Would this be offensive?

[IrezumiKiss]

Sorry to disagree, but stereotypes can be avoided with some imagination, and, in this case, research.

Well said.

 

[matriarch]

Well, I'm doing the reaearch, which is why this thread is here. I don't expect to write true to life stories, and neither do my readers expect to read them. I like to write abut everybody having fun, and that's what my readers lke to read. However, I do try to avod being offensive, and I don't want to accidentally say anything insulting or offensive about anybody.

I did eliminate the reference to "masculine role" and I will try to make the women's preferences clear while describing their activities. Olivia enters the lesbian bar looking for some action. she spots Jessica, whom she know to be a femme, and hits on her. I can probably omit the reference to a "lipstick lesbian" but I do need something to differentiate what the two different women are looking for. I doubt if everybody knows what a "femme" is. I thought I knew, but wasn't sure, so I looked it up in the online dictionary. The reason I want everybody reading the story to know what it is about is because some might otherwise wonder why Jessica is not reciprocating what Olivia does to her and for her.

ETA: I dobt is Sarah Paln is a lesbian, and her husband and children probably think not also. Since I am trying to avoid being offensive, I will not make the reference DeeZire suggested.

I think you can safely assume that all the people reading on Lit are well aware what a 'femme' is!! This is a porn site, after all.

'knows to be a femme'........that could be put so much better - lighter, less formal and straightlaced, leaving the reader to use their imagination. Clues to their inclinations and tastes could be brought out in any ensuing conversation. Using such bald language and description, as well as sounding stilted and totally unrealistic just leaves me no desire to read any further.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

DEE ZIRE is right. Regardless of what you write someone is gonna be pissed and upset. Someone wont get it. Someone is gonna be unplugged.

I posted the anecdote about my colleague who came unwrapped when our boss said "Merry Christmas!" Her husband even came down to the office threatening to kick the boss'es ass. She wasnt Jewish or Muslim or atheist...she was a loon.

If you think about it, stereotypes spare readers a lot of math homework.

Write for your market. I aim my writing at older men with real-life experiences. 20-somethings arent gonna get it, but the old bulls do.

 

[DeeZire]

OMG! JBJ and I are now buds? I must use more discretion in future posts. (No offense JBJ.)

I think the goal of a writer should be to make the words jump off the page, not recline on the page like an exhausted hooker after a military payday.

Peace

 

[Boxlicker101]

Instead of aying 'Olivia knew she was a Femme...' - which is just a different way to use the label, why not say something like - 'Glancing in the mirror before she joined Jessica at the bar, Olivia was pretty pleased with what she saw. She added a quick touch of lip gloss, smoothed down her hair so it fell better on her shoulders and tugged her skirt round so it hung straight over her generous hips. Perfect. She sashayed out of the bathroom, certain of every woman's eyes upon her and looking forward to the night ahead...'


That makes sure the reader identifies her as a girlie girl, without once having to give her a label like lipstick lesbo or femme. Besides, those don't say much about a girl, do they? They only say that she's vaguely feminine, not whether she's sexy or vain or pretty or cute or and ingenue.

x
V

I am not going to use the miror bit. I find it too trite. Jessica is the femme. Olivia is the butch, although I will not call her that, because I believe that would be offensive, especially coming from me.

I will describe the characters, but I will work it into the narration.

 

[Corylea]

You can use really blatant stereotypes, if that's what you're into, and still avoid stilted-sounding labels.

"Olivia ran a hand through her short hair, making sure she was presentable. It had taken half an hour to get the engine grease out from under her fingernails, but she knew that cleanliness was important to Jessica."

 

[TE999]

I have written several Lesbian Sex stories and never once 'identified' my characters in any way. They were merely two...or in one case three...women who were attracted to one another. They were from all walks of life, craftspersons and professionals, younger and older...in other words, people.

Another author of Lesbian Sex stories, Alex the Cat, advised me on my first LS story and ones thereafter. Check her stories out, they read extremely well.