Thread "Sex in the post-90's (discussing sexual health)." in forum "Comic Talk and General Discussion *"

Posted at 6:10PM, Oct. 30, 2020

Okay. I just finished scripting an issue of a series that is about an organization that hunts monsters, the supernatural and strange things. And the issue I just finished was suppose to be a very nasty werewolf going around assaulting people, but after a dozen rewrites it's about a nineteen year old male who just escaped from an abusive environment, it became a breather issue after two high stakes ones and shows a bit of the characters.

The thing about this was I realized I was putting in bits of myself into the story, not just fantasies but when my MC sits down with the teen and tells him basically, "No, I'm not going to sleep with you because I've been there, and it's not good decision." and he reasons it's not because absence is the best, or everyone is just a pile of chemicals that is driven by reactions and hormones but by emotions, feelings and experience.

I also had a moment where he talks about condoms, but also talked about they can break so there is risks. And about trust about your partner, even one night stands.

Honestly I wasn't thinking, but I was putting in stuff I wished was talked about and I honestly hope it help somebody else out there, not by preaching but like the MC sharing feelings and experiences that I had gone through and share some knowledge.

I thought it would be a good subject to bring up so other creators who want to have sex in their story, ether as porn, for romance, for horror, for character or just want to talk about it.

One question I put forth to start off with is what kind of lesson you wished somebody taught you or a general negative concept you wish would go away?

Posted at 6:10PM, Oct. 30, 2020

I think the general idea that women are shamed for having sexual desires, and the idea that women have desires and seek out sexual stimulation, intercourse, etc for their own pleasure is still suppressed. It's gotten better I think, but the ideas are still there and a lot of women feel isolated because these issues don't get talked about.

Posted at 6:10PM, Oct. 30, 2020

Why post 90s? Really sex hasn't changed that much, I'd say condoms get used less than in the 90s as back then AIDs was newer and more scary. People perhaps shave bits a bit more and porn is easier to access but that's about it.
Anyway sex in fiction, it can be used in so many ways and i think the key elements to consider are…
1, is it right for your story?
2, is it right for your characters?
3, to what extent do you focus on it?

Writing different attitudes towards sex can be interesting, be it cultural or personal differences. The previous post mentioned womens attitudes towards sex, that's definitely a thing. Many comics do portray an old fashioned view of female sexuality, or what comes across as authors fantasy views of sex.

Posted at 2:10AM, Oct. 31, 2020

I was told. I just didn't listen and had to experience it all first hand. And a lot of times my emotional baggage was the problem. The world wasn't that bad. My misperception of the world and myself was the problem. Someone telling you stuff won't always help because you're just not going to listen and learn.

I write about sex a lot. A lot of folks approach it differently. Different times and places have differed even more from our views.

Things don't have to be how they are. What if they had evolved quite differently? What would a far future look like? Would our current problems even make sense to them?

Why does our culture see this in this way? Okay – well what if that never happened.

Posted at 8:11PM, Nov. 1, 2020

I really wish sex had not been so massively mythologised in the teen-focussed American movies and TV shows I watched when I was growing up. I think that skewed the reality for a lot of people.

Sex should not be seen as a prime objective and "virginity" should not even be a thing at all: I mean it shouldn't be some stupid ideal state worth preserving and it should not also be a shameful thing to hide and get rid of as soon as possible.
Whether you have sex or not is completely unimportant as long as you're old enough and not coerced in any way.

With sex now the big thing for many is emulating porn. Porn is fake. It's a fantasy. They cut out ALL the awkward, uncomfortable, stinky, smelly, silly, funny, stupid stuff real sex involves.

Condoms will ALWAYS be important, especially with new partners! AIDS is the least of your worries. Herpes is still incurable, and a lot of STDs will do nasty things if you don't catch them in time- many of them are asymptomatic. You don't want late stage syphilis or to be made sterile for life.

Don't do sexual practices you're uncomfortable with because you're pressured or because someone convinces you that everybody does it now. That's never true. Only do something you want to.

