Does anybody account for menstrual/ovulation cycles in your stories?

[John_Vandermeer]

I just submitted a story where a male character is reluctant to, but does, go down on a menstruating FMC. And I am about to draft another where the MMC finds the FMC sweeter because she is ovulating. Anybody else fetishizes that?

 

[KeithD]

I suppose there are readers who would find that erotic. If I contemplated putting something wholly clinical in a story, I probably wouldn't. Do you see eroticism in your use of this?

 

[ChloeTzang]

Nope. Never. It's definitely a fetish thing in my personal opinion. I completely ignore stuff like that, but there is a readership, just like there is for toe-sucking and over-size mammary glands, bubble butts and 12 inch dicks. LOL. It's like anything fetish-related, there's a niche readership and if that's what you enjoy writing, go for it!

My personal little kink is IR, not everyone's taste but I enjoy writing it, so I do

 

[SimonDoom]

If you are into it as a fetish, go for it.

I've never mentioned it in any of my stories. I suppose I could to lend my stories a greater air of reality, but this is one of those issues where I don't think it's necessary. For most I imagine it tends to suppress rather than enhance arousal.

 

[John_Vandermeer]

I have not included it before, but yes I do see eroticism in it. Certainly when it is relevant in some way. Ovulation, for example, goes along with pregnancy risk, which does show every now and then in stories (hotwife stories, incest stories, et al).

"IR"? Not sure what that one stands for...

 

[Zootonius]

On a related note, I wrote of a female character having sex almost every day for a month. She should have had a period in there somewhere. Fortunately, my literary license hasn't expired.

 

[ronde]

I often do because it's a natural function of women and they can't very well ignore it. Any man in a relationship with a woman , and not necessarily a sexual relationship, will either know or learn when it happens if that relationship lasts more than a month or so. It's just something a woman has to take care of that interrupts the relationship somewhat for a week or so. Now, I have written that some women tend to be at least a little more receptive to sex during that time because. I suppose that could be considered erotic. For my female characters though, it's just something they have to explain if the man senses that something has changed.

 

[EmilyMiller]

I just submitted a story where a male character is reluctant to, but does, go down on a menstruating FMC. And I am about to draft another where the MMC finds the FMC sweeter because she is ovulating. Anybody else fetishizes that?

Having included anal douching in a story, this is the next step in my quest to introduce realism in to my porn.

How girls feel during different parts of their cycle varies enormously. From girl to girl and month to month (though some are very regular, others are not so much). As does how much pain they have to put up with. I’m lucky in that I don’t get very bad cramps. And that was before being on oral contraceptives, which reduce cramps further (the lining of your womb gets less thick on the pill, less need for contractions to loosen / expel it).

I wouldn’t insist on someone going down on me while I am bleeding. My boyfriend doesn’t, though we do fuck. But if someone is in to it, that’s OK by me. I know for some girls, the idea of being penetrated during a period would be hell.

We aren’t a homogeneous whole.

Em

 

[tenyari]

Only in the very lightest sense as it's not something I gather most readers want to dwell on.

It's very often on my mind as my stories are about people living naked so I'm always thinking about 'accounting for it in my offscreen notes / timing' if not onscreen.

"Onscreen" I'll only do things like a character noting where the supplies are. That's only in mine right now because I just wrote a scene the other day where a character gets set up in a dorm room and the guy showing the room tells her where to get various things. So that was just something I noted alongside where other things like first aid, laundry hamper, etc all where.

But actually dwelling on it in detail. I actually did do that in my large story that's not on this site, one of the main cast, but not the protagonist, was on her period for most of the week-long tale. Wrote that almost twenty years ago so I think I used it for the comedy of a character who was sex-obsessed suddenly finding guys not interested and being annoyed. But I'm probably remembering it all wrong. I get my notes for that story and what I actually wrote jumbled in my head a lot and the two were radically different.

 

[jehoram]

I've written menstruating women into my stories. It's just a part of being around women on a regular basis. I don't fetishize it, depicting it as something that gives them or their partners extra thrills, nor do I pretend that menstruation doesn't exist. My characters just take it in stride, like most people in normal life do.

