Category question

[djrip]

So if a MMC wakes up magically transformed into a FMC, and proceeds to become the lesbian he always dreamed of being, Lesbian Sex? Transgender and Crossdressers? Problem with LS is he's a male, mentally. Problem with TC is he didn't transition or want to transition, or live with any of the stigma or experience of being transgender; it's a sudden magic transformation. SFF? Problem there is the transformation is the only fantastic element, it's not a SF or Fantasy setting. Other issue is I may never get it written, but if I do get going it helps to know what category I'm aiming for.

 

[alohadave]

So if a MMC wakes up magically transformed into a FMC, and proceeds to become the lesbian he always dreamed of being, Lesbian Sex? Transgender and Crossdressers? Problem with LS is he's a male, mentally. Problem with TC is he didn't transition or want to transition, or live with any of the stigma or experience of being transgender; it's a sudden magic transformation. SFF? Problem there is the transformation is the only fantastic element, it's not a SF or Fantasy setting. Other issue is I may never get it written, but if I do get going it helps to know what category I'm aiming for.

I'd go with TC. The desire to transition isn't necessarily a requirement, though it's a common element. Forced conversion/feminizing stories are fairly common. And stigma doesn't need to be part of it. Plenty of magic conversions are in TC.

Presumably, there will be an exploration of what his life is like as a woman, and that is pretty common in TC.

 

[NotWise]

For some reason, your question made me think of Kafka's Metamorphosis. We don't have an Existential category, so maybe SF/F. On the other hand, male readers of the Lesbian category might like it.

But, if it were to follow Kafka's lead, then everything that was already miserable in the main character's life would get worse until nothing could imaginably be worse, and then the story would end.

 

[MelissaBaby]

I do not think a "man in a lesbian's body" story would go over very well with the lesbian audience, unless it was clearly a parody.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

You will avoid all the trouble by choosing Fetish. It's the goto category in situations like yours.

 

[EmilyMiller]

FWIW - my “I woke up as a Futanari” fantasy ended up in Fetish. Not sure it was the right home, but it wasn’t meant to be anything to do with the real transsexual experience and I didn’t want to offend. Sounds like there are some parallels. I don’t think yours is really Lesbian either.

I’d say either Fetish or Sci-Fi/Fantasy.

Em

 

[djrip]

Didn't think of fetish... Anything can go in there, right? Good option!

 

[yibala]

So if a MMC wakes up magically transformed into a FMC, and proceeds to become the lesbian he always dreamed of being, Lesbian Sex?

I could see a couple of ways of approaching this, though maybe they're the same approach. One is, who do you envision reading this story? Melissa pointed out that audiences in the Lesbian Sex category might not like a "man in a lesbian's body" story. You say he identifies internally as a man, but he always dreamed of being a lesbian. (I see some contradiction there.) I don't know that category or it's audience, but it's something to think about. If you envision the story as appealing most to men who want to fantasize about being in a woman's body and having sex with women, then maybe Lesbian Sex isn't the best category. If you're writing about a man who is suddenly gets to be the lesbian he always wanted to be and undergoes some sort of character growth because it's different or more challenging than he ever dreamed, then maybe Lesbian Sex or Transgender is the right category.

Another approach is to figure out what the emphasis of your story is. That may be hard without having written it. I just submitted a story about a man who falls in love with a woman and then undergoes a magical transition to becoming a woman, in part because of his relationship with her. The story has lots of anal, a (reverse) gangbang, a D/s relationship between two characters who change gender, and a fantasy setting. But at its heart, the story is a romance about the relationship between the two of them. So that's the category I went for. What is your story really about? That might tell you what category is right.

Most of my stories are in SF/F. I agree with you that yours doesn't belong there if you're not really interested in how the magic worked and just exploring the result.

-Yib

My stories

 

[djrip]

I could see a couple of ways of approaching this, though maybe they're the same approach. One is, who do you envision reading this story? Melissa pointed out that audiences in the Lesbian Sex category might not like a "man in a lesbian's body" story. You say he identifies internally as a man, but he always dreamed of being a lesbian. (I see some contradiction there.) I don't know that category or it's audience, but it's something to think about. If you envision the story as appealing most to men who want to fantasize about being in a woman's body and having sex with women, then maybe Lesbian Sex isn't the best category. If you're writing about a man who is suddenly gets to be the lesbian he always wanted to be and undergoes some sort of character growth because it's different or more challenging than he ever dreamed, then maybe Lesbian Sex or Transgender is the right category.

Another approach is to figure out what the emphasis of your story is. That may be hard without having written it. I just submitted a story about a man who falls in love with a woman and then undergoes a magical transition to becoming a woman, in part because of his relationship with her. The story has lots of anal, a (reverse) gangbang, a D/s relationship between two characters who change gender, and a fantasy setting. But at its heart, the story is a romance about the relationship between the two of them. So that's the category I went for. What is your story really about? That might tell you what category is right.

Most of my stories are in SF/F. I agree with you that yours doesn't belong there if you're not really interested in how the magic worked and just exploring the result.

-Yib

My stories

Great answer and it sounds like I should take a look at your work! Sounds pretty relevant to my question.

Yes my idea is very vague so far, haven't really fleshed it out yet. Probably jumped the gun with this category question, but on the other hand it might influence what direction I take the story. Like if I'm not going for the LS category he might end up experimenting with sex with guys in his new body as well, not sure yet. The genesis was just me thinking back to being a teenager and remembering wishing I could gender swap just for a while, to try things out from the other side, see what it was like. Bit of a Tiresias scenario. Whether it ends up being just for a while in the story, I don't know yet.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

This has the potential to be a very, very good tale in Humour & Satire, if you wanted to head in that direction. Misunderstandings, uncertainties, lessons unlearned - wow! One could work just on their first attempt with makeup or make it far deeper.

