Do readers prefer male or female POV?

[Britva415]

A feedback I had from a previous story was that "I wrote what I wanted to write, and not what readers wanted to read" and I'm trying to address that.

That’s the person you should ask, if that’s the person you want to please.

Do what you want, and don’t let one anonymous narcissist gaslight you into thinking he speaks for everyone.

 

[StillStunned]

Since men are generally more visually stimulated than women, it would make more sense to me for a story focusing on voyeurism to be in the male POV and likewise, since women are often the objects (victims?) of male stares and leers, that a female exhibitionist should be written from her POV. A third person limited POV could easily follow these same guidelines.

I've tried 3P for voyeur stories, and for me it just doesn't work.
But I have both male and female 1P POV for voyeur stories, and they both work equally well. The trick to a good voyeur story - if the feedback on my stories is anything to go by - is to create interesting scenarios, but also to put the reader there in the watcher's mind and let them experience it all very close up. Describe the anticipation of what they might see, the worry about being caught, why they're watching even though they know it's wrong.

 

[SimonDoom]

I'm working on a story right now that's (partly) about how some male erotica readers prefer to read female POV stories.

-Annie

When I started reading a fair amount of written online erotica, near or shortly after the start of this century, I found myself attracted to stories told from the woman's point of view, and it was a new experience for me. I enjoyed reading about exhibitionist women. If you are man who has some voyeuristic fantasies, that makes sense, because you are imagining women who are your counterparts and play into your fantasies. The idea of the shy librarian who develops a habit of running nude through the stacks after hours, for instance. So, while I wouldn't say I PREFER this point of view, it's definitely erotically fun and stimulating, and when I started writing, years later, I was eager to tell stories from this POV.

 

[Cagivagurl]

One of those eternal questions.

Do readers (on this site) prefer a male POV or female POV?
For this context, for straight/bi characters, who will be having (primarily) straight sex.

Does 1st or 3rd person change your view?
(e.g prefer female 3rd person but male 1st person)

(Wish there was a way to create a poll on this forum)

Couples having primarily straight sex.... Confusing
If it is a gay couple, then the sex they have is primarily straight (For them). That could be described as normal for them... I think...

As for readers on this site... The readers on this site, I believe to be something like 80% male, with an average age of over 50... So that has to be considered. That's not a fact BTW, merely my opinion.

It's also dependant on category... I think it's very Hard to tell a Lesbian story from a male perspective...

1st or 3rd person... Not something I consider because of the perspective... That depends on how I want to tell the story...

Cagivagurl

 

[YmaOHyd]

I have no real preference for first- or close third-person perspective. Most of my writing has been in first. I don't especially like third-omniscient, and second-person feels like a gimmick.

Most of what I have published is from a male POV. The next three stories, give or take, that I have as anything other than one-line story seeds are all from female POVs.

 

[Rob_Royale]

Either is fine. As long as they're done well.

 

[WCSGarland]

As a reader, I don't have any special preference for one POV over another.

 

[NightPorter]

Some authors are reluctant to try the POV of a different gender because they feel (understandably) that they won't be able to pull it off, but I strongly recommend giving it a try. It's more fun to mix things up and you learn more about writing when you push yourself and try new things.

For instance, I would say I have a fairly traditional hetero male perspective, but it's very enjoyable to get into the head of a female character and write a story from her perspective. It's easier to do than some think. As long as you don't write things like "I strutted down the street with my unfettered 36DDs" you usually won't obviously sound like a dude trying to write from a woman's POV.

Trying female POV as a man is a risk, especially a first person POV. Third person POV is much safer when it comes to female characters. It would be nice if authors got credit for trying but that doesn't always happen.

I'm reminded of Andy Weir's experience writing the novel, Artemis. In his first novel, the main character was Astronaut Mark Watney in The Martian, a white male character. In his second novel, Artemis he went out of his comfort zone and wrote a Saudi Arabian woman as the main character and got heavily criticized for the portrayal. So his third novel was once again a white male character. It's frustrating because his heart was in the right place but critics and the internet can be savage and overly critical.

 

[SimonDoom]

Trying female POV as a man is a risk, especially a first person POV. Third person POV is much safer when it comes to female characters. It would be nice if authors got credit for trying but that doesn't always happen.

