How do women want men described?

[TruthAndLove]

After posting my first story last week, I realized that my descriptions of the male characters were virtually non-existent, although I have extended descriptions of the women. I'd like to rectify that but I have no idea what hetrosexual women want to know about male characters.

Is it muscles (or lack thereof)? Height and weight? Eye color? Penis size? (Length or width?) Hair color? Income? Power in the community? Age? Complexion? Diameter of big toe?

Given that there's only so much space and not everything about the character can be specified, I'd appreciate it if the women reading this would tell me, in order of priority, the things they'd most like included in the description of a male character.

And while I'm at it, what characteristics would you like to be left out of descriptions (so you can fill it in with your imagination)?

Just responses from women please. I'll start another thread for men to respond to.

 

[floweringquince]

Is it muscles (or lack thereof)? Height and weight? Eye color? Penis size? (Length or width?) Hair color? Income? Power in the community? Age? Complexion? Diameter of big toe?

The short answer (for this heterosexual woman is "Yes."

Longer answer:

You should describe his body; including height, weight, and general fitness. Muscles, or lack thereof, should be noted only if they are notable.

"He was deliciously tall, the top of his head almost skimming the doorframe as he entered. Although he was slender, I thought there must some nice muscle definition hidden under his crisp cotton dress shirt."


You should describe his face; including eyes, hair, and skin tone (but not just Blue/Brown/Caucasian - unless you really are writing a police report

"Eyes like living sapphires smiled amid a few fine crinkles. His face was only made more handsome by the gentle creases his fair skin had gained over his 40-some years, and his dark brown hair showed only scant touches of silver."


You should describe his penis only when it enters the scene, and only as relevant. IMHE, as long as it meets a few minimum requirements (clean, bigger than a breakfast sausage, erect), the penis itself is not as important as what the guy attached *does* with it.
("It's not so much the size of your pen; as the quality of your handwriting --- and what you choose to say.")

As to how to describe a penis: length & diameter are important, as is general shape (mushroom? cylinder? bratwurst? soup can?), and skin tone (pale, pink, dusky...); along with any notable curves, veins, or hairiness.

"His shaft was substantial, but she could touch her thumb to her fingers around it. The head was much bigger, filling her palm when she wrapped her hand over it. She's never seen a cock with such a strong base, as if it were indeed rooted in the dark reddish hair hiding the freckled skin of his groin."


Diameter of big toe, and shape and dimensions of any other random anatomy, should be described only as relevant to the story.

"His feet were well-groomed and freshly clean from the shower, but it still felt odd to nibble his toes - odd and almost illicit. The big toe was long and slender, and she found herself sucking on it, licking and teasing it, as if to give head to his feet."


Now this one may be just me, but I find the air & mannerisms of money and power sexier than the actual money & power themselves.

Karl Rove may be the most powerful man on the planet, but he's not getting into my bed. Bill Gates and Donald Trump will have to find their nookie elsewhere.

But Pierce Brosnan, wearing rags in the line for the soup kitchen, but speaking and acting with his James-Bondian suave? ...Oh, yeah: I'd trip him and beat him to ground


Hope this helps: I'm off to arrange a threesome with Pierce and the old BF partially described above

- Quince

 

[TruthAndLove]

Thanks, quince, that was very informative. I'd have never guessed that women want that kind of detail about penises. I always thought you ladies considered our tools gross and icky, better felt than seen or described. Well, now I know better.

 

[sunandshadow]

I definitely like to know general body build, hair color, facial expressions and body language. _Don't_ say he looks like some celebrity. It's the same as with descriptions of women, 'poetic' descriptions are the best: "The sun glittered on his wet skin, and she was mesmerized by the smooth play of muscle beneath it." That description says nothing except that he's wet and he has at least a little muscle, so it leaves a lot to the reader's imagination while still being definite enough to create a mental picture and make the reader feel attraction to the character.

 

[floweringquince]

Thanks, quince, that was very informative. I'd have never guessed that women want that kind of detail about penises. I always thought you ladies considered our tools gross and icky, better felt than seen or described. Well, now I know better.

Well, some penises are gross and icky (which, according to my utterly unfounded imaginings, is one reason Donald Trump will have to find his nookie elsewhere , and most do indeed feel much better than they look

And I once took full revenge on a boyfriend who had just gone into great detail about his very "honest" opinion of me and my body, when he (amazingly foolishly) asked me what I thought of his penis. I didn't bother quelling the first thought that came to mind:
"Well, it isn't really *big* enough to be ugly..."