 

[MrPixel]

I write primarily about a sort-of-harem, and there has been some mention of monthly cycles in medical contexts. Of the ten ladies in the group, it has been discussed on multiple occasions that three of the five actually living with the MMC have had hysterectomies, two due to fibroids and one due to injury and resulting infection, so by inference they no longer experience menses. No discussion of HRT for the one having a bilateral oophorectomy.

There was some conversation with and about one of the fertile women needing to postpone unprotected sex for three cycles as her uterus healed from an abortion not related to the MMC. The full story ends (spoiler!) with the MMC and one of the ten seeking to have a child, so discussion of timing comes into play, although "timing schmiming", they do it all the time anyway. Animals!

The others come and go as suits the plot, so their time away from any particular scene may or may not be related to "my little visitor". There is no discussion of it one way or another.

Definitely no fetishizing here, just the facts, ma'am.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

I've had a character trying to get pregnant by her husband. She gets told that if she has an orgasm with one man, then has sex with another that day, she's more likely to get pregnant. Chap 2 obliges with some oral sex and fisting, then sends her home for husband to do the deed. There's a bit about the effects of synthetic progesterone, too, which made her want to fuck everyone in sight.

Also written Anal stories where FMC claims to be on her period as an excuse for wanting it up the arse. I can't recall writing any stories where having a period is alluded to beyond 'it was that time of the month to put a towel down before having sex'.

With a nod to the Buffy thread, I did once read an fanfic story where chipped Spike is being supervised by Willow who has terrible period pain, cue the orgasm cure via oral sex. I remembered it as being excellent but when I tracked it down again it wasn't great, so I may have to rewrite it.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

As people have very properly noted, menstruation is normal, natural and certainly exerts some degree of influence on any MF relationship. That said, I doubt what you are describing is going to win a lot of approval from 'mainstream' readers even here. Other conditions which are common in the real world include erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, urination, passing gas and defecation. Some writers (for example James Joyce) have been good enough to work that sort of thing into their works and still get solid applause. For most of us, it would be an uphill battle.

It is of course your call and, whichever way you decide, good luck.

 

[MrPixel]

...passing gas...

Gotcha covered. From a soon-to-be-published chapter of Off Campus:
=====
"Guys? You're embarrassing us," I mildly protest. Ally giggles.
"How's that possible?" Terrie chuckles. "We're all sitting here naked having all fucked each other. The embarrassment threshold is pretty high by this point. Unless somebody farts."

 

[ElectricBlue]

Anybody else fetishizes that?

Menstrual blood mentioned, sex during a period, yes, fetishised, no.

Although I do have a chapter in my Arthurian novel where there's a whole blood sex magick thing going on, where Nymue casts a face changing spell from a distance, so a lot of feminine power is needed.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Other conditions which are common in the real world include erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, urination, passing gas and defecation.

I wrote a story with ED in it - albeit temporarily. And another with anal cleansing.

Em

 

[jsmiam]

I will count on female members to say this more correctly, but “period” (aka menses I believe is the term) is the “famous” period of time, the one that gets the most attention, and that’s probably what you meant.

But ovulating has its own meaning (the fertile phase,) which isn’t during the period, and “ovulation cycle” is the whole thing, the whole cycle.

So, in my stories I have mentioned the span of time where the women in my life get extra horny, and that’s generally during what most call ovulation. (I leave it vague to not trap myself in too many specifics.)

It seemed to get a little more intense in their 40s into 50s too, in my limited experiencence. “Milfs” could quite easily be called “Ovs“. You heard it here first!

Anyway. Somebody female rescue me please. I’m not sure why I’m even writing this!

 

[John_Vandermeer]

I guess so far it seems some have mentioned it, most think it is just a normal function. I am going to stick out my neck here because I am not going to check and quote sources, but there might be some evidence that neither menstruation nor ovulation are just "normal functions".
I believe evolutionary anthropologists have studied things like the effect of ovulation on sex worker earnings and the propensity of women to seek extra-regular partners and found both to be meaningful. And I know religion is taboo on Lit, but I also believe the most conservative interpretations of a number of different religions consider women varying degrees of untouchable when menstruating. So I doubt we can say we are all indifferent to either thing...
I appreciate those who have shared quite personal details on this thread!

 

[Djmac1031]

My series The Jenna Arrangement was on chapter 12 and my two leads had finally gone all the way.