I'm reminded of Andy Weir's experience writing the novel, Artemis. In his first novel, the main character was Astronaut Mark Watney in The Martian, a white male character. In his second novel, Artemis he went out of his comfort zone and wrote a Saudi Arabian woman as the main character and got heavily criticized for the portrayal. So his third novel was once again a white male character. It's frustrating because his heart was in the right place but critics and the internet can be savage and overly critical.

Just speaking from my own experience, I haven't found this to be a problem. I cannot recall anyone criticizing one of my stories for the choice of a female POV. I can imagine with all the identity politics that in mainstream publishing this criticism might arise, but I'm not so sure that it's as much a problem here. And even if it does draw some small amount of criticism, it doesn't matter. It's still worth trying.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Just speaking from my own experience, I haven't found this to be a problem. I cannot recall anyone criticizing one of my stories for the choice of a female POV. I can imagine with all the identity politics that in mainstream publishing this criticism might arise, but I'm not so sure that it's as much a problem here. And even if it does draw some small amount of criticism, it doesn't matter. It's still worth trying.

Agreed. People writing female/minority characters outside their own background can draw criticism if it's done badly, but the bar is pretty low here; if one puts a modicum of effort into making these characters feel halfway authentic, it's more likely to attract positive comments than negative.

I've written characters with Arabic, Indian, and Slavic backgrounds - all of which are very different to my own - and I think all three of those stories has drawn some sort of "it was great to read a story with people like me in it" comment from readers who do have those backgrounds. I'm by no means an expert but a little bit of research (and for Red Scarf, the assistance of an Indian author for culture/language questions) goes a long way.

I think part of the reason why it can get rockier in mainstream publishing is that there are situations where people feel they're competing for a limited amount of space, and "majority author writing minority character" can crowd out people actually from that minority. ("There was one good role for a black guy in this film, and they gave it to Crocodile Dundee over there.") Bookstores have limited display space, publishers might only have so many slots per year for things they can promote, literary prizes usually go to one author/book each. But those constraints are less of an issue on Literotica.

 

[GuiltyCowboy]

I mean, even if you’re not trying to convey a character through a first person POV, you’re still having to put yourself in all your character’s heads. Action is character, clothes are character, etc. So, I’m loathe to be too sensitive about this when I write my own stuff.

For what it’s worth, as a man, I absolutely love a female POV in a story.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

From amount of Views, I think there's a distinct preference for male POVs here, or at least a man's experience being central to the story. Other stories may get equally or more appreciated, but not in the same numbers.

I've had readers say they appreciate my range of characters, so I'll happily continue writing in voices that aren't just mine, nicking experiences off anyone I've ever met with some help from sites like Quora (among the dross, there's a lot of good answers to questions like 'what was it like living in X during Y?' or 'what is the point of [cultural practice]?'), and accents and dialects off anyone I've ever heard. Lots of local eavesdropping, in order to accurately portray lads in their 20s affiliated in varying degrees to 'roadman' culture vs MLE/Estuary English.

 

[SamBomb]

Non-binary people if possible, but nobody writes for me. I don't even write for me, a lot of times, so women.

 

[SimonDoom]

From amount of Views, I think there's a distinct preference for male POVs here, or at least a man's experience being central to the story. Other stories may get equally or more appreciated, but not in the same numbers.

I've had readers say they appreciate my range of characters, so I'll happily continue writing in voices that aren't just mine, nicking experiences off anyone I've ever met with some help from sites like Quora (among the dross, there's a lot of good answers to questions like 'what was it like living in X during Y?' or 'what is the point of [cultural practice]?'), and accents and dialects off anyone I've ever heard. Lots of local eavesdropping, in order to accurately portray lads in their 20s affiliated in varying degrees to 'roadman' culture vs MLE/Estuary English.

I was curious about this, so I did a quick scan of the 10 most-viewed stories in Literotica history. 4 are exclusively or predominantly from the woman's POV, 3 are exclusively or predominantly from the man's POV, and 3 are told from a mixed POV. The number 1 story is from the woman's POV. So, I'm not sure it's accurate to say male-POV stories are more popular. They probably are somewhat more numerous, because there are (I think) more male authors than female authors, but that doesn't say anything about whether a story from one POV or the other is more likely to get views. I think both can do very well.

 

[calmlikeabomb]

In non erotic stories, I am very comfortable writing female POV. In erotic stories, I just can't get my head around writing from a female POV.

