Do you rate stories differently based on the gender of the writer? I've been on many story sites for the last decade or so and one thing I've noticed...is that female writers tend to get better ratings than male writers overall. I also find that female writers can get away with alot more than males in terms of dirtiness. It seems a female can write a nasty, filthy, sordid tale and get rave reviews, while a male writing the same type of story will get much more mixed reviews. Is it less acceptable for males to write such things? Or are males more prone to give female writers higher ratings? And vice versa?
I've found that most of the really really postive feedback I've recieved has been from women, while all of the really really negative feedback has been from men.
What are your thoughts? For readers and authors...
As a reader, I've never really thought about a writer's gender: I just assume that they're the same gender as the main character unless there's a notice saying otherwise at the top of the page. I don't give rates based on someone's gender, but I do expect women to have better stories; the females that i know give a lot more emotion into their work. I would let guys and gals get away with a dirty story, but if it's told in a shitty fashion, I'll let them know.
As an author, I don't think that they do. It's just how it's written. I've never seen anyone get horrible reviews just because of their gender. Nor have I ever gotten a bad score because I was a female.
I think that a lot of people are attracted to reading stories from the opposite sex's point of view. After all, it's the one thing I know that I will never get to experience when it comes to sex. I'll never know what it's like to have a dick and fuck a woman (strap-on capabilities aside, it's just not the same). I like to know what a man experiences, or how he feels or the way he describes a sex act... not to mention that you can learn some interesting tips as to what the opposite sex enjoys and/or fantasizes about most, and things you might want to try or incorporate into your own sex life. But that's just on a pure interest level.
I'm not sure what the gender stats are in terms of how many men vs women actually read erotica, but if it's a more male-dominated readership, then certainly I can see how female writers will tend to get more attention in general. I'd be curious to see the gender ratio differences for readers in each category... I think that would be interesting!
I do think that women may tend to get more "sympathy scores", even if the story is subpar... especially from male readers. I think it's just a built-in tendency to not want to be too 'harsh' with criticism with female writers. It's just my opinion though. I tend to not like to give bad scores to either gender, so if I read a story that I don't like, I'm more inclined just to bypass the scoring altogether - which is probably a bad thing. Assumably we all want the feedback, but I just hate delivering a 'bomb-score' on something (I think that's the girl in me, not wanting to hurt feelings... lol), so I just tend to avoid it.
In terms of content of the stories, yes, there is definitely a difference in terms of what a woman can get away with and have be considered still erotic. I find this is particularly the case with the Reluctance or non-consent categories. A story told from a female's perspective is often judged less harshly, especially if she is the one being dominated. It's just seen as an authentic female fantasy. A male writer, using the same level of "dirty details" in the story may be judged more because of the implied question... "is the female character really enjoying it, or is this writer using this story as an opportunity to unleash his inclinations towards force and sexual coercion?" It often makes me wonder how the same story would do in ratings/feedback if it were posted for half the readers as a female writer, and the other half as a male. On the other hand, in terms of my own feedback for the reluctance stories I've written, I've actually found that if anyone is being critical of the content, it has always been a male reader. I think that whole category appeals more to female readers in general, who have the legitimate fantasy. Whereas men tend to struggle a bit more with what society instills in them as being inappropriate or wrong when it comes to "convincing" a "reluctant" sex partner... regardless of the fact that it's just part of a sexual fantasy.
I don't think women are necessarily better writers, but I do think they have an edge in erotica for many reasons. I think women are better at describing physical contact as it relates to their bodies which tend to be more sensitive in more locations, on the body, then men, thus better knowledge of what it feels like for a women to have an orgasm. I think men are good at describing the physical world while women tend to be good at writing the emotional world. Example of failed writing:
Dick sees Jane.
Dick thinks with his little head.
Dick clubs Jane and takes her back to his cave.
Dick feels Jane's breasts and sucks on nipples.
Dick's cock gets hard and grows to 20 feet (sure!!!)
Dick licks Jane's pussy until Jane moans loudly, waking up grandfather lying in the corner of the cave.
Dick is best pussy eater in world which turns Jane on enough to make her moan so loud that it wakes grandfather up (right? lol).
Dick fucked Jane until he cums. Wow, Dick is best fuck in the world! (lol)
Is this erotic or does it seem robotic? Men tend to think about actions, rather than feelings and sensations which I think some women capture better in writing. Does the above writing feel authentically erotic? Does it place you into one of the characters and explain in enough details for you to actually feel and see and what it means to be that character? Stories should allow you to live through the characters for the duration on the story.
Again it just depends on the writer, some male writers are great at erotic writing but I think women tend to be innately better.
And I agree with DD and like to see and feel the world from someone completely different, and what's more different then a male? FEMALE!!! I like to learn from stories, and what better way is there to learn what turns a women on then from a women. She's going to write what makes her hot.
