Casual observations...

[PaxNurgle]

Here are a few observations I've noticed from being on this site.
These are only observations, I don't want to come across as judging or complaining so forgive me if it seems that way. This is only what I have seen- I'm looking more for yoru thoughts rather than "I agree/disagree."

1) The ratio of people who are into BDSM and kink is far outpaced by those who are not- this isn't surprising.

2) of those who ARE into BDSM, there are far more who are into male dominants and female submissives than the other way around. A FemDomme- related story is far more likely to receive comments such as "That Psycho B**ch!!" than "That's Hot!" - even among BDSM fans. Female domination is certainly a very strong and passionate niche however.

3) Some readers are very picky about what is acceptable to them, even on an erotic site- and very quick to harshly criticize stories that deal with themes that not what they are into. It is widely known, for instance, that readers of "Loving Wives" are very strict about what is acceptable to write in that category and what is not acceptable.

4) This is one I am struggling with- it seems that many of the members on this site harbor extremist far-right views, and are often militantly racist. I am not sure why that is. You don't see it in this sub-forum as much, but in the general board and the politics board, it often looks like you are viewing the Stormfront.org website or a KKK (or other hate group) site. Because I don't personally share those type of views it does make me a bit uncomfortable, but I am really trying not to judge. Could this be that erotica brings out a lot of passionate people, and people with strong passions tend toward extremism in their political views? I am not sure actually, but I have found this interesting, and admittedly it is a bit of a turn off. I expected people who are open about sexuality to be a little bit more, well, liberal I guess. Not the case obviously.

 

[anniebaby10]

The first three I agree with... number 4 seems way off. Do not think that at all nor read that in the stories I enjoy. The posts seem to go both ways on the general topics but that is going to happen no matter where you are. This country is very divided and so maybe here, we can just learn that we are all people and we enjoy sex, love and companionship no matter what political affiliation ( or lack of caring anymore about either party) you are prone to favor. So that is what I have taken from reading the posts and from PM people. Maybe I have not visited or read what you are talking about but most people on here seem to be pretty free and accepting.

 

[TheWhiteBull]

Echoing the skepticism about number 4.

I tried to engage in political conversation for a while in that subforum and the General Board. I have pretty centrist views, right on some things and left on others. My experience (which is of course anecdotal) was that any time I showed any sympathy for a more conservative or libertarian view I would get labeled as “extreme right”.

 

[PlNKbits]

I want to tentatively agree with everything you have said so far but I haven't seen much of the sexual criticism or the racial but I'm sure that's to come I've spent some time observing from the shadows and it does seem to be the people with different opinions to the orginal poster are usually the first to shame and be shot down in the same breath by everyone else.
This is good to me it shows we are all just people and should never target or insult someone for how they look or what they believe in religious,political or sexual beliefs.

 

[PaxNurgle]

I just see a lot of anti-Jewish, anti-black, etc. racial slurs being tossed around, and a lot of "non-whites/immigrants go back to your country!" type of sentiments being bandied about on the general board. There are at least a half dozen different regular posters on there that I can name right off the bat, that regularly spew that kind of stuff. I get it that people have different opinions, but the racist and anti-semitic stuff really gets to me.

 

[Bramblethorn]

1) The ratio of people who are into BDSM and kink is far outpaced by those who are not- this isn't surprising.

2) of those who ARE into BDSM, there are far more who are into male dominants and female submissives than the other way around. A FemDomme- related story is far more likely to receive comments such as "That Psycho B**ch!!" than "That's Hot!" - even among BDSM fans. Female domination is certainly a very strong and passionate niche however.

I suspect this is not so much about fdom as it is about msub. A story with a woman dominating another woman isn't likely to draw that sort of hostiity, but anything that seems to undermine a guy's masculinity has a good chance of drawing a hostile reaction. (See also: M-M sex, cuckoldry, etc. etc.)

4) This is one I am struggling with- it seems that many of the members on this site harbor extremist far-right views, and are often militantly racist. I am not sure why that is. You don't see it in this sub-forum as much, but in the general board and the politics board, it often looks like you are viewing the Stormfront.org website or a KKK (or other hate group) site.

"Many" is subjective, but I agree that there's enough of a toxic far-right contingent on the GB and Politics boards that I've written them off as a cesspit. Probably not quite as bad as Stormfront but that's the lowest of low bars.

Because I don't personally share those type of views it does make me a bit uncomfortable, but I am really trying not to judge.