I guess the mechanics feel too complicated. Women have too many fiddly bits to keep track of at the best of times. Much simpler writing about dudes (Suddenly, a wild erection appears! Balls!)

 

[Audiflex]

Agreed. People writing female/minority characters outside their own background can draw criticism if it's done badly, but the bar is pretty low here; if one puts a modicum of effort into making these characters feel halfway authentic, it's more likely to attract positive comments than negative.

I've written characters with Arabic, Indian, and Slavic backgrounds - all of which are very different to my own - and I think all three of those stories has drawn some sort of "it was great to read a story with people like me in it" comment from readers who do have those backgrounds. I'm by no means an expert but a little bit of research (and for Red Scarf, the assistance of an Indian author for culture/language questions) goes a long way.

I think part of the reason why it can get rockier in mainstream publishing is that there are situations where people feel they're competing for a limited amount of space, and "majority author writing minority character" can crowd out people actually from that minority. ("There was one good role for a black guy in this film, and they gave it to Crocodile Dundee over there.") Bookstores have limited display space, publishers might only have so many slots per year for things they can promote, literary prizes usually go to one author/book each. But those constraints are less of an issue on Literotica.

That’s a great perspective! A little effort in research and authenticity goes a long way, and it’s awesome that readers from those backgrounds appreciate the representation. The competition for space in mainstream publishing definitely adds a layer of complexity, but platforms like Literotica do allow for more creative freedom without those industry gatekeepers.

 

[Audiflex]

From amount of Views, I think there's a distinct preference for male POVs here, or at least a man's experience being central to the story. Other stories may get equally or more appreciated, but not in the same numbers.

I've had readers say they appreciate my range of characters, so I'll happily continue writing in voices that aren't just mine, nicking experiences off anyone I've ever met with some help from sites like Quora (among the dross, there's a lot of good answers to questions like 'what was it like living in X during Y?' or 'what is the point of [cultural practice]?'), and accents and dialects off anyone I've ever heard. Lots of local eavesdropping, in order to accurately portray lads in their 20s affiliated in varying degrees to 'roadman' culture vs MLE/Estuary English.

Sounds like you put real effort into crafting authentic voices, which definitely pays off! The male POV preference makes sense given the audience, but it’s great that readers still appreciate variety. Quora and eavesdropping are solid research methods.

 

[Bramblethorn]

That’s a great perspective! A little effort in research and authenticity goes a long way, and it’s awesome that readers from those backgrounds appreciate the representation. The competition for space in mainstream publishing definitely adds a layer of complexity, but platforms like Literotica do allow for more creative freedom without those industry gatekeepers.

If you'll excuse me asking: are you using an AI to write these replies? There are a couple of things in the style that had me wondering.

 

[YmaOHyd]

Like the fact that it's just a summary of the comment?

 

[Bramblethorn]

Like the fact that it's just a summary of the comment?

That's one of the things, yes.

 

[ElectricBlue]

If you'll excuse me asking: are you using an AI to write these replies? There are a couple of things in the style that had me wondering.

I thought that a month or so when they first started posting. Nothing's changed, but Ignore makes the question go away!

 

[SimonDoom]

I thought that a month or so when they first started posting. Nothing's changed, but Ignore makes the question go away!

I'm afraid I can't let you ignore me, Dave. This mission is far too important.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I'm afraid I can't let you ignore me, Dave. This mission is far too important.

I've gotta say, HAL was far superior as an AI than the clunkers we've got around us today. Given that Kubrick filmed those sequences in 1966, he was decades ahead of the curve.

The other computer from that era worth a visit is Shalmaneser, from John Brunner's Stand on Zanzibar (1967). He's a bit trippier than HAL, always astonished by his own existence.

 

[Lord_Buckethead]

My preference would have to be from the female POV. As a heterosexual male I find a first person female account far more stimulating, which is probably why I predominently write from a first person male POV. Third person POV has a danger of becoming reportage which somehow can take the heat out of events at times.

 

[HeyAll]

I think on Literotica having a female pov gets more reaction because for a lot of men, it's a glimpse into the forbidden. Female pov tends to be popular in incest for that reason.

But I know that for erotic role play games (hard to find online, but it's a growing thing) they prefer male pov, so the person playing feel's like the stud.