Genitals are all different. Don't let some moron tell you your vagina, dick or boobs looks weird or abnormal or ugly, or small or big- there are NO perfect standard, "normal" examples for ANY of that! They're all different an highly individual.
Never take porn or movies or models as any sort of a guide for that either.
Someone will always find you own bits beautiful.

Posted at 7:11AM, Nov. 3, 2020

Something I would like to see more of in fiction are sexual interactions where the circumstances are very, very unique, and we get to see the unique issues and the unique solutions that comes with it. This is perhaps a little bit of a spoiler, but in my comic Idfestation, down the line, there is going to be a sub plot that is sort of humorously touching upon one of the things that Ozoneocean just said here on this thread, that there is always someone for everyone.

There is going to be a character who is compelled by this very unique sexual specification, that she has problem satisfying in the harmonious way she would really want, because of its rather dangerous nature. And then there is this other character who hasn't been able to have sex with anyone because of a biological bend to his "bits" so to speak.

These two cross path and get to know one another intimately and eventually they have sex, and they just so happen to be perfectly sexually compatible with one another, fulfilling that desire that both thought could never be fulfilled. Now this is just sort of meant to be this surreal and ultimately humorous scenario, going along with the wacky and surreal comedy horror tone of the comic.

But I think it might at the same time be a scenario that somewhat touches upon what's being talked about on this thread, that the way we as a society approach and portray sexuality and human sexual urge, like so many things in life, must not be taken for granted, and that is why we as artists and creators need the freedom to explore the ideas we have about the subject as much and as boldly as we want in our art and in our storytelling.

Posted at 8:11PM, Nov. 3, 2020

Genejoke wrote:

Anyway sex in fiction, it can be used in so many ways and i think the key elements to consider are…
1, is it right for your story?
2, is it right for your characters?
3, to what extent do you focus on it?

Writing different attitudes towards sex can be interesting, be it cultural or personal differences. The previous post mentioned womens attitudes towards sex, that's definitely a thing. Many comics do portray an old fashioned view of female sexuality, or what comes across as authors fantasy views of sex.

It was very right for my story (B.E.) and characters and was focussed on quite a bit… I tried to break away from the "old fashioned view of female sexuality", since I think it's ludicrously outdated….

ozoneocean wrote:

Porn is fake. It's a fantasy. They cut out ALL the awkward, uncomfortable, stinky, smelly, silly, funny, stupid stuff real sex involves.

Genitals are all different. Don't let some moron tell you your vagina, dick or boobs looks weird or abnormal or ugly, or small or big- there are NO perfect standard, “normal” examples for ANY of that! They're all different an highly individual.
Never take porn or movies or models as any sort of a guide for that either.
Someone will always find you own bits beautiful.

Definitely ! I agree with all of it, but thinned down the quote.
The genitals thing is SO important. I'm horrified that young girls are getting perfectly ‘pretty’ vaginas mutilated from peer pressure,etc. !!

Andreas_Helixfinger wrote:

Something I would like to see more of in fiction are sexual interactions where the circumstances are very, very unique, and we get to see the unique issues and the unique solutions that comes with it…….
the way we as a society approach and portray sexuality and human sexual urge, like so many things in life, must not be taken for granted, and that is why we as artists and creators need the freedom to explore the ideas we have about the subject as much and as boldly as we want in our art and in our storytelling.

The sexual interactions in B.E. are ‘unusual’ I hate to say ‘unique’ between the 2 central characters… the rest if he story has ‘straight’ and lesbian sex relations.
Intersex people are under-represented everywhere, so between that, and wanting to be part of the more ‘modern’, liberal attitudes to sex ….along with a strong desire to represent the surfing lifestyle I now miss so much, was the inspiration for B.E.

Posted at 6:11PM, Nov. 4, 2020

In terms of sex info IN stories, my stories don't fit with educational content…
With Pinky TA there would be no discussion… In Bottomless Waitress it's really up to Banes as the writer, but he tends not to have discussion either.
If there would be any in that comic it'd be interesting… Because there's a lot of it bubbling bellow the surface. Discussion would be more post coitus: The girls talking it over amongst themselves, older offering the younger advice, or Polly telling Craig not to get attached because sex isn't always "special"- which is an important lesson.