Counterpoint: judge away, judge the fuck out of those people. Part of the reason politics is so toxic these days is that far too many people somehow absorbed the idea that the most important thing is to keep the peace, and so that calling out racism is worse than being racist. There's no "let's all just get along" with people whose philosophy of life points to ethnic cleansing.

I am not sure actually, but I have found this interesting, and admittedly it is a bit of a turn off. I expected people who are open about sexuality to be a little bit more, well, liberal I guess. Not the case obviously.

Places like this tend to attract both left-wing folk who reject religious/conservative dogma on sexuality, and libertarian-type folk whose main focus is rejection of government control. Those groups tend to have similar views on sexual freedom and a few other issues, but can be very different on other issues.

Literotica is pretty old as websites go, and it hasn't changed much since it was founded. I strongly suspect that its readership averages a fair bit older than other similar sites, and that will also affect the political leanings you find here.

 

[BigTopBedlam]

Anybody to the right of Mao gets labelled 'far right' or 'alt right' and the left has thrown the word 'racist' around so much that it's kind of lost it's meaning. If absolutely everything is racist then nothing is. I'd also argue that the identitarian (racial) cadre on the left is clearly substantially larger than the identitarian cadre on the right.

I think the reason the GB can come off as especially 'racist' or right wing is that this is a site dedicated to what you can't say or do in polite society. What you can say or do in polite society is a shrinking island at the moment, don't be surprised that we fall back on saying what we really think anonymously.

 

[AlwaysFara]

I stay out of the GB. I bleed blue, and I don’t want to mix my politics with sex.

 

[whenagain]

I stay out of the GB. I bleed blue, and I don’t want to mix my politics with sex.

This!!

 

[AlwaysFara]

I just see a lot of anti-Jewish, anti-black, etc. racial slurs being tossed around, and a lot of "non-whites/immigrants go back to your country!" type of sentiments being bandied about on the general board. There are at least a half dozen different regular posters on there that I can name right off the bat, that regularly spew that kind of stuff. I get it that people have different opinions, but the racist and anti-semitic stuff really gets to me.

I’m sorry. I hope you stay out of there. It’s super easy to avoid.

 

[Shankara20]

I stay out of the GB. I bleed blue, and I don’t want to mix my politics with sex.

I agree.

I have tried to keep my political POV away from here - this is my safe place. I have also stayed away from politics on Facebook as I have dear people I have worked with in the past that have strong political views that clash with mine. In that forum I don't want to loose a respected friend over politics. On Twitter I am aggressive about my bleeding blue POV and rant with no filters. My yard, come voting time, is littered with "vote for" signs, neighbors be damned. I have been know to spend time making phone calls for candidates I support.

And I seldom leave the BDSM/Cafe forums anymore - GB is not for me.

I like my kink free of real-world politics...

 

[QuasiSemiDemiEsqueIsh]

I suspect this is not so much about fdom as it is about msub. A story with a woman dominating another woman isn't likely to draw that sort of hostiity, but anything that seems to undermine a guy's masculinity has a good chance of drawing a hostile reaction. (See also: M-M sex, cuckoldry, etc. etc.)



"Many" is subjective, but I agree that there's enough of a toxic far-right contingent on the GB and Politics boards that I've written them off as a cesspit. Probably not quite as bad as Stormfront but that's the lowest of low bars.



Counterpoint: judge away, judge the fuck out of those people. Part of the reason politics is so toxic these days is that far too many people somehow absorbed the idea that the most important thing is to keep the peace, and so that calling out racism is worse than being racist. There's no "let's all just get along" with people whose philosophy of life points to ethnic cleansing.



Places like this tend to attract both left-wing folk who reject religious/conservative dogma on sexuality, and libertarian-type folk whose main focus is rejection of government control. Those groups tend to have similar views on sexual freedom and a few other issues, but can be very different on other issues.

Literotica is pretty old as websites go, and it hasn't changed much since it was founded. I strongly suspect that its readership averages a fair bit older than other similar sites, and that will also affect the political leanings you find here.

I really can’t say it better than this. I agree with everything Bramblethorn wrote. That’s becoming something of a pattern, I’ve noticed.

I read posts in the GB a few times. I don’t think I ever posted there. I didn’t want to draw the attention of the alt-right bigots, and I didn’t want to expose myself to potential PTSD triggers. So I decided very quickly to actively avoid it.

