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...
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Does a writer's gender make a difference?
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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.
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.
Alpha Blonde
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'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.
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.
Rookie Scribe
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
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!
"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!
Active Ink Slinger
The writer's gender does make a big difference to me when I read a story. As a fairly passive guy with very limited sexual experience who felt very inhibited about sexuality in his formative years, the sexiest and most liberating thing for me is women openly expressing their sexuality. When I was in my teens I felt like a dirty little pervert. Surely the girls and women I lusted after were pure-minded individuals who would reject me in utter disgust if they knew what a horny little wanker I was. Of course I gradually learned that not all women were like that, that, in fact, some of them were as horny as me, but our sexual maps are laid down early, so, still, the sexiest thing for me is a dirty-minded woman. This means that an erotic story written by a woman can appeal to me on two levels, while one written by a man can only appeal on one. The stories themselves can be exciting and arousing, but in the case of a story written by a woman, the fact that she is sharing her naughtiest secret fantasies with me is an added turn on. And the same applies when it comes to readers of my stories. If guys read them and like them, that's great, but what inspires me to write is the idea that women might read my stories and find them titillating. If I had a hot body I could be a stripper and get a kick out titillating women in that way, but I don't, so the one way I can experience the thrill of dampening women's panties is in the realm of fantasy. 
Active Ink Slinger
The writers gender can make a difference although, on here you never really know what gender that writer is. Old men hiding behind teenage girl pics are the worst.lol..
Either m or f, in the end a good story is a good story worth the read. It is nice to hear both male and female sides of subjects though, and how they differ sometimes greatly, then the next story, sometimes hardly at all. Its always nice to see a female writer let totally go and let all of her thoughts, naughtiness and filth run wild where maybe in real life, they stay surpressed. Equally too with male writers, some of there , and other close to the bone stories leave us wondering, erotic fiction or erotic would totally do given half the chance.hehe...
In answer from us, a hot read is a hot read, male or female. All resulting in either, severe dampness or hardening in the below regions. Then, maybe a play with one's self or each other. If though, story hits the right spots, a full on, no holds barred, there and then hard, soft, fast, slow, gentle or forcefull sexual moment may be required. Whichever way, it all gets the desired effect it was penned for.
Either m or f, in the end a good story is a good story worth the read. It is nice to hear both male and female sides of subjects though, and how they differ sometimes greatly, then the next story, sometimes hardly at all. Its always nice to see a female writer let totally go and let all of her thoughts, naughtiness and filth run wild where maybe in real life, they stay surpressed. Equally too with male writers, some of there , and other close to the bone stories leave us wondering, erotic fiction or erotic would totally do given half the chance.hehe...
In answer from us, a hot read is a hot read, male or female. All resulting in either, severe dampness or hardening in the below regions. Then, maybe a play with one's self or each other. If though, story hits the right spots, a full on, no holds barred, there and then hard, soft, fast, slow, gentle or forcefull sexual moment may be required. Whichever way, it all gets the desired effect it was penned for.
And somewhere, between when you said “I would never leave you”....And when you said “I can’t stay here anymore”....My heart got caught in the crossfire of all your words....
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
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
Active Ink Slinger
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.
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.
Active Ink Slinger
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.
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."
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."
Active Ink Slinger
Good writing means more than gender.
Active Ink Slinger
Quote by Manny
My wife is in a romance writer's club that meets weekly. Most in her group refuse to read a man's attempt to write romance stories. They say there are very few who can.
As a professional male romance writer. I get this reaction from romance writer's groups from time to time. Even from my own fans (all few of them! *lol*) I've had a few that once they realized I was male, quit reading my stuff. But I have never had anyone who didn't already know I was male, read my stuff and think... definitely a male writer! I've had plenty of professional reviews that thought i was female until after they gave my books a glowing review and I corrected their comments about Ms. Chase. *lol* My alias is purposely gender neutral though,because of some romance readers/agents/editors/publishers who insist its not to be written by men. Fortunately, these days, they are the minority
paranormal • erotic • romance
www.forlorn-hope.net
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.
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.
Quote by Christie
Good writing means more than gender.
Couldn't agree more..... I number both men AND women among my favourite Lush scribes.....
Of course, I write as 'Stephanie', (and I'm a straight guy, as evidenced by my profile) and the knowledge (and indeed the freedom) that writing as 'Stephanie' allows me is very important to the way I write... "Stephanie' writes stuff I NEVER could... (And I think she ROCKS!)