(I select my BFs much more carefully now


Not every story needs the kind of detailed description I outlined above: I'd pu that much detail only into a scene of cock worship, or giving head to a man one really likes.
(Hmmm... IMHE, penis attractiveness correlates directly and very strongly with how one feels about the man attached - which may mean that cock worship and giving head to a man one really likes aren't all that different

For a scene where clothes are fumbled away in the dark, a bed is fallen into, and whoopee manufacture rapidly ensues; no direct description may be necessary (although a description of what can be discovered by feel might be a nice 'touch' .

If they're having sex, we can assume that he does indeed have a cock, and that it meets the Minimum Basic Requirements. How that cock *feels* to her, and how that in turn makes *her* feel, are mandatory (IMO).

- Quince

 

[York]

What does IMHE stand for? In my something something?

 

[TruthAndLove]

Not every story needs the kind of detailed description I outlined above: I'd pu that much detail only into a scene of cock worship, or giving head to a man one really likes.
(Hmmm... IMHE, penis attractiveness correlates directly and very strongly with how one feels about the man attached - which may mean that cock worship and giving head to a man one really likes aren't all that different
- Quince

Forgive the naive question, but what is cock worship?

 

[DonFox]

Forgive the naive question, but what is cock worship?

I think floweringquince is just referring to scenes in which the protagonist is is enthralled, mesmerized, overjoyed, etc. by the member in question and reacting accordingly in the story.

 

[kbate]

I do not care how the characters are described, nor do I particularly want to read descriptions of characters unless in some way the character's physical traits are a driving or critical point of the story.

In Steinbeck's 'Of Mice and Men' - nobody cared about George's appearance. George could have been 9 feet tall and 300 pounds, but his appearance was not important. Lenny, on-the-other-hand, had to be described, because his appearance and physical characteristics - defined him as the giant simpleton he was. Without the size description and strength description, the reader might have missed Lenny's power.

In Stephen King's "The Green Mile" - the only two characters described in full were the representatives for 'Christ (Coffey) and the Devil (Percy/wild bill) - the others were largely left (with minor exceptions) for the reader to picture and develop.

***

In Erotica - if the primary reason a man is important is because of the extreme length of his penis, by all means tell me about that penis in detail - otherwise telling me he has a 9 inch penis is just words. Women talking about sex with a ten inch man - talk about ten inches. Otherwise, we just talk about sex and 'him'.

Nobody cares if he is 6 feet tall, brown-haired, square jawed and has large rough hands - unless one of those characteristics in some way matters to the story other than as trying to force a picture of the man into the reader's head.

I don't care about hair, height, weight, eyes, lips or any physical characteristic - I form my own picture of the characters. If for some reason John must have red hair to fit into the story, they of course tell me that, but otherwise I prefer my own picture of the men.

 

[elfin_odalisque]

Thanks, quince, that was very informative. I'd have never guessed that women want that kind of detail about penises. I always thought you ladies considered our tools gross and icky, better felt than seen or described. Well, now I know better.

I think it's much more complicated and Quince has part of the point but not all.

First, never quote measurements for length and girth and never make it unbelievable. A twelve-inch schlong with the circumfererence of a coke bottle isn't going to do anything for a female except make her go 'Ouch!' Unless there's some need in the story to be big or small, concentrate on what it looks like.

Erections are fascinating - they can point straight out, lie against the lower belly, cutely curl upwards like a horn etc.

Despite our protestations, the male member occupies our thoughts more than we'd care to admit. Is it true that Brad Pitt has a teeny weeny and that Ronald Reagan was hung like a horse - or was that vice versa.

If men are controlled by their dicks, women have sex in their minds. I notice what men wear - at work I notice if a coworker wears the same suit two days running. I like to read about twinkling eyes and laughter lines round his mouth. I watch swimming to see the packages of young men tightly encased in Speedos - about the only chance you get with all the baggies on the beach.

In particular, a good butt is a great turn-on, firm, round - slim-hipped perhaps.

Why do men ignore body hair? I know we have to be shaved and groomed like a pre-pubescent schoolgirl, but why can't I stroke my hand through the sparse covering of soft brown curls that leads to his groin. Personally, don't want gorillas though.

Lots more to say but I've rambled on enough for now.

PS Truth and Love - put a link to your story in your sig. I'm off to find it but clicking would be so much easier.