It’s just not a healthy place for me to go.

 

[twister947]

I don't go there; I'm better than that.

 

[PaxNurgle]

I really respect and agree with Branblethorn's analysis- there are some really good insights there.

I agree with the libertarian attitude mostly, as far as personal choices- a lot of people on both sides of the political spectrum lean toward libertarian views in personal life (although not necessarily with regard to large corporations or big-moneyed interests.) I just don't like all the racism and hatemongering that I have been seeing.

And I agree with the insights as to malesubs/femdom, or male submissiveness in general. I have struggled personally with that issue in my own life, both with my own feelings and with other people's acceptance thereof, and I have admittedly ended up in some toxic destructive relationships because of it. (I don't wanna talk about that right now though.)

I've pretty much given up on the general board, I guess. I know a lot of forums wont tolerate that kind of hate speech and would ban posters for that kind of stuff, so in a way I kind of get why it's tolerated here- it's a safe space, freedom of speech and all- but it's still not a place I would feel comfortable engaging in any discussion. I feel like fit in much better with this particular sub-forum (and thanks to all you guys...group hug!)

 

[Jada59]

The first three I agree with... number 4 seems way off. Do not think that at all nor read that in the stories I enjoy. The posts seem to go both ways on the general topics but that is going to happen no matter where you are. This country is very divided and so maybe here, we can just learn that we are all people and we enjoy sex, love and companionship no matter what political affiliation ( or lack of caring anymore about either party) you are prone to favor. So that is what I have taken from reading the posts and from PM people. Maybe I have not visited or read what you are talking about but most people on here seem to be pretty free and accepting.

I agree with you.

 

[Mei5ter]

I don’t quite understand why anyone would join an erotic forum to talk about politics. It’s a bit like gong to church to find out why your car has broken down.

 

[BigTopBedlam]

I agree politics has no place in the bedroom. It was the feminists who made the personal political.

Meaning no matter what you DO you will be judged on what you ARE, something you can't hope to change. That kind of 'original sin' belief used to be the preserve of the religious right before the left started drinking the authoritarian kool-aid.

I'm sure most of the political posters didn't join expressly to post about politics, I know I didn't, but at this point literally any space for actual free speech is pretty beguiling. It's telling that such a space rankles the hermetically-sealed, fundamentalist left.

(I also enjoy the clear division between the cafe/talk and the GB, I really hope these kinds of threads remain a rarity here. )

 

[base10]

I agree politics has no place in the bedroom. It was the feminists who made the personal political.

Meaning no matter what you DO you will be judged on what you ARE, something you can't hope to change. That kind of 'original sin' belief used to be the preserve of the religious right before the left started drinking the authoritarian kool-aid.

I'm sure most of the political posters didn't join expressly to post about politics, I know I didn't, but at this point literally any space for actual free speech is pretty beguiling. It's telling that such a space rankles the hermetically-sealed, fundamentalist left.

(I enjoy the clear division between the cafe/talk and the GB, I really hope these kinds of threads remain a rarity here. )

Do you express these same views, in the same language when you're not anonymous?

 

[BigTopBedlam]

Do you express these same views, in the same language when you're not anonymous?

Hell no. Give someone a cloak of invisibility and you find out who they really are. I'm sure that must be quoting somebody.

The reason I spout my crap here is because I can't IRL without at best losing a friend, at worst getting arrested. (I live in the UK, so no 1st amendment to protect me.)

I think non-progressives need to develop a special handshake or a masonic ring or something, failing that I just try to stay away from bringing up politics.

 

[TANSTAAFL58]

I didn't want to jump in here. I dislike internet politics. I would gladly discuss policy and political positions. However, actual discussions are rare.

Why?

Both sides of the political spectrum are guilty of NOT wanting to discuss things, because to intellectually dissect the other guy's position you have to be willing to (a) LISTEN to it and (b) with few exceptions (on the far ends in both political directions), acknowledge that he / she may have a point (c) do all this without using words like "Nazi" "Social Justice Warrior" "Alt-Right" and my fav (not) "Libtard".

Any political discussion will degrade to screeching in about two posts.

If we can't discuss this intelligently, we are doomed. Par of the problem is that political parties have taken more extreme positions. No party will admit that most people DON'T share all their policies.

A Canadian politician, Kim Campbell once said something to the effect that "An election is not the time to discuss policy". She was, sadly right. We have one coming in October up here. The ads attacking the party Leaders rather than looking at where they stand have been going on for a couple of months.

