Update Trans,CD category to/include Bisexual

[Ambient4190]

It appears the category Transgender, Crossdresser was originally Transsexual,Crossdresser?
Transgender is often life or death for the individual. I know the Transgender life even though it is not my own. Many of the stories I came across in the category were a male identifying as straight wanting sex with a CD, MTF, or others. In multiple older threads in AH, the category request for Bisexual was very popular. People use tags to search for new stories so nothing would be lost.
Just an idea to update/incorporate Bisexual in category name. Absolutely no intent to offend anyone if I have with this thought.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Why would that offend?

 

[KeithD]

The Web site has steadfastly shown no interest in giving a discernible home to bi stories. I don't think lumping them together with trans anything and crossdressing would give them a proper home.

 

[MillieDynamite]

The Web site has steadfastly shown no interest in giving a discernible home to bi stories. I don't think lumping them together with trans anything and crossdressing would give them a proper home.

While you are correct, that isn't a proper home, including Bi in a category allows them a home, however communal the home is. As of right now, there is no home for those stories at all.

 

[lovecraft68]

A bisexual category was promised contingent on if there was enough interest. One poster made it their mission to lobby the forums for it, and started a thread where a lot of support was shown

The site then said they never said that

The poster provided a screen shot of the PM where they said that

Site still said they never said that

Said poster left.

I feel there is a need for it, but its not worth talking about because we've seen where it goes.

 

[KeithD]

Bottom line: the Web site isn't providing a home for bi stories even after having once indicated it was considering it (and subsequently claiming it never considered it). Suggesting it is just so much spitting in the wind.

 

[Carnevil9]

Excuse me; transgender and transsexual are not the same thing? I thought they were. Can someone enlighten me? Thanks!

 

[AlinaX]

Transsexual is an old word now, disliked partly because gender isn't sexuality. It's difficult enough to talk about medical support for trans kids without sex being built into the word itself.

 

[Martles]

Most of the guys I know sexually are bisexual, as am I. I’m not transgender or indeed CD/TV though there is quite an overlap. Personally I see bisexual as a distinct category in terms of both identity and literary subgenre. But when I write about men spanking men that is both gay and BDSM so is across both categories, equally so.

 

[shakna]

As someone who is bi, I don't see why those tales wouldn't end up in Erotic Couplings, or Group Sex, or wherever. Tagging as bi seems enough. Doesn't seem like it needs to be isolated out of the rest of things for whatever reason.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

As a bisexual who writes mainly bisexual stories, if there's more than mentions of same-sex activity the story usually goes in Lesbian Sex or Gay Male, if it's a smaller part of the content it can go anywhere. I use 10 tags for every story, so bisexual, bisexual man, etc are there if anyone searches by tag.

Seems to work OK - no-one's actually complained about same sex contact. I figure that's probably better than creating a Bisexual category which would lead to complaints that all bisexuality should be in it - whereas bisexuals and their sneaky wily temptation are everywhere...

 

[KeithD]

As someone who is bi, I don't see why those tales wouldn't end up in Erotic Couplings, or Group Sex, or wherever. Tagging as bi seems enough. Doesn't seem like it needs to be isolated out of the rest of things for whatever reason.

In another account, I have a bi one in Group Sex now that's being completely ignored. If I'd put it in GM, I bet it would have gotten traffic.

 

[SimonDoom]

As someone who is bi, I don't see why those tales wouldn't end up in Erotic Couplings, or Group Sex, or wherever. Tagging as bi seems enough. Doesn't seem like it needs to be isolated out of the rest of things for whatever reason.

The reason is the reality of how readers react to stories. The majority of readers of Erotic Couplings stories expect heterosexual stories, and are not interested in gay/bi stories. Some react adversely to such stories. That may seem wrong or unfair, but that's the reality.

 

[MillieDynamite]

The reason is the reality of how readers react to stories. The majority of readers of Erotic Couplings stories expect heterosexual stories, and are not interested in gay/bi stories. Some react adversely to such stories. That may seem wrong or unfair, but that's the reality.

All the more reason for bi to have its own category listing. However, I'm hesitant to post in the Lesbian Sex as my stories there haven't garnered as many readers as I'd like. However, they have much better scores than when people are surprised when they find them in other categories. Which is part of my dilemma, get enough readers or have better votes. If they search by tags, things are cool, but when they go by category, people get surprises they aren't prepared for.

