On Writing Interracial Erotica

[- K -]

My latest (and first) series on Literotica has focused on an interracial relationship between a white male and a black female. I've been having a really rough time deciding between putting them in the "Interracial Love" category or "Romance" because the racial thing is pretty much a minor detail, at least in my mind.

Writing interracial erotica was never a big deal to me, as most of my own relationships have been interracial. To me it was just changing one or two adjectives here and there and that was it. Is there anything more to it? I'm just worried if i put to much effort into it it will start to look like this:

"Oh! Yes! I am such a Caucasian American male you sexy half-black, half-Asian woman with dual citizenship in Canada! Oh we are so not of the same ethnicity! Yes!"

You see? That's just tacky.

Maybe it's just because interracial relations does not seem like something so mind-blowing that it constitutes it's own category next to "incest" and "BDSM." Does anyone else have any thoughts on this?

 

[oggbashan]

As I understand the category, interracial is about breaching an apparent taboo.

In the context of the UK, interracial doesn't have the same impact.

I would suggest trying another category but NOT loving wives.

Og

 

[Wildcard Ky]

I agree with OG. The IR category is about a certain form of Taboo. I've seen many stories in other categories that had characters of different race, but their race wasn't a driving part of the story.

 

[Liar]

Maybe it's just because interracial relations does not seem like something so mind-blowing that it constitutes it's own category next to "incest" and "BDSM." Does anyone else have any thoughts on this?

Yes, I think it's odd that the category exists. I don't see the taboo. I can't even understand that there could be any kind of special tittilation about it, unless you are, in a manner of speaknig, a racist, and bogged down by the stereotypes that goes with it.

 

[rgraham666]

I haven't yet done a story that could be considered 'interracial'.

If I did, I'd put it in another category. We're all human beings.

 

[Munachi]

Yes, I always wondered about the sense of this category... First of all I think the use of the word race (i.e. thinking that there are actually "races" in humans) is quite outdated to me... And then it is quite vague as well. What kind of taboo is it, this is supposed to be about? Wouldn't the implication that it is a taboo be racist, in a way?

 

[JamesSD]

There was a good thread a while back on Interracial, largely about how the category seems to be dominated by "Big Black Male" sorts of stories.

If the story doesn't change if the races change I'd put it in Romance, Erotic Couplings, or whatever seems appropriate. The Interracial coupling should be at least somewhat taboo, and central to the story.

 

[Varian P]

My take on this (gleaned from brushes with the topic in academia more than a pesonal exploration of the category on this site) is that porn and erotica which spotlights racial "difference" fetishizes that "difference." The eroticism for the producer and consumer is rooted precisely in race, and racist stereotypes and tropes (e.g. the huge black cock pillaging the virtue of the white woman, oversexed black women and men, submissive asian women, etc).

If race is incidental, rather than focal to your story, I might put in in the category which best suits what at the erotic core of your tale, e.g. romance, BDSM, etc.

 

[Svenskaflicka]

I'm quite fond of Interracial Stories, actually. Ofcourse, the category is loaded with clichees and racistic stuff where the Good White Girl suddenly becomes "a cock-hungry slut" for the black male savage. Ho-hum. Hit "1" before you hit "Back", to discourage this type of masturbation writers, who get off on using words like "suck my big black cock, you little white slut!", voicing opinions that they keep at heart but are too well-mannered to say in public. Writing these stories vent their racism, at the same time as it gives them the opportunity to get back at the girls who chose a black man over themselves..? by calling them sluts and cunts.

If you ignore them, and the ones where a white man has his little fun with a black or asian "slave girl"; what's left are a few gems, where you have a real erotic story with more or less romance, with two people meeting, getting attracted to each other, and having sex. Oh, and one of them is white, the other is not.

What's the purpose of writing such a story for Interracial instead of placing it in Erotic Couplings or Romance or something like that? The purpose is to cater to people like me, who are tired of reading "he was a surfing god, with bleached blond hair and baby blue eyes" or "she was a living, breathing Barbie doll, with long, silky, golden hair, and big, blue eyes".

I want to read "the cutie at the bar looked at her and smiled. He had dark brown eyes and skin like dark chocolate. His braids were gathered up with a ribbon in his neck. His mouth looked soft and sensual, the kind that was heaven to kiss..."