To be honest, it depends what you read. For example, Bret Easton Ellis tends to write about America in the 1980's, commentating on yuppie culture, Wall Street and masculinity in books such as American Psycho. If Ellis didn't provide us with the background to the book either historically, culturally, socially or personally, maybe his books in particular would not be seen as cult classics.
As an English and History student, the background does play a part in analysing a piece of Literature but its how that is reflected in language and imagery that matters
"I think it's important to listen to the people that know us best, if you do, you might get to rock" (JD from Scrubs)
"I'm not mad. I'm just...well, differently moralled, that's all." Thursday Next in Jasper Fforde's novels ♥
"First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do"
“Dear News 24, go to bed!
Gender definately makes a difference to a story- most men (note I say most not ALL) tend to write a little selfishly (not sure if that's the right word)- especially when it comes to sex scenes- they don't take a lot of care in describing in any great detail their characters or build up to a sex scene- instead i find that men tend to write in a way that fulfills every porn film cliche I have ever seen i.e she bent over, had a tight pussy, massive tits and tiny waist, long blonde hair, I gave it her good, she couldnt get enough- It's all a bit egotistical. Women, however tend to write with a little more finesse and are more realistic and erotic when describing a love scene, giving the reader a real chance of becomming slowly more and more aroused before a climactic finish.
I would just like to add also - not all men and women write in this way- i have read many stories on here by men that are also very erotic and beautifully written- this is just my opinion based on the majority of stories i have read on here.
tata xx
Most readers are women.
Most writers are women.
Women are more likely to like the writing style of a female than a male, simply because a female knows a female better than a male does.
Technically it does. A male is good at writing in a male's point of view making it more detailed, but of course females are good at writing their own perspective...
Styles may differ yea, but everyone is about the same.
Will I ever find my true love? Try, Try again.
I have female friend in a romance writer's club. (They are in their 50s and only two out of the five enjoy sex still my friend said.) Most in her group refuse to read a man's attempt to write romance stories. They say there are very few who can. I see a major difference since I started writing here. (I have 7 stories now.) Nearly all my chat with is women but I find the men enjoy my stories more. We guys just can't do the nuances well, i.e. smelling the variety of roses on the way to orgasm or pleasure.
Also, I note that most of the people who approve the stories for publishing here are women (as least that is the only sex who have approved my stories) who I believe evaluate differently because of their sex. I think they may have a different idea of erotica compared to the male writers. Still I appreciate them doing the work and they have always accepted my work.
But "viva la difference" in the sexes and we can all agree the more sex the better!
PS: Here is a sentence by Angelicadmirer (Chuck) that says it well. "Men tend to think about actions, rather than feelings and sensations which I think some women capture better in writing."
Good writing means more than gender.
If you did not know the writers gender could you guess it ---doubtful.
It's a moot question for me, because I find myself only reading stories written by women. I am far more interested in seeing inside a woman's mind.
I try not to think about the gender of who is writing, but it seems obvious that if the perspective is first person, and the main character is the same gender as the writer, the experience can be better detailed, as the writer actually knows how it feels.
To me it does. I simply like the idea that a woman is writing about something sexual and that I get to know what she does or likes about that subject.
i prefer stories written by women, they seem rightly or wrongly in my opinion they have a deeper meaning/feeling to them
I'm not aware that I react differently to male or female authors, but it's been interesting to me to find that my own stories, so far, appeal to male readers more than to women readers (to judge from the comments). But I'll keep trying, since I believe that reading and writing are ways of experiencing what we cannot otherwise experience. As Dancing_Doll writes above, "you can learn some interesting tips as to what the opposite sex enjoys and/or fantasizes about most," and I would like to be able to imagine my way into the experience and fantasy of a woman just as much as I would like to make my own experience and fantasy palpable to her.
The kind of feedback that would be really most interesting to me would be feedback from women readers patient enough to point out the ways in which a situation that I describe in my male idiom could be taken in a different direction by a female writer.
This is an excellent question. I do feel that women get higher scores than men, whether it is intentional or not. I find more men read my stories, or at least leave comments, more than women. In my mind when i read a story written by a woman it is like they are revealing a dirty little secret, while men are like bragging about their exploits. I would find it interesting to write a story with a woman, the woman writing the female part and man the male, then reversing it. I do agree that women are more sensitive to the emotional aspects of a story.
I base my reviews solely on how the story impacted me. I don't ever take gender into account. It's all about the story they are spinning for me.
I'm the opposite, I will rate a guy even higher if I feel he has captured and understood the female perspective better than I expected. I don't pay any attention to the gender of the author until after I read the story, if at all. A good portion of the authors I am following are male and I often lean towards those authors when I don't have anything new to read.
I think enticing writing is just that , regardless of gender....hell, can your cat type?
I'm always happy to see a writer has a gender or two. Genderless writers somehow seem too sterile and inexperienced. Maybe the future will change that, but for now...
