Should Your Characters Wear Condoms?
BLMorticia
Hey readers. Another post by wicked muse
BLMorticia toady and I’m asking, should your characters wear condoms? Not too
long ago friend and fellow author Gavin ML Fletcher wrote a post about this
subject responding to a comment from a reader on one of his books. Read his
article here.
In short, the person said something like
his writing men on men sex without condoms was a detriment to gay men. That’s
not it word for word, but that about sums up this person’s remark. When he
posted this on FB weeks ago, he wrote that article about author responsibility.
Although I wanted to tackle it right then, I decided to do a little
investigating first. I wanted to look at the next few romances, m/m and m/f, to
see if condoms were used in the love scenes. Now, I don’t have like statistics
to show but instead a consensus. In most of the books I’d read, the author
didn’t have its male protagonist wear a condom. Between the time of that
article I read and now, I read about 15 books. I’d say 12 of them had the
couple engaging in sex without the latex.
But it’s fiction, you say. Well yeah DUH! I
mean, Its’ supposed to be an escape from the reality so it’s not required for
the men in the stories to wear a condom. As Gavin brings up in his article, it
entertainment he’s writing so he’s not obligated to show the two men in the
story being responsible adults. Why this person felt the need to pick on Gavin
I’m not sure, considering many of the stories both het and m/m haven’t used any
condoms and seemingly not a lot of people make a stink. Did that take you out
of the story? Did you immediately put it down and say, oh no I can’t read this
because the man isn’t wear latex. Sorry, I think that’s bullshit. If you did,
okay, it’s your prerogative but as I stated its only fiction.


So, how about you? Do you as the reader
feel the author should make their characters wear latex? I’d love to hear your
thoughts!
BLMorticia is currently a published writer
with Naughty Nights Press and Rebel Ink Press. She entertains her readers with
hot and smexy sex, humor, and lots of swear words. She attempts to incorporate
metal music or the military in most of her works. Nothin’ sexier than
metalheads or military servicemen and women! She also writes a biweekly column
on Blak Rayne Books and blogs
on the First Thursday of the month at NNP Blog. For more info,
please visit, Erotica With Snark
Thanks for the awesome post, BL! Really enjoyed it. All the best. ~Blak Rayne
Hey Blak and BL Morticia - Great article. I've addressed similar issues concerning reader expectations when it comes to gay fiction. My most recent post concerned non-consensual sex (Crossroads, Book 1). Several readers took issue with this and even considered it 'rape'. Oh-no! In a recent blog post for Lady Smut I was asked about the non-consensual sex in Crossroads and responded. "I was raised on Rosemary Rogers and Kathleen Woodiwiss novels, i.e., bodice-rippers of the 80s. I assure you, rape was alive & thriving in thousands of romance novels during this era. Where was the outcry then?" Now, gay fiction is alive and well and readers are taking issue with non-consensual sex between characters AND the use (or lack of) condoms?? People, this is fiction, and some issues are best left to the reader's imagination. If, as a reader, the lack of condoms in a scene bothers you, I agree with the author of this post - don't buy the author's books.
ReplyDeleteOh, and btw, condoms (or French rubber sheaths) were available to the upper echelon of society in 1700 and 1800s. Many of the historical novels cited above were ABOUT the elite of society, Dukes, Viscounts, Marquis, and I don't ever recall the subject of the hero donning a condom before he 'raped' the heroine ever being discussed by readers or authors. Double standard?
Keta Diablo
http://thestuffofmythandmen.blogspot.com
Thanks for the comment Keta. I believe it really is up to the author but saying that the author should make the characters wear them is ridiculous. Like you said, if they don't want to read it then move on.
Delete:D
Thanks for stopping by, Keta! Great to hear from you, hun.
ReplyDeleteMy response...who cares? Not to sound snide, but the whole point of writing is to share your imagination with others, and the human imagination is boundless, or at least it should be viewed that way. Why would the use of a condom even be a topic up for debate? If you're talking in reference to adding a little reality to your novel, whatever traits a character has, whatever they chose or chose not to do is strictly up to the author's discretion. In which case it may or may not be suitable.
Regardless, we're talking a fantasy world, so what does it matter if real life rules are broken, whether applicable or not. The characters are fictitious, which means, nothing has happened to any one.
I've written about condom use and the only reason I did was because of the character's personality, otherwise, I find it can be detrimental to the flow of a well written sex scene; just to add a part where the character stops to put on a condom. Really?
Rape is different. Rape, whether consensual or not, usually doesn't involve safe sex. Which is a subject I've written about as well.
If a reader is looking for responsibility, you know, an author has a responsibility to the reading public, they do but only to a certain point.
Just my thoughts! :)
Great thoughts Blak. I agree wholeheartedly. Condoms can be sexy at times but it really depends on character and author!
Delete:D
Thanks for having my muse stop by!