Can a birds-and-bees talk be in a Lit story?

[JuanSeiszFitzHall]

Has anyone ever had to work through this? In a flashback in a story about a couple becoming empty-nesters, I have the modern-day American father completely revising the script that his own father used. Unlike probably all of the paternal line, the MMC tells his son, among other things, that masturbation and homosexuality aren’t evil.

Because a talk like this usually happens soon after puberty, can it even be included in a Lit story? It would entail detailed discussion, between an adult and a minor, of sex acts and orientation. I can try to ‘depersonalize’ it, with the son never saying what he thinks of, or wants to do about, sex. Would that be enough to move the story through the approval gauntlet?

I can say flatly that it would be ludicrous to claim that the talk happens when the son is 18. When I dragged my own son through the ordeal, he was 13. At least he got the speech I had revised from my own father’s.

 

[SimonDoom]

Unless you relay it in a very short, summary way, I think you will have a problem here. The question arises why the scene is necessary and what the role of the scene is, given Literotica's restrictions.

I think it's OK to have a story about a sexually naive person over 18 if it's done right, but I agree that's going to be a huge stretch in this case.

 

[Euphony]

We had the birds and bees talk: Yes

Anything specific to birds or bees : No

So unless the purpose is to establish a character has at least had the talk, there's not a whole lot more to be done with its inclusion.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Probably not, if you go into any kind of detail.

As quizzed above, what's the purpose of the scene? Readers want fantasy, not reality, not a life history.

 

[Djmac1031]

I've had passing references to it, where a character would say something like "my parents had The Talk with me, and taught me that things like sex and masturbation were nothing to be ashamed of."

But I avoid age references or any other details.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

As always, the ultimate - the only - judge is Laurel. I would suggest that you PM her, explain your intention and make a case for it. She's generally very reasonable. Good luck.

 

[Voboy]

"Dad had given me the Birds And Bees talk, but alas! his birds were penguins and his bees were the silly, aimless kind that just fly around and do nothing. So The Talk didn't work. Which was why, since my eighteenth birthday, I'd always had an attitude toward sex that could best be described as 'jack off whenever you like, fuck whomever you like, and it's all good.' I'm not sure what his intent was, but it certainly worked for me."

Something like that should fly. Something such as your sketch in the opening post, I would guess, will not.

 

[Djmac1031]

In my latest story, I talk about how the main female lead had nudist parents and grew up seeing them naked and being naked around them.

There is absolutely NO sexual situations mentioned or implied to happen with or around the daughter at any time.

I still made sure to mention that in the Notes for Admin to make sure they understood I wasn't trying to sneak in something. Just to be safe from misunderstandings of intent.

My story went through no problem.

As long as it doesn't look like you're trying to create some kind of sexual scenario around the child, or digging into graphic sexual details, you should be fine.

 

[jaykaythree]

Been there, done that ... one of my female leads even tells her male lead, "We got The Talk in fifth grade, and took biology in ninth, so yeah, we know how Tab A fits into Slot B."

 

[alohadave]

I still made sure to mention that in the Notes for Admin to make sure they understood I wasn't trying to sneak in something.

I did the same for one of mine. I didn't think it would be a problem, but wanted her to be aware because I mentioned that the kid was young.

 

[ronde]

I often mention those parental coming of age talks but with no detail. It's always something like, "Dad told me what to do", or "Mom told me what to expect and she said the first time would hurt", or some other general description. I'm not sure why any detailed references to those early instructions would be required to enhance a story about what two adults are doing. Even if it was a "first time" story, for me, it would be enough to say the guy did what he was taught and then go on to describe what he was doing.

 

[JuanSeiszFitzHall]

The story is still in development, so I can't claim that the facts-of-life talk is an essential element. At this stage, I kinda like it.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

I have a paragraph with FMC telling an anecdote about telling her kids the facts of life. It's near the end of a story I've just submitted. I think it'll be OK as the kids don't appear in the story at all and FMC is emphasising they don't know about her sex life.

I'll update the thread when the story is accepted/rejected.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

As always, the ultimate - the only - judge is Laurel. I would suggest that you PM her, explain your intention and make a case for it. She's generally very reasonable. Good luck.

I agree with this approach. Maybe even share the section of your story in question with her so she understands the context completely.

Please let us all know how it turns out for you.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

I have a paragraph with FMC telling an anecdote about telling her kids the facts of life. It's near the end of a story I've just submitted. I think it'll be OK as the kids don't appear in the story at all and FMC is emphasising they don't know about her sex life.

I'll update the thread when the story is accepted/rejected.

Story accepted and going live tomorrow morning (midnight, for Americans?)

 

[NotWise]

I agree with this approach. Maybe even share the section of your story in question with her so she understands the context completely.

Please let us all know how it turns out for you.

I doubt that even Laurel could give a blanket OK to the concept without seeing it written.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

I think the critical consideration is eroticism.

For instance, “My mother sat me down when I was 11 years old and explained about menstruation and penises and vaginas and sperm and my breasts growing. It was embarrassing for both of us.” That involves sexual elements but I doubt anybody, even in Lit’s darkest corner, would find that arousing. There’s sex, but no sexuality, so to say.

On the other hand, a 15-year- old boy watching his teen neighbour undressing or hearing his parents’ making love or whatever are situations with erotic elements.

Just my opinion, of course. It’s Laurel who makes the rules.

 

[Pureotica]

For the most part, I'd handle that conversation by telling, rather than showing, even in most non-erotic fiction off of Lit. Unless it is played for humor, or used to specifically demonstrate an awkward dynamic in the relationship, "the talk" itself just isn't that interesting. Most people learn the basics of sex before they have it. Not a lot of reason to bog down a story with the details. Of course, everything in creative writing is a guideline, and there are always situations when it makes sense to violate them.

Unless the story needs the specifics, just summarize the conversation and leave out any tricky details.

 

[lc69hunter]

Has anyone ever had to work through this? In a flashback in a story about a couple becoming empty-nesters, I have the modern-day American father completely revising the script that his own father used. Unlike probably all of the paternal line, the MMC tells his son, among other things, that masturbation and homosexuality aren’t evil.

Because a talk like this usually happens soon after puberty, can it even be included in a Lit story? It would entail detailed discussion, between an adult and a minor, of sex acts and orientation. I can try to ‘depersonalize’ it, with the son never saying what he thinks of, or wants to do about, sex. Would that be enough to move the story through the approval gauntlet?

I can say flatly that it would be ludicrous to claim that the talk happens when the son is 18. When I dragged my own son through the ordeal, he was 13. At least he got the speech I had revised from my own father’s.

The first story I tried to publish here was rejected multiple times over this issue. There was no underage sex involved at all. and this story had been fairly highly rated on two other sites. Good luck

 

[tenyari]

Because a talk like this usually happens soon after puberty, can it even be included in a Lit story?

I could see it fitting in my current series. But I have a very weird context that makes it work.

Many of my characters are Aliens who grew up in a VR Dream while their bodies were grown to adulthood. They awake as they're brought down to Earth, and then go about their lives. Their "childhood" was more like a TV show - all the best clips but the long drawn out stuff skipped over.

So that's a context were a 20 year old adult might get a talk about "this is what this stuff is for and what happens with it." In my own story, they've already had that info handed to them before they wake into their bodies.

But that's a context were you could do it.

You need to find a reason why an adult has no idea of these things yet.

Another example would be someone who grew up stranded - like an island castaway raised by iguanas or something.

The moment the person getting the talk isn't an adult - you're not going to be posting it on Lit.