitilia]

Nope. Doesn't matter to me either. And I think authors make mistakes sometimes when they think readers are going to read their bio first. I've read stories in 1st person where it's impossible to know until halfway down the page what sex the protagonist has. And it's a bit confusing when the presumed "she" suddenly adjusts "her" cock...

 

[lovecraft68]

For me not at all, but I've seen a lot of examples of men being very specific about reading stories written by women. I think there is some homophobia involved for some guys in that they'd feel 'gay' if something a guy wrote turned them on.

Also FWIW my female pen name in the pay market outsells my male pen name 10 to 1

 

[NOIRTRASH]

It matters to me.

That said, I'm a fan of a guy who writes female characters well. But he's rare.

 

[SimonDoom]

For me not at all, but I've seen a lot of examples of men being very specific about reading stories written by women. I think there is some homophobia involved for some guys in that they'd feel 'gay' if something a guy wrote turned them on.

Also FWIW my female pen name in the pay market outsells my male pen name 10 to 1

That doesn't surprise me at all. I'm curious -- does it make any difference here?

 

[rutger5]

Sure, if it's a woman writing I like to imagine her full lips curling as she sounds out the words, her bosom heaving as she types on her computer, her thighs trembling as the images she's creating excite her. Wait what was the question again?

 

[hylas_]

I've read stories in 1st person where it's impossible to know until halfway down the page what sex the protagonist has. And it's a bit confusing when the presumed "she" suddenly adjusts "her" cock...

^ that's just plain bad writing, though. I've had the same experience a couple of times.

as for the question... no, it doesn't matter to me.

 

[ChloeTzang]

Sure, if it's a woman writing I like to imagine her full lips curling as she sounds out the words, her bosom heaving as she types on her computer, her thighs trembling as the images she's creating excite her. Wait what was the question again?

Oh? I see you've been reading my stories again. LOL.

Seriously, for me it doesn't matter so much unless its first person POV for the protagonist. I can;t read a book written by a female writer where its 1st person POV and the main character is a guy without it feeling a bit weird. And vice versa.

Also, I find male authors don't always do women characters that well and vice versa. Not always but a lot of the time. I read something and I go "nooooo waaaaaaay". But there's some writers that do the opposite sex really well.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Well hello erotica fans!

I've been wondering, does knowing the sex of a writer make a difference for you?

Depends on how I know it. If I'm reading a story and the bio tells me the author's sex/gender, that doesn't affect my experience of the story, as far as I've noticed.

But if the story gives it away - if I'm reading a story about a woman and I find myself thinking "this was obviously written by a man" - then that's a sign of bad writing.

What do you feel are the core elements, to every erotic story you enjoy, that make for a fun and enticing read?

I need to be interested in the characters and I need to care about what happens to them.

 

[Bramblethorn]

I've read stories in 1st person where it's impossible to know until halfway down the page what sex the protagonist has. And it's a bit confusing when the presumed "she" suddenly adjusts "her" cock...

I have one first-person story here where the protagonist's sex or gender is never mentioned at all. It was interesting to see how different readers responded to that.

 

[hylas_]

But if the story gives it away - if I'm reading a story about a woman and I find myself thinking "this was obviously written by a man" - then that's a sign of bad writing.

That's a really good point!

 

[hylas_]

I have one first-person story here where the protagonist's sex or gender is never mentioned at all. It was interesting to see how different readers responded to that.

Heh, I did that too, once! Wasn't really my best story, though.

 

[sr71plt]

People are different. Yes, knowing the sex of the writer makes a difference to some of them and not to others. That leads to the question of whether they can tell the difference or not. Sometimes yes, sometimes no (probably "no" more than not in the case of those who say it makes a difference). Like Bramblethorn, I published a torrid sex scene piece here and then after a bit asked on Feedback if they could tell what kind of sex it was. The responses showed that it was taken variously as M/F and M/M sex. I did try to write it as if it could be either.

On the OP question, I have female-name story accounts here and have never had anyone question the sex of the author of any of the stories. Like LC, my best-selling pen name in the marketplace is a female name--and, as a kicker--writes light lesbian mysteries.