Can we just get back to the boobies?

PS: Interesting side bar. In Canada, the political colours are reversed. The Conservative party has always been represented by "Blue". Where I live, Ontario was once referred to as "Tory Blue Ontario" when it was governed for 40+ years by the "Big Blue Machine" (The Conservative Party). The Liberals have always chosen red for their signs, tour bus, etc., One former Leader of the Liberals was hardly ever seen in a tie that was any colour but red.

 

[Bramblethorn]

I didn't want to jump in here. I dislike internet politics. I would gladly discuss policy and political positions. However, actual discussions are rare.

Why?

Both sides of the political spectrum are guilty of NOT wanting to discuss things, because to intellectually dissect the other guy's position you have to be willing to (a) LISTEN to it and (b) with few exceptions (on the far ends in both political directions), acknowledge that he / she may have a point (c) do all this without using words like "Nazi" "Social Justice Warrior" "Alt-Right" and my fav (not) "Libtard".

Quoting from A.R. Moxon:

The next step is finding the reason not to give a shit.

Any reason will do.
"Any reason will do" effectively is no reason at all.

Which is why the defense can constantly shift and even contradict itself, sometimes even within the same statement.

And why evidence changes nothing.

That there is the problem with "intellectual discussion". When both participants are committed to figuring out what the truth is, it can be a fantastic tool for getting there. But when people are just using it as a post-hoc justification for whatever position they've already decided they want to take, no amount of intellectual discussion is going to shift them.

When I argue stuff, I try to make sure I have some understanding of the issues I'm talking about. I check my facts before posting them, and I only make arguments that I honestly believe to be true. All that takes time.

Meanwhile, there are people here who can write ten posts full of misinformation and outright falsehood in the time it takes me to rebut just one of those (Brandolini's bullshit asymmetry principle), because they're not trying to hold themselves to the same standard. Trying to debate those folk in the expectation of changing their mind is a mug's game.

(Not very long ago, I was in a discussion with a guy who was using the "accepting X is a slippery slope to bestiality" argument on one thread... at the same time he was posting his fave bestiality gifs in another thread. Seriously, that happened.)

So when I do argue politics with people here, it's not with any expectation that I'm going to persuade them.

PS: Interesting side bar. In Canada, the political colours are reversed. The Conservative party has always been represented by "Blue". Where I live, Ontario was once referred to as "Tory Blue Ontario" when it was governed for 40+ years by the "Big Blue Machine" (The Conservative Party). The Liberals have always chosen red for their signs, tour bus, etc., One former Leader of the Liberals was hardly ever seen in a tie that was any colour but red.

Even in US politics, the permanent association of red-Republican/blue-Democrat only goes back to the year 2000.

In Australia, our main conservative party* uses predominantly blue, and Labor uses red prominently though often with blue as well.

*confusingly, the main conservative party here is called the Liberal Party.

 

[base10]

Hell no. Give someone a cloak of invisibility and you find out who they really are. I'm sure that must be quoting somebody.

The reason I spout my crap here is because I can't IRL without at best losing a friend, at worst getting arrested. (I live in the UK, so no 1st amendment to protect me.)

I think non-progressives need to develop a special handshake or a masonic ring or something, failing that I just try to stay away from bringing up politics.

Maybe your views should be re-evaluated if you are unable to say them with your name attached.

The first amendment provides freedom from government prosecution, it does not free you from criticism or consequences for your actions.

 

[AlwaysFara]

Maybe your views should be re-evaluated if you are unable to say them with your name attached.

The first amendment provides freedom from government prosecution, it does not free you from criticism or consequences for your actions.

This.
Nothing else more needs to be said.

 

[BigTopBedlam]

Maybe your views should be re-evaluated if you are unable to say them with your name attached.

The first amendment provides freedom from government prosecution, it does not free you from criticism or consequences for your actions.

This is the crux of the problem with the Marxist left, the belief that 'there is no truth, only power'.

If I say the wrong thing in my country I GET ARRESTED. It's a difficult thing for an american to understand given you only appreciate what you have when you don't have it anymore.

 

[base10]

This is the crux of the problem with the Marxist left, the belief that 'there is no truth, only power'.

If I say the wrong thing in my country I GET ARRESTED. It's a difficult thing for an american to understand given you only appreciate what you have when you don't have it anymore.

What about my statement was Marxist?