Question - Why 18 year olds?

[ElectricBlue]

Not my experience at all, but I get the point you're making. However, I've also noticed people becoming LESS intersting as they head through their twenties, and only get intersting again thirty years later

When I lived on Sydney's north shore for a while in the late eighties, the mothers were often far more attractive than their teenage daughters.

 

[AWhoopsieDaisy]

If I'm writing an 18 year old as an MC they're always paired up with another 18 year old. This is just a simple byproduct of wanting to tell a self discovery sort of story.

I'm the girl who figured out she was a lesbian at 13, so, I personally find it more believable to tell that sort of story with characters that are still teenagers.

I don't think teenagers are inherently boring, sure most live with their parents still but that doesn’t mean they dont have hobbies, a band in the garage, a junk car they're trying to fix, big aspirations, big expectations crushing them alive, or baggage to unpack. Awkward and unattractive maybe, but not boring.

But then again I'm only 20 myself so I'm not quite at the age where 18 and 19 feel like children. I totally understand that it's a whole different story once you hit 22. Even now I wouldn't date anyone in highschool even if they are 18. There's a big difference between 18 and in college and 18 in highschool.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Children in danger can and does, make for great stories. Not here, but in non-erotica, or mainstream tales.

If I'm writing an 18 year old as an MC they're always paired up with another 18 year old. This is just a simple byproduct of wanting to tell a self discovery sort of story.

I'm the girl who figured out she was a lesbian at 13, so, I personally find it more believable to tell that sort of story with characters that are still teenagers.

I don't think teenagers are inherently boring, sure most live with their parents still but that doesn’t mean they dont have hobbies, a band in the garage, a junk car they're trying to fix, big aspirations, big expectations crushing them alive, or baggage to unpack. Awkward and unattractive maybe, but not boring.

But then again I'm only 20 myself so I'm not quite at the age where 18 and 19 feel like children. I totally understand that it's a whole different story once you hit 22. Even now I wouldn't date anyone in highschool even if they are 18. There's a big difference between 18 and in college and 18 in highschool.

 

[HBuff]

There are a lot of writers out there who make their main characters 18-19 because going younger is forbidden; this isn't an accusation, but a factual statement; that's just the way it is. In fact, I personally know a couple of writers who have one version of the same story for their usual site and another version for Literotica. In one particular story I read, the only difference was she stated the age of the youngest characters (18) on Literotica while she simply didn't on the other site. The girls had boobs, curvy hips, etc., so their sexual descriptions were very much "adult" and since they were highly educated princesses, they were not acting like kids either. The story works, period.

I left my parents' roof at such a young age that by the time I was 18, I was paying rent and buying my own groceries. I have a very hard time understanding the people who see an 18-year-old person as a child by default. This is just as sweeping a statement as saying all Americans/Canadians/Australians/French etc. are this or that.

There are writers who did have sexual encounters in their teen years and love to revisit these years. I'm active on another site where there is a Teen section and some authors have their niche there.

90% represent a vast majority of stories, and some of them are amazing stories. Let's just say that late teenage years are those very special years when so many people became adults and had wonderful experiences that leave them with memories that stay with them until the end of their days.

Many (most?) readers feel strongly attracted to young men and women in the 18-25 age group. Authors cater to them, and it usually fits their likes as well. I sometimes had a crush for a woman in her late 20's or 30's in my teen years, and I don't see why I shouldn't write about such romantic interests. I also write "all adults" stories. The story I like the most is inspired from Margaret Lockwood and it's set in 1938 with the young woman being 22 as the youngest character.

Most of my stories are set in mid-20th century or before. In an educational film from 1957, a father says of his 16-year-old daughter, "She's almost a young woman now." What do you think she'll be seen as by the time she's 18 or 19? Many girls got married at that age, like my own mother did in 1968.

 

[Buffy47]

I'm not accusing any writer of it but maybe they pick 18 because its the lowest age they are allowed to write about...............

 

[nice90sguy]

I'm not accusing any writer of it but maybe they pick 18 because its the lowest age they are allowed to write about...............

Often true in my case - I'm usally imagining a couple of years younger, which fits in with my personal observations of how and when most people become fully sexual (though often remaining inexperienced for a number of years after that).

"May/December" seems wrong to me: I think April/September is more accurate. And that's why it's intersting: April, full of budding potential and hope, and September, wistful, ripe, full of bitter-sweet memories of a hot summer.

 

[SimonDoom]

I'm not accusing any writer of it but maybe they pick 18 because its the lowest age they are allowed to write about...............

Of course! It's not an accusation. It's true. I've done that.

 

[MillieDynamite]

I agree with you. But it's as close to coming of age as you can do. We all know most of us experience things before 18, but we can't explore that in erotica generally.

I'm not accusing any writer of it but maybe they pick 18 because its the lowest age they are allowed to write about...............

 

[Zootonius]

Keep in mind, we're writing fantasy. The 18 year old can be a quick learner. And can discover the joy of giving pleasure as well as receiving. Basically, more empathetic than the average 18 year old.

 

[JaxonHill]

I really enjoy May/December stories. But it seems like 90% of them feature an 18 or 19 year old kid. What is the attraction to a character that young as a writer? They have nearly no life experiences. Nothing to make them attractive or interesting beyond the physical.

Now, admittedly I didn't come into my own as a young man until I was 22. That's when women began noticing me sexually. I lost my virginity at 22. So it's possible I'm just seeing myself at that age and seeing the young man as I was. Pretty likely in fact.

Also, I'm a non-conformist by nature. If something is commonly done, it's something I usually avoid and generally disdain. So my attitude could just be that.

But my question remains. What about that wet behind the ears kid is a draw to you as a writer? Wouldn't a 26 year old with a degree and a job or military service be more likely to attract that MILF next door?

I think people often remember most vividly their first sexual experiences more than many others. They are often formative. Because of this, writing about young people age 18 or 19 brings it as close as is allowed to be written about. I think many people have sexual experiences earlier than that, but obviously its a no-go from a story perspective.

I could go on, but I think this generally captures the idea.

 

[Rob_Royale]

I think people often remember most vividly their first sexual experiences more than many others. They are often formative. Because of this, writing about young people age 18 or 19 brings it as close as is allowed to be written about. I think many people have sexual experiences earlier than that, but obviously its a no-go from a story perspective.

I could go on, but I think this generally captures the idea.

I'm sure you are correct.