 

[Nezhul]

Also FWIW my female pen name in the pay market outsells my male pen name 10 to 1

Interesting. I tend to write female protagonist stories or even first-person ones.

I was thinking if I should take a female pen name for that...

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Sure, if it's a woman writing I like to imagine her full lips curling as she sounds out the words, her bosom heaving as she types on her computer, her thighs trembling as the images she's creating excite her. Wait what was the question again?

So, do you sound out the words as you type?

 

[rutger5]

So, do you sound out the words as you type?

Depends, for those words that have a lot of letters I do.

 

[jehoram]

. I think there is some homophobia involved for some guys in that they'd feel 'gay' if something a guy wrote turned them on.

Athalia addressed that very issue in an essay she wrote some time back. I guess there is a certain "squick" factor there.

Also FWIW my female pen name in the pay market outsells my male pen name 10 to 1

Are the main characters in the stuff you write with the female name mostly female? I'm guessing that since most of your readers are male, they'd want to identify the author with the character.

Of all the stuff I've written for this site, only one or two (I think) used the first-person female. It might be interesting to submit two very similar stories under a female pen name and a male one, just to see if it makes a difference in the ratings.

 

[Handley_Page]

Well hello erotica fans!

I've been wondering, does knowing the sex of a writer make a difference for you? [1]

Are there automatic perceptions about a story that you instantly draw, based on the sex of the writer, or their name? [2]

What do you feel are the core elements, to every erotic story you enjoy, that make for a fun and enticing read? [3]

1: No
2: No
3: slow & seductive

 

[ChloeTzang]

So, do you sound out the words as you type?

No, but I read my stories out loud to my partner and use him as a beta reader. The reading out loud I find helps to identify where it doesn't flow well.

 

[Athalia]

Athalia addressed that very issue in an essay she wrote some time back. I guess there is a certain "squick" factor there.

Indeed I did. The link is here: https://www.literotica.com/s/i-want-to-make-love-to-you-1

On another note, we authors usually when tell when those readers who add comments or email us are male or female. Usually, they tell us. But what if some of those people are masquerading as the opposite sex? Sometimes you have to wonder.

 

[lovecraft68]

Athalia addressed that very issue in an essay she wrote some time back. I guess there is a certain "squick" factor there.



Are the main characters in the stuff you write with the female name mostly female? I'm guessing that since most of your readers are male, they'd want to identify the author with the character.

Of all the stuff I've written for this site, only one or two (I think) used the first-person female. It might be interesting to submit two very similar stories under a female pen name and a male one, just to see if it makes a difference in the ratings.

I sell a lot of incest and milf material, I used to do a lot of first person POV and generally from the Male's perspective, but on occasions the woman. The last couple o years I've been writing all in third person which is easier to hit on both characters thoughts and feelings.

IN incest I have found it to be more of a turn on to the reader to write from the POV of the person with the taboo fantasy and have it fulfilled though their POV.

 

[HandsInTheDark]

Well hello erotica fans!

I've been wondering, does knowing the sex of a writer make a difference for you?

Are there automatic perceptions about a story that you instantly draw, based on the sex of the writer, or their name?

What do you feel are the core elements, to every erotic story you enjoy, that make for a fun and enticing read?

I'm always interested in how sexuality affects females - after all, I already have a good handle on what it does to at least one male. So while I rarely read here, I'm likelier to be curious about a story if it appears to be written by a female. Too often I find them to portray males poorly - and yes, I know the same complaint exists about male writers and female characters.

My unfounded assumption is that female writers will either veer too romantic, or too nonconsenty-macho-sadistic, in their male leads. I've seen just enough examples of both to keep me believing it, but I think if I did a rigorous count the idea would fall apart. Of course, it doesn't help that you can't always tell the gender of the writer. (My usual touchstone is that if the story is spending more than a few words describing clothing, it's a female writer.)

I like reluctance, with a hard edge. Of all the stuff I've run across here, my own seems to be closest to what I like.

 

[Nezhul]

.My usual touchstone is that if the story is spending more than a few words describing clothing, it's a female writer

when I write female perspective stories I describe clothing a lot. Also the smells and other things that females do.

It's a matter of knowing how the other gender's minds tick and what they find important. If you know that - you may adjust your writing accordingly.