I then decided to do a recap chapter from the female character Jenna's point of view, and do it in diary format.

In going through previous chapters and assigning dates to them, I realized at some point, in the spirit of realism, that I needed to address her period.

It then comes up in the next chapter, affecting her both physically (cramps etc) and emotionally, although I tried not to lean to heavily into the "woman on period is emotionally eratic" trope too hard, and so there were other things affecting her emotional state besides JUST her period.

Later, as her period is winding down, she feels comfortable enough to have sex with the male lead Tom without a condom, something she's a stickler for.

As the series has continued, I've tried to keep track of how many days and weeks pass, and her period comes up when it fits the timeline.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Erotica tends to avoid menstruation except where it's actively seeking it out as a fetish.

That said, there's nothing implausible about a story where a (cis) woman doesn't menstruate for a month, or two, or even twelve. Individual cycles are quite varied, post-partum/breastfeeding can stop cycles for a while, and there are pharmaceutical options for reducing the cycle to 4x/year or stopping it indefinitely (Lybrel).

Even before getting to what one long-suffering friend described as "Operation Yeeterus".

 

[silky52]

On a related note, I wrote of a female character having sex almost every day for a month. She should have had a period in there somewhere. Fortunately, my literary license hasn't expired.

Or she was past menopause!

 

[RachelWalsh]

My stories ONLY account for ovulation and menstruation. Lol

 

[Zootonius]

Or she was past menopause!

This one was 38. But I do have a story with a 48 year old and her 18 year old lover. Worked there.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

I will count on female members to say this more correctly, but “period” (aka menses I believe is the term) is the “famous” period of time, the one that gets the most attention, and that’s probably what you meant.

But ovulating has its own meaning (the fertile phase,) which isn’t during the period, and “ovulation cycle” is the whole thing, the whole cycle.

So, in my stories I have mentioned the span of time where the women in my life get extra horny, and that’s generally during what most call ovulation. (I leave it vague to not trap myself in too many specifics.)

It seemed to get a little more intense in their 40s into 50s too, in my limited experiencence. “Milfs” could quite easily be called “Ovs“. You heard it here first!

Anyway. Somebody female rescue me please. I’m not sure why I’m even writing this!

The menstrual/ovulation cycle is the whole thing, lasting typically 23-35 days according to my app, but about 10% of women never have regular cycles so their next period can be anything from three weeks to years away (and that's before menopause gets a look-in).

The period is the bit when blood-like stuff falls out your fanny (UK)/cunt (US). Typically lasts 4-6 days but 1 day or a few weeks aren't unusual (the latter will be shrugged off by a doc if it's only once and your iron levels are OK). A day or two of heavy bleeding, and other days when it's just an annoyance, is common. Some women have no pain, others fall unconscious with it and say childbirth was way easier (cramps or dull ache, responding to paracetamol and a hot water bottle is very common).

The huge mood swings some women get are PMT - *pre* menstrual tension/syndrome, which can trigger irritability, tearfulness, and a general fuck-or-fight feeling. This can last from ovulation to the start of the period (typically two weeks) but usually is only a few days and most women don't really notice, or only notice their annoying colleague is extra annoying and they crave milk chocolate. But it can be debilitating.

Ovulation may have no symptoms but may include sensitive breasts, possibly a short cramp, and possibly wanting lots of sex. But see also PMT and wanting lots of sex. The two periods may overlap.

If a woman is on the pill she won't ovulate and technically the 'period' after the end of a pack isn't a period, just a reaction to withdrawal of hormones. There's nothing stopping women taking packs back to back and missing out the week off (or dummy pills, depending on brand), which means there won't be a bleed, but if you do it for more than 3 months then some random bleeding is likely.

Oddly, the time from ovulation to period is almost always 14 days, but the time from period to ovulation is what varies hugely. Only primates menstruate (plus a few bats and the elephant shrew...); other mammals may have a noticeable oestrus cycle with blood-like discharge, eg dogs, which coincides with ovulation.

 

[MelissaBaby]

I have never written anything that eroticizes or fetishizes menstruation. I have included references to it in stories. In one chapter of my Mary and Alvin series, Mary has "the talk" with her daughter about her first period.