That said, I write sometimes from a Male and sometimes from a Female point of view..... I'm really not joking when I say I'm ASTOUNDED by women who write to me and comment and say that I write really well from a woman's perspective...... (!!!!????!!????)
I find that incredibly flattering, yet in my personal life I confess to mostly finding the women I'm involved with TOTALLY unfathomable..... (Like most guys!) But I do love them so....... And I care, and I'm kind. And they know... Perhaps that gives one an insight!
Honestly, and PLEASE PLEASE don't think I'm being sexist but I love writing from a woman's point of view..... Maybe because ONLY in my stories do the women I adore behave exactly just how I would wish!!!! My real girls only do that sometimes!!!! And usually not on my call!!!
xx SF
Active Ink Slinger
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.
Active Ink Slinger
Quote by deadlogger
If you did not know the writers gender could you guess it ---doubtful.
According to a group of researchers at the Illinois Institute of Technology and Bar-Ilan University in Israel, you can guess the writer's gender by the frequency of word usage and parts of speech. Their program was simplified into the Gender Genie, which is available online. http://www.hackerfactor.com/GenderGuesser.php#Analyze
The problem that I find with the program is that it sometimes shows both male and female results for the same example. One of the complaints about the IIT and Bar-llan project was that it tended to identify good female writers as male, which might mean that good women writers write like men, but probably has more to do with the input of the programmers.
Another question that I have is what does it matter who wrote a story if you like it? I'd like to see a study that examined the prejudices of the reader about the gender of writers. I have read that many women who read Romance novels will not read Romance novels by men if they are written in a man's name, but have no problem reading them if they're written with a feminine pen name. Needless to say, the same is true of men readers of other genre fiction, or even mainstream novels.
"Happiness is doing it rotten your own way."Isaac Asimov (1994)
Active Ink Slinger
I think enticing writing is just that , regardless of gender....hell, can your cat type?
Quote by BrindleChaseQuote by Manny
My wife is in a romance writer's club that meets weekly. Most in her group refuse to read a man's attempt to write romance stories. They say there are very few who can.
As a professional male romance writer. I get this reaction from romance writer's groups from time to time. Even from my own fans (all few of them! *lol*) I've had a few that once they realized I was male, quit reading my stuff. But I have never had anyone who didn't already know I was male, read my stuff and think... definitely a male writer! I've had plenty of professional reviews that thought i was female until after they gave my books a glowing review and I corrected their comments about Ms. Chase. *lol* My alias is purposely gender neutral though,because of some romance readers/agents/editors/publishers who insist its not to be written by men. Fortunately, these days, they are the minority
I love reading romance by men! They, in general, do much better at having a strong thought out plot with it. That is so weird they react like that. I read homosexual romance only, and mainly male/male. I read a lot of stories online and I can usually tell the gender of the writer. I've been surprised a few times.
On here though, it is the cliche I've heard everyone talk about and I've never seen before. The 'I took my 9 inch cock to told him to bend over, after I grabbed his 8 inch cock...' First, where are you hiding the tape measures? Though the male writers and the female writers are obvious on here as well, because the males tend to give you a blow by blow play of what is going on and the girls add more description.
Though I agree with what someone else said on here and it depends more on the writing. Even with very good writers who can get into the mind of the opposite gender's. I think men and women tend to focus and then therefore describe in more detail different aspects of what is going on. The cliche is that women write about feelings and men about action. With very good writers it is hard to tell, but there will still be that variation to tilt to their side.
On the original question. Your experience might have a lot to do with men always treating women better than themselves. They might think, I could handle this so he could, but not be sure about that when they comment for women. Also, since there is a lot of social activity on this site as well, they might not want to insult the women in anyway in hope of pursing a relationship with them later on.
Her Royal Spriteness
Quote by RichardScott
I think enticing writing is just that , regardless of gender....hell, can your cat type?
mine can *nods* she actually writes some of my better stories for me
You can’t truly call yourself peaceful unless you are capable of violence. If you’re not capable of violence, you’re not peaceful. You’re harmless.
Active Ink Slinger
Quote by Christie
Good writing means more than gender.
*exactly this*
I've seen good and bad writing come out of both genders. Besides, "on the Internet, no one knows you're a dog." So we don't really know that the authors here self-identify honestly in any event.
My novel, The Society, is available now in the Kindle Store: http://www.amazon.com/The-Society-ebook/dp/B00BPF9U2I