 

[Liar]

I just realised that my latest story is, kinda, interracial. It even emphasized the differences as an attraction thing.

And two more that I have written are of ppl of different skin color getting it on.. Almost a third of my lit stories are, if I inlude one that I pulled.

And I haven't noticed until just now.

Huh.

 

[Svenskaflicka]

I just realised that my latest story is, kinda, interracial. It even emphasized the differences as an attraction thing.

And two more that I have written are of ppl of different skin color getting it on.. Almost a third of my lit stories are, if I inlude one that I pulled.

And I haven't noticed until just now.

Huh.

I like you more and more.

 

[Liar]

I like you more and more.

Trying to make me blush?

What the hell are you doing up at 5 in the morning, by the way?

(And what the hell am I doing up?)

 

[Stella_Omega]

I want to read "the cutie at the bar looked at her and smiled. He had dark brown eyes and skin like dark chocolate. His braids were gathered up with a ribbon in his neck. His mouth looked soft and sensual, the kind that was heaven to kiss..."

You might like this one You might like it very much!

 

[Boxlicker101]

I have only written one story that I would call interracial and that was to enter in the Survivors' Contest. It was something of a cliche, with the big, black , hung delivery man and the white woman but there was mutual respect between them, and no dialect, and they both had fun.

I have written others, always first person, where the man was white and the woman was either Chinese or Japanese or African-American. These were written for specific female readers, who were of that ethnicity. These were classified as IR because the alternativer would have been E/C. I have also written stories in other categories where the characters were of different races. I even have some stories in the incest category where the narrator is white and the women are Philippina. If the story will fit nowhere else, I put it in E/C. If the only other choice is IR, that's where it goes.

 

[3113]

My take on this (gleaned from brushes with the topic in academia more than a pesonal exploration of the category on this site) is that porn and erotica which spotlights racial "difference" fetishizes that "difference." The eroticism for the producer and consumer is rooted precisely in race, and racist stereotypes and tropes (e.g. the huge black cock pillaging the virtue of the white woman, oversexed black women and men, submissive asian women, etc).

Excellent point. This was exactly what I found when, curious, I checked out that section. I'm in an interracial relationship and I found the category odd because I almost never think about it (except when someone else brings it up).

A lot of the IR section has to do with three things:
1) A clash of cultures rather than skin color--with both parties very much aware of their cultural idenity. This story makes sense as it does exist; people do wrestle with idenity and race often is imposed on them (or they decide to make it) an important part of their identity.

2) As said, racial sterotypes.

3) Role-playing (that is, the characters acknowledge the racial sterotypes, using them in the story for fantasy role-playing. Like a modern, Japanese-American girl playing the role of Gisha for her boyfriend).

I found it very interesting that erotic fantasies still contain such stereotypes--i.e. that this fetish still exists. I wasn't surprised to find it, just interested. In fact, I found it so interesting that I ended up writing a series about a black leatherman/actor who likes to grant men their sexual fantasies. I made him fully aware that he was going to be typecast--but he didn't mind so long as he wasn't asked to play, yet again, the big black cellmate. That role he found boring.

 

[Boxlicker101]

Excellent point. This was exactly what I found when, curious, I checked out that section. I'm in an interracial relationship and I found the category odd because I almost never think about it (except when someone else brings it up).

A lot of the IR section has to do with three things:
1) A clash of cultures rather than skin color--with both parties very much aware of their cultural idenity. This story makes sense as it does exist; people do wrestle with idenity and race often is imposed on them (or they decide to make it) an important part of their identity.

2) As said, racial sterotypes.

3) Role-playing (that is, the characters acknowledge the racial sterotypes, using them in the story for fantasy role-playing. Like a modern, Japanese-American girl playing the role of Gisha for her boyfriend).

I found it very interesting that erotic fantasies still contain such stereotypes--i.e. that this fetish still exists. I wasn't surprised to find it, just interested. In fact, I found it so interesting that I ended up writing a series about a black leatherman/actor who likes to grant men their sexual fantasies. I made him fully aware that he was going to be typecast--but he didn't mind so long as he wasn't asked to play, yet again, the big black cellmate. That role he found boring.