 

[SimonDoom]

All the more reason for bi to have its own category listing. However, I'm hesitant to post in the Lesbian Sex as my stories there haven't garnered as many readers as I'd like. However, they have much better scores than when people are surprised when they find them in other categories. Which is part of my dilemma, get enough readers or have better votes. If they search by tags, things are cool, but when they go by category, people get surprises they aren't prepared for.

Makes sense to me. Keith has been pushing for this for a long time, but nothing has happened. From the Site's point of view, there's a balance to be struck between having enough categories that accommodate all the different reader constituencies and not having so many that it makes choosing a story too complicated. But this seems like a sensible solution to me.

 

[MillieDynamite]

There is a site, which shall remain nameless and acronym-less, which uses a drop-down menu for the category, and tick boxes for tags, fewer tags, fewer categories, it doesn't display by category it displayed by new work in one location, and added material in another, a listing by scores ranking, one for ranking by weekly downloads, and everything else by search when stories get a week or two old, downloads dimension. I find neither system, the one there or the one here, entirely satisfying. In erotica, surprises are usually bad for a reader, so you have to indicate them in advance. What I mean is when a chick surprises you with a dick, the author better warn the homophobic, biphobic, and transphobic in advance.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Makes sense to me. Keith has been pushing for this for a long time, but nothing has happened. From the Site's point of view, there's a balance to be struck between having enough categories that accommodate all the different reader constituencies and not having so many that it makes choosing a story too complicated. But this seems like a sensible solution to me.

I don't think the site has changed the categories in at least a decade. Some old timers recall a few changes made years ago.The site doesn't seem that interested in author feedback on such things.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Listing tags on stories would be an improvement, so those who don't like them won't read unless they crave making nasty comments.

 

[AlinaX]

It's certainly true that some readers have a problem with girldick, but I don't see why I should pander to their insecurity.

 

[MillieDynamite]

I'm thinking more of my score on this than any concern for insecure readers. I think it would be a great twist in a tale to find out, "Oh, my god, the bitch has a dick," right after he got a blowjob from her.

 

[SimonDoom]

Listing tags on stories would be an improvement, so those who don't like them won't read unless they crave making nasty comments.

Tags are viewable by clicking on the tag icon at the top right at the beginning of the story. It remains unclear how many people take advantage of this option. The Site can offer features, but it can't make people use them.

 

[MillieDynamite]

On other sites, the tags are visible before you click them. I believe that would end some angry comments and hate voting when they feel they were tricked into reading the story. I don't really care about the scores. Still, it gets discouraging when an author gets one bombed for the story's content not related to enjoyability but someone's inability to accept.

 

[stickygirl]

I think the switch to the transgender title was made some time ago, like three or four years unless I'd become blind to it. The bisexual home needs to be found - full of comfy sofas and lube dispensers.

I'd forgotten how delicate the straight-sex readers were who might be contaminated by reading same-sex porn. Poor things. I'd echo Millie's comment regarding reading numbers in Lesbian, but that's hardly a surprise given the gender demographic at Lit.

 

[RetroFan]

On other sites, the tags are visible before you click them. I believe that would end some angry comments and hate voting when they feel they were tricked into reading the story. I don't really care about the scores. Still, it gets discouraging when an author gets one bombed for the story's content not related to enjoyability but someone's inability to accept.

Your idea definitely has merit Millie, but I've seen heaps of comments complaining about content that is clearly outlined in the title, description or introduction so I'm not sure how much would change. For example complaints in Incest Taboo about a mother-daughter story about how much they hate mother and daughter stories where this is clearly referenced in the title and the description which they could have read before clicking on the story, and that mother and daughter stories are reasonably rare anyway.

Sometimes story titles imply things too, for example I wrote a Fetish story series once called 'My Best Friend's Crazy Fat Sister' and there was an annoyed comment about how the people in the story weren't nice people. It would seem pretty obvious that if you're in the Fetish section of an erotic stories website and see a story called 'My Best Friend's Crazy Fat Sister' that the characters in it might not be very nice, and not the sort of people you would want in your life if they existed in reality. But I was wrong in this presumption.

 

[Bramblethorn]

It's certainly true that some readers have a problem with girldick, but I don't see why I should pander to their insecurity.

Yeah, I'm generally supportive of content warnings, but as a matter of principle I'm not going to give a warning for trans or queer content when I wouldn't for cis or straight content.

I might tag or categorise for it, but that's about helping people who do want that content in finding it.