 

[i812]

I don't care about hair, height, weight, eyes, lips or any physical characteristic - I form my own picture of the characters. If for some reason John must have red hair to fit into the story, they of course tell me that, but otherwise I prefer my own picture of the men.

What a helpful thread. Do you draw them a picture, or do let them draw their own?

I went through some of the same thought process with the Nipples thread.

There is a poll indicating that:

30.27% prefer light pink nipples
27.13% go for dark pink
24.78% want light brown, and
17.83% want them dark brown

My first inclination is to stick light pink nipples on her. But by doing that, don't I lessen the appeal for the some 70% that have a different preference--the vast majority? Why not take a shot at all of them? Why not get the reader to stick the nipples on her that they want?

In the final analysis it seems that you should just tell the story. Extraneous description can make the reader impatient. Click!

 

[floweringquince]

What does IMHE stand for? In my something something?

Ooops, sorry! "In My Humble Experience."


Cock Worship is essentially the ultimate elaboration of a blow job.

I guess the phrase comes up mostly in D/s (Dominant/submissive) contexts:
The "worshipper" kneels before the standing (or sometime seated or leaning) cock owner; admiring, praising, caressing, anointing, revering, fondling, licking, tonguing, kissing, sucking, swallowing, and just plain loving, the cock in question.

In a 'vanilla' context, this is about someone spontaneously showing her (or his) man just how much she loves her man and his cock, and wants to give them both a very good time; and is probably more likely to be called "a really amazingly great blowjob."

In a D/s context, Cock Worship is a task that the Dominant may order the submissive to perform, regardless of whether she would feel inclined to of her own accord. (If she wouldn't, it is a matter of her submission and obedience. If she would, it is a way totally kick-ass mind-blowing mega-hot scene.)
Actual theistic elements are comparatively rare, as they a) tend to require dialogue from someone whose mouth is generally otherwise occupied, and 2) make for a pretty heavy scene, and bring in yet another kind of "wierd" (always bearing in mind that one person's "wierd" is another person's "hot"). But a command electing a respose such as "Yes, Master: this glorious cock is the lord of all my being." could well be part of a fairly heavy cock-worship scene.

- Quince, who reads an awful lot

 

[Kendras_babygirl]

What kind of story?

It all depends on what kind of story, in most of the literotica I read, I don't lack the details I want to know about the man in the story, all I really want to read is how his big warm cock fucks.... but then that's just me. Penis size often enhances the story when told at the right point of time. Something like "he pushes his nine inch penis into her virgin pussy"... works well.

On the other hand if there is a spanking involved, I would like to know roughly the size handprint left on the girls behind... and how that hand feels, rough vs smooth, hairy or not.

But if your story doesn't involve male dominance I imagine much more details being needed like how he dresses (what kind of man is it?) What his hair generally looks like, probably not his eyes, unless there's "gazing into them" involved. How tall he is roughly, and skinny, average, heavy, how big or little his cock is.

Btw: Should I continue seeking a place to tell you how I like women in stories described, or are these two thread options it???

 

[cloudy]

I do not care how the characters are described, nor do I particularly want to read descriptions of characters unless in some way the character's physical traits are a driving or critical point of the story.

In Steinbeck's 'Of Mice and Men' - nobody cared about George's appearance. George could have been 9 feet tall and 300 pounds, but his appearance was not important. Lenny, on-the-other-hand, had to be described, because his appearance and physical characteristics - defined him as the giant simpleton he was. Without the size description and strength description, the reader might have missed Lenny's power.

In Stephen King's "The Green Mile" - the only two characters described in full were the representatives for 'Christ (Coffey) and the Devil (Percy) - the others were largely left (with minor exceptions) for the reader to picture and develop.

***

In Erotica - if the primary reason a man is important is because of the extreme length of his penis, by all means tell me about that penis in detail - otherwise telling me he has a 9 inch penis is just words. Women talking about sex with a ten inch man - talk about ten inches. Otherwise, we just talk about sex and 'him'.

Nobody cares if he is 6 feet tall, brown-haired, square jawed and has large rough hands - unless one of those characteristics in some way matters to the story other than as trying to force a picture of the man into the reader's head.

I don't care about hair, height, weight, eyes, lips or any physical characteristic - I form my own picture of the characters. If for some reason John must have red hair to fit into the story, they of course tell me that, but otherwise I prefer my own picture of the men.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Police blotter descriptions of ANY character, male or female will make me break land-speed records back-clicking.