 

[gunhilltrain]

So if a MMC wakes up magically transformed into a FMC, and proceeds to become the lesbian he always dreamed of being, Lesbian Sex? Transgender and Crossdressers? Problem with LS is he's a male, mentally. Problem with TC is he didn't transition or want to transition, or live with any of the stigma or experience of being transgender; it's a sudden magic transformation. SFF? Problem there is the transformation is the only fantastic element, it's not a SF or Fantasy setting. Other issue is I may never get it written, but if I do get going it helps to know what category I'm aiming for.

So does this guy want to be a lesbian because he thinks he can have more success that way with women, although he'd be missing part of his anatomy? Or does he truly want to be a homosexual woman? The gender-bending motivations here seem a bit hard to grasp. I suppose it could be in either erotic couplings or T&C. It's a tough call.

 

[djrip]

So does this guy want to be a lesbian because he thinks he can have more success that way with women, although he'd be missing part of his anatomy? Or does he truly want to be a homosexual woman? The gender-bending motivations here seem a bit hard to grasp. I suppose it could be in either erotic couplings or T&C. It's a tough call.

He has wanted to experience being a woman to see what it feels like to have female anatomy and to have lesbian sex as a woman. If he can't figure out how to turn back, he might get tired of it. Or, if Tiresias was right about who experiences the most pleasure, maybe he won't get tired of it after all.

 

[MillieDynamite]

I'm working on a body transference story. It's a lot of fun, but I don't have time to ponder it currently as I have so many irons in the fire, and many are ready to put the red-hot end squarely on the ass of the cows. I mean, most of the stories are near enough to be finished; I need to work on them.

But to be on the target of the thread, I'm not sure where it will belong, either.

 

[NoTalentHack]

Okay, this is an ideal place to ask the question, I think.

I have a Sci Fi series I'm working on; most of it will be published on Amazon, but there will be a few "Tales from the Kinsey" (the name of the ship) that I'm planning to put here because I don't know that they'll monetize well. One of them is about a romance with a MTF trans woman that has had top but not bottom surgery as the story begins. She will eventually get the latter, and the tech in the scenario is that kind of Star Trek magic tech where they can give her a fully functional uterus, etc. with eggs. It ends about like you'd expect, given that setup.

Given all of that, will it likely get a better reception in TC or SF/F?

 

[MillieDynamite]

Yes, I'm sure it will. To be honest, I don't know which, but the safe bet is TC.

Okay, this is an ideal place to ask the question, I think.

I have a Sci Fi series I'm working on; most of it will be published on Amazon, but there will be a few "Tales from the Kinsey" (the name of the ship) that I'm planning to put here because I don't know that they'll monetize well. One of them is about a romance with a MTF trans woman that has had top but not bottom surgery as the story begins. She will eventually get the latter, and the tech in the scenario is that kind of Star Trek magic tech where they can give her a fully functional uterus, etc. with eggs. It ends about like you'd expect, given that setup.

Given all of that, will it likely get a better reception in TC or SF/F?

 

[Djmac1031]

I think Fetish is the right fit.

That way you don't inadvertently offend transgenders who might see it as you not taking their reality seriously, or lesbians who might see it as yet another straight man lesbian fantasy.

 

[NoTalentHack]

Yes, I'm sure it will. To be honest, I don't know which, but the safe bet is TC.

That's kind of what I was thinking; sadly, also why Kelsey (the character in question) isn't getting a lead romantic role in CrewMates. If I wasn't commercializing it, I'd tell them to fuck off, but... Still, she's going to be a very proud trans woman with a major non-romantic role in the main series.

 

[MillieDynamite]

My erotic Just a Friendly series (transgenders) has gone pretty well in sales. The transgirls are all pre-bottom. Two have been dominant, and tops, one wasn't. But they are clearly tagged and in erotica. But I don't know how accepting mainstream Sci Fy would be.

That's kind of what I was thinking; sadly, also why Kelsey (the character in question) isn't getting a lead romantic role in CrewMates. If I wasn't commercializing it, I'd tell them to fuck off, but... Still, she's going to be a very proud trans woman with a major non-romantic role in the main series.

 

[NoTalentHack]

My erotic Just a Friendly series (transgenders) has gone pretty well in sales. The transgirls are all pre-bottom. Two have been dominant, and tops, one wasn't. But they are clearly tagged and in erotica. But I don't know how accepting mainstream Sci Fy would be.

It's a sci-fi harem romance, so it's (probably) already pretty niche. If I were doing it as erotica instead of romance, I might take a shot at it, but since I'm not, over to Lite it goes. It's a shame; she really is one of my favorite characters. When I was developing it as a visual novel (and therefore the players get to decide who they do and don't romance), she was one of the first I wrote.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Well, the LGBTQ community would love it. If it's a one-off, you can make it clear the reader doesn't need to include it for the continuity of the main story. Only two cents of advice, and worth less than that.

It's a sci-fi harem romance, so it's (probably) already pretty niche. If I were doing it as erotica instead of romance, I might take a shot at it, but since I'm not, over to Lite it goes. It's a shame; she really is one of my favorite characters. When I was developing it as a visual novel (and therefore the players get to decide who they do and don't romance), she was one of the first I wrote.

 

[MillieDynamite]

I need to get back to writing.

TTFN

 

[ElectricBlue]

Other issue is I may never get it written, but if I do get going it helps to know what category I'm aiming for.

Get it written, then decide, once the primary theme really becomes apparent. Right now it's an idea with no story, so speculating on category is putting the cart before the horse.