I think there is another kind of story in the IR category and this is what most of mine are. Most are stories where the racial aspect is incidental, that is, there is nothing especially racial about it except the characters happen to be of different races. Such stories should maybe belong in E/C except they will be postd in IR since E/C is overcrowded anyhow.

 

[Colleen Thomas]

The story cats here at lit, primarily are for the readers. I think most authors find their stories crossing cat as often as not. Within that context then, you should submit your story to the cat where you think the bulk of the erotic element falls.

If the race of the characters is, to you, a minor detail, then you should probably submit it to another cat. Readers will go to that cat with certain expectations and if they are not met, they will be disappointed. If you haven't written to those expectations, then your work will probably fall short of them.

 

[Svenskaflicka]

Trying to make me blush?

What the hell are you doing up at 5 in the morning, by the way?

(And what the hell am I doing up?)

I didn't fall asleep until 5.30 AM, only to be awoken 3 hours later to the music of Peer Gynt on my mobile. Worst part was that I was out of coffee.

 

[- K -]

Well, on that note...

A lot of the IR section has to do with three things:
1) A clash of cultures rather than skin color--with both parties very much aware of their cultural idenity. This story makes sense as it does exist; people do wrestle with idenity and race often is imposed on them (or they decide to make it) an important part of their identity.

Okay, okay. I'm starting to get a better understanding. But how about this little ehtical/philosophic/literary conundrum: what if it's clashing nationalities? Here's a couple examples:

Would a story about a Palestinian falling in love with an Israeli, where the focus is on the danger posed by them being together be considered interracial, even though they are both ethnically the same?
How about a German man and a French woman in 1940?
A Japanese and a Taiwanese during the invasion in WWII?
A British magistrate and an American colonist during the revolutionary war?

All of the examples above would be definately breaking cultural taboos of their respective times and places, but none of them would be crossing what are traditionally (at least in the US) thought of as 'racial lines.' Even if the focus is put on the fact that they are on opposite ends of a larger conflict, even a cultural one, would it be interracial?

Wow, this discussion is getting good! I love this site.

 

[Svenskaflicka]

You might like this one You might like it very much!

I'm usually not into BDSM stories, but this was actually very nice. The guy was yummy! How many guys can be masculine in such a position?

 

[damppanties]

I'm usually not into BDSM stories, but this was actually very nice. The guy was yummy! How many guys can be masculine in such a position?

Yes. I loved it too.

 

[Stella_Omega]

I'm usually not into BDSM stories, but this was actually very nice. The guy was yummy! How many guys can be masculine in such a position?

Fantasy men... Seriously, I've known men who haveno problem at all withthis issue. What a joy, and they are why I can call myself queer, instead of lesbian.
Thank you for the compliments Svensflicka and damppanties! You know I love hearing them...

 

[Colleen Thomas]

Okay, okay. I'm starting to get a better understanding. But how about this little ehtical/philosophic/literary conundrum: what if it's clashing nationalities? Here's a couple examples:

Would a story about a Palestinian falling in love with an Israeli, where the focus is on the danger posed by them being together be considered interracial, even though they are both ethnically the same?
How about a German man and a French woman in 1940?
A Japanese and a Taiwanese during the invasion in WWII?
A British magistrate and an American colonist during the revolutionary war?

All of the examples above would be definately breaking cultural taboos of their respective times and places, but none of them would be crossing what are traditionally (at least in the US) thought of as 'racial lines.' Even if the focus is put on the fact that they are on opposite ends of a larger conflict, even a cultural one, would it be interracial?

Wow, this discussion is getting good! I love this site.

To your first example, I wrote a story where a Palestinian terrorist and Mossad agent fall in love. the story was a romance, the cast were interracial, but the gist of the erotic came from both being women. So the story was submitted to Lesbian.

Similarly, I wrote one about a German woman and french resistance member in Paris circa 1940 and again, the sexual edge is lesbian so that's wehre it was submitted.

By and large, you will find from a reading of the IR cat that the thrust is in how the protags deal with the feelings. Some have excellent descriptive passages that revel in the contrasting skin colors, but most could be boiled down to big black dick as far as descriptive prose goes.

As with any story here, you look at your work and determine wehre the emphasis lies. A good example would be a very hard BDS&M lesbian story. Obviously it could go into the les cat and probably should, but if your descriptions and the major brunt of the erotic content deal with the paraphinalia of S& M play or with the surrender/submision of the protag, then BDS&M may be the better cat.