 

[TruthAndLove]

Btw: Should I continue seeking a place to tell you how I like women in stories described, or are these two thread options it???

They are the only two I created, but feel free to start more!

 

[starrkers]

I agree with kbate's sentiment. Unless it is vital to the story, I don't need to know anything about his appearance. I'm more interested in his manner and his style.

As to his penis - once again, unless there is something unusual about it that is vital to the story, I don't need to know. And if size matters to the story, I'd rather hear she "boggled at the size of it, waving up to his navel" than "she gasped at his 10 inch cock".

Comparative descriptions work much better for me, I don't usually have a tape measure handy

 

[Kendras_babygirl]

Um, why should i?

if you don't care how your female readers feel about the female characters in your story, why would I start a new thread for you about that. Which goes for if you don't care how your male readers feel about your male characters, why would I start a thread about that, you are the author asking for information, not me.

Glad to see you covered all your bases though.

If I seem to be coming off negatively, rude, snooty, or such... it's because you failed to include good sources of information on your story writing. You left it to straight males (as why would gay ones care how you describe the women) and straight females (as why would lesbians care how you describe the men) Cutting out a probable huge section of readers. Leaving them with no place to give you their thoughts and opinions on how you describe the same sex characters in the stories of yours they read. And that is not to mention the bisexual and bi-curious readers you have.

They are your threads though, and I guess your stories are meant only for the straight folk among us. I will, in that case, leave your stories to them.

I'm not meaning to insult or anger you, but as I said, you were the curious one so I am not going to create a question that only benefits me in providing a place for me to appropriately tell you my thoughts on the subject matter?

Kendras Babygirl

 

[starrkers]

if you don't care how your female readers feel about the female characters in your story, why would I start a new thread for you about that. Which goes for if you don't care how your male readers feel about your male characters, why would I start a thread about that, you are the author asking for information, not me.

Glad to see you covered all your bases though.

If I seem to be coming off negatively, rude, snooty, or such... it's because you failed to include good sources of information on your story writing. You left it to straight males (as why would gay ones care how you describe the women) and straight females (as why would lesbians care how you describe the men) Cutting out a probable huge section of readers. Leaving them with no place to give you their thoughts and opinions on how you describe the same sex characters in the stories of yours they read. And that is not to mention the bisexual and bi-curious readers you have.

They are your threads though, and I guess your stories are meant only for the straight folk among us. I will, in that case, leave your stories to them.

I'm not meaning to insult or anger you, but as I said, you were the curious one so I am not going to create a question that only benefits me in providing a place for me to appropriately tell you my thoughts on the subject matter?

Kendras Babygirl

Love, before you get your knickers in a total twist - he asked a specific question of a specific group because that's his target audience.

I read and answered his threads with that in mind and I fail to see how your information is relevant to his question.

No doubt if he wants to write for a lesbian audience he will ask again. For now he prefers staying in his comfort zone - the type of sex he knows - and wants to compare notes on descriptors.

 

[TruthAndLove]

if you don't care how your female readers feel about the female characters in your story, why would I start a new thread for you about that. Which goes for if you don't care how your male readers feel about your male characters, why would I start a thread about that, you are the author asking for information, not me.

Glad to see you covered all your bases though.

If I seem to be coming off negatively, rude, snooty, or such... it's because you failed to include good sources of information on your story writing. You left it to straight males (as why would gay ones care how you describe the women) and straight females (as why would lesbians care how you describe the men) Cutting out a probable huge section of readers. Leaving them with no place to give you their thoughts and opinions on how you describe the same sex characters in the stories of yours they read. And that is not to mention the bisexual and bi-curious readers you have.

They are your threads though, and I guess your stories are meant only for the straight folk among us. I will, in that case, leave your stories to them.

I'm not meaning to insult or anger you, but as I said, you were the curious one so I am not going to create a question that only benefits me in providing a place for me to appropriately tell you my thoughts on the subject matter?

Kendras Babygirl

???????

Why should you????

I didn't say you should. You asked a question and I quoted it and answered it. Then I added that you are free to create threads yourself. I did not say you should, I just said you are free to.

I did not "fail to include good sources of information" nor did I leave anyone with "with no place to give you their thoughts and opinions". They have such a place. Its this forum. And they can do it by creating threads.

I specifically asked two demographic groups whose thoughts I was curious about. Is there some law that says I have to be curious about the thoughts of every demographic group? Am I required to start threads for Austrailian hermaphrodites and Morroccan eunuchs?

Anyone who is curious about lesbians or gay men or BIs is free to start a thread and ask them anything they want. And any member of those groups who wants to express themselves on any subject they want is free to start a thread and start writing.

But to refuse to start a thread (which is what you have done) and then complain in the very same post that someone else didn't start that thread (which you also did) is just plain ... (I won't say what it is, because I'm being polite.)

 

[cloudy]

Love, before you get your knickers in a total twist - he asked a specific question of a specific group because that's his target audience.

I read and answered his threads with that in mind and I fail to see how your information is relevant to his question.

No doubt if he wants to write for a lesbian audience he will ask again. For now he prefers staying in his comfort zone - the type of sex he knows - and wants to compare notes on descriptors.

you are so much more tactful than I would have been.

Sorry, just gotta at her response. Touchy, touchy.

 

[Sapphire_O]

My 2 cents

I'm in the broad strokes camp of how much to describe. Ethnicity, hair colour, basic body type. His personality is definitely the main ingredient for a hot male lead.

A little description of the cock in an explicit sex scene is nice. But NOT inches i.e. "She took his full 9 inches inside her tightness." I don't carry a ruler with me in bed, why is she? I'd rather read about how it felt. And in first-person, it sounds so ridiculously egotistical that I end up rolling my eyes or laughing aloud.

 

[Stella_Omega]

Sometimes you can use the numbers- because it's such a guy thing;

... his erection... She almost laughed. It was ridiculous, like a joke, how could he be that big? His grin widened at her reaction.

"Don't be 'fraid, baby." he said; "This thing can't hurt you." He looked down at it, proudly. Karen couldn't trust herself to speak. She reached for him, and he came up, let her take him in her hand. She measured his cock against her palm, hefting it gently. It was long, she decided, but its girth was its most formidable aspect; she couldn't close her finger and thumb around it.

"Nine and a quarter." he said proudly. "And 'most seven inches round." and she did chuckle at that. His scrotum was massive, the wrinkled, shifting skin soft and black as velvet.

BUt none of this would be interesting or amusing to a woman, if she didn't already know that the guy was exactly to this woman's taste in many other respects. That passage only comes after Karen has had time to look the guy over, decide she likes what she sees, and also be charmed by his ways.

And that's another thing- If you want your women readers to get off on the men you're writing, make sure that the women you're writing want those guys! The man in the quote I just provided is black, and not every woman will be attracted to a black guy. BUT- most women will sympathise with the female character, and empathise with her, because she makes it clear that she's achieving just the sort of ecstasy that every woman deserves

 

[Jenny_Jackson]

you are so much more tactful than I would have been.

Sorry, just gotta at her response. Touchy, touchy.

I don't understand why this guy is writing for an audiance he doesn't know, to begin with. Doesn't make sense to me other than overly inflated ego

 

[TruthAndLove]

I don't understand why this guy is writing for an audiance he doesn't know, to begin with. Doesn't make sense to me other than overly inflated ego

"This guy" wants to learn more about his audience. (Which means that he is humble, not egotistical.)

 

[TruthAndLove]

Cock Worship is essentially the ultimate elaboration of a blow job.

I guess the phrase comes up mostly in D/s (Dominant/submissive) contexts:
The "worshipper" kneels before the standing (or sometime seated or leaning) cock owner; admiring, praising, caressing, anointing, revering, fondling, licking, tonguing, kissing, sucking, swallowing, and just plain loving, the cock in question.

In a 'vanilla' context, this is about someone spontaneously showing her (or his) man just how much she loves her man and his cock, and wants to give them both a very good time; and is probably more likely to be called "a really amazingly great blowjob."

In a D/s context, Cock Worship is a task that the Dominant may order the submissive to perform, regardless of whether she would feel inclined to of her own accord. (If she wouldn't, it is a matter of her submission and obedience. If she would, it is a way totally kick-ass mind-blowing mega-hot scene.)
Actual theistic elements are comparatively rare, as they a) tend to require dialogue from someone whose mouth is generally otherwise occupied, and 2) make for a pretty heavy scene, and bring in yet another kind of "wierd" (always bearing in mind that one person's "wierd" is another person's "hot"). But a command electing a respose such as "Yes, Master: this glorious cock is the lord of all my being." could well be part of a fairly heavy cock-worship scene.

- Quince, who reads an awful lot

Thanks, Quince. You inspired me to write my first cock worship scene. It's in:

Cindy: Last Two Parental Spankings