 

[Varian P]

Okay, okay. I'm starting to get a better understanding. But how about this little ehtical/philosophic/literary conundrum: what if it's clashing nationalities? Here's a couple examples:

Would a story about a Palestinian falling in love with an Israeli, where the focus is on the danger posed by them being together be considered interracial, even though they are both ethnically the same?
How about a German man and a French woman in 1940?
A Japanese and a Taiwanese during the invasion in WWII?
A British magistrate and an American colonist during the revolutionary war?

All of the examples above would be definately breaking cultural taboos of their respective times and places, but none of them would be crossing what are traditionally (at least in the US) thought of as 'racial lines.' Even if the focus is put on the fact that they are on opposite ends of a larger conflict, even a cultural one, would it be interracial?

Wow, this discussion is getting good! I love this site.

Would it "be considered interracial" for what purpose?

If we're still talking about story categories here at L.com, I think Colleen and Svenskaflicka and others have made a good point: the story categories are little boxes which rarely suffice to encompass everything going on in a single story, so most stories have elements which could land them in two or five or more potential categories, and every category will have stories which stand apart from the bulk of works found under that heading.

So, I'd say that the story you're working on, or the examples mentioned above, fit, on a certain level, into the IR category, but might not be what I imagine most of the people seeking stories in that category are looking for: a fetishization of something "other" (which functions, I figure, in the same way the fetishization of virginity works in many sotries in the First Time category: the fact that someone in the story is a virgin isn't incidental: there's a prurient element to the cherry-losing).

Obviously there are people from lots of different countries and cultures writing at reading at this site, so the taboo element is bound to vary greatly. For me (of the USA), I see the French/German WWII example, and the Palestinian/Israeli example as one about taking a risk by sleeping with "the enemy" more than the kind of taboo that apparently lingers here in the US with regard to, in particular, Whites and African Americans, which draws on hundreds of years of racist propoganda about the primitive/sexual nature of black people, historically used to scare the shit out of Whites by convincing them that the end of slavery, desegregation, and whatnot will inevitably lead to every faithful White wife and every chaste virgin White daughter being violated by the insatiable savage Black man. African American women have also been portrayed as being highly sexed (including "scientific" studies where the genitalia of white women and black women were photogrpahed and compared to "prove" that black women are more aggressively sexual than White women [the "white" women here at L.com excepted, of course ]). So, this particular interractial fetish/taboo is intrinsically steeped in sex/uality. The same is true, I think, for all cultures where there's a sexual mythology at work. For example, Edward Said's "Orientalism" discusses how the White West portrayed the peoples of the Middle East as highly exotic, sexually, during colonialism and after. There's a highly sexualized stereotype, too, of the meek, submissive Asian (a nice broad category, eh?) woman.

I don't know if there's a comparable dynamic at work in the other examples you offered (whether people from those respective cultures have deeply ingrained sexual stereotypes about one another). However, there's easily a well-trodden path of the fetishization of power, which would work in your examples: the conquering people and the subjugated people. The British, Japanese, Israeli, or German officer, and the colonist (or Native American), the Taiwanese, Palestinian, or French civilian who's vulnerable under occupation (or outright imprisonment). From my cultural viewpoint, the power disparity is where the fetish lies with these examples.

If the relationship is one of mutual respect and (to the extent possible) a sharing of power, then the erotic thrill not inherent in the relationship/sex could come from a thrill of defying the expectations of one's nation and family, but I don't think that rises to the test of a fetish. It's just a tension-enhancing plot element.

-V

 

[Stella_Omega]

As with any story here, you look at your work and determine wehre the emphasis lies. A good example would be a very hard BDS&M lesbian story. Obviously it could go into the les cat and probably should, but if your descriptions and the major brunt of the erotic content deal with the paraphinalia of S& M play or with the surrender/submision of the protag, then BDS&M may be the better cat.

Considering the AF that I get...
"Why do your women be boyish, why can't they be (voluptuous and big tits) women like I like? this is the most bore (sic) girl on girl story I ever read" It's better that my leatherdyke stories stay in the BDSM section- An awful lot of the lesbian sex cat readers are men looking for Little Annie Fannie, I'm afraid.