Is Literotica a 'Male Centric' site?

[TheLobster]

Male authors, do you agree with that generalisation? I'm not talking about your own writing, but in general.

Yes and no. The issue is what you mean by "sexy."

Male fantasy is primarily about getting the women they want to have sex with them. But it also about being the kind of man whom the women they like are attracted to enough to have sex with. In simple male fantasies, this idea of a sexy man will be mostly about his physical appearance and fitness, because the whole fantasy revolves around the physical aspect of sex. There is probably some undercurrent of a power fantasy in there as well, like a tamer and more realistic version of the superhero one.

Considering that the original statement was made by a woman, I thus read it mainly as saying that this idea of sexy does not describe the men that she finds attractive. Which is completely fair, of course, but it doesn't mean this common portrayal is unsexy in general.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Male authors, do you agree with that generalisation? I'm not talking about your own writing, but in general.
Female authors, do you agree with that generalisation? I'm not talking about your own writing, but in general.

And what about the converse? Does (straight) female fantasy almost never have sexy women in it?

My own reading and writing tastes on this site are pretty atypical, so I have no idea about this.

There's certainly a lot of Lit stories which go into detail about what a woman looks like and what that does to the man, and no detail about the man beyond a vague age, job, and 'I try to keep in shape'.

I'm guessing those are written by and for straight men because of the similarity to mainstream visual porn: loads of focus on the woman, man out of shot as physically possible because the bulk of men don't want to see naked men, so I assume they don't want to read about them either.

Conversely straight women aren't actually repulsed by naked women, and may even quite like their existence in their visual or written porn. (I was horribly disappointed when I found that despite the load of my female classmates decorating their bedrooms with perfume ads and such, with naked or barely-clad women, they actually were straight - confirmed by the years since. Us queer ones had posters of men and abstract art, given the era...)

If you read fanfic, which surveys consistently report as being 85% to 99% female-produced and read, there's a huge contrast between the descriptions there and on Lit. Much more overall description of bodies, much less focus on the looks and emissions of penises, more about the ongoing emotions. Which isn't to say that lots of it isn't also crude and dirty as hell, but it does so in a very different way.

I may have an hour spare later to count up some Lit stories, but I think the majority produced by those over college age have male narrators and POV, and likely male authors. Stuff written by the young and clueless may have equal POVs but I'm not interested.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

And there we go again with generalizations based on... yeah, nothing except our own perceptions and preconceptions. We can keep on going like this in circles forever.
Also, besides all the stereotypes and generalizations, some people here described what they think a "male fantasy stroke story" is. I am still waiting for someone to describe a "female fantasy stroke story" to me. It would be interesting to hear the differences.

 

[StillStunned]

Also, besides all the stereotypes and generalizations, some people here described what they think a "male fantasy stroke story" is. I am still waiting for someone to describe a "female fantasy stroke story" to me. It would be interesting to hear the differences.

It's a completely different motion.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

And there we go again with generalizations based on... yeah, nothing except our own perceptions and preconceptions. We can keep on going like this in circles forever.
Also, besides all the stereotypes and generalizations, some people here described what they think a "male fantasy stroke story" is. I am still waiting for someone to describe a "female fantasy stroke story" to me. It would be interesting to hear the differences.

I'm bored, so I'll bite.
Total generalisation coming up, but you did ask:
Your female stroke story is longer, because building up to wanting to masturbate is what takes the time. Stereotypically, your woman reader reads, then lies back with her eyes shut, afterwards. And to fall even further into stereotypes, it would be a rare case of men being better at multi-tasking than women!

There will be some basic plot or justification for why the sex is happening or why the woman trusts the man enough to have sex with him - possibly the biggest difference. Lots of foreplay without complaint, not just focusing on him coming and 'she came too'.

Certain kinks popular among women (eg bondage) would result in shorter 'stroke' stories, especially ones with a female POV, but in general there isn't much of a concept of a quick stroker because you're thinking in terms of a marathon. The closest would be fanfic where known attractive characters are getting together, because that trust is already established.

Total generalisation, you have been warned.

 

[StillStunned]

I'll add here that when I'm reading stories to my wife she doesn't want them to be too long. She's quite happy with just a hot sex scene with minimal build-up.

Then again, she's a redhead, so special rules probably apply.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Your female stroke story is longer, because building up to wanting to masturbate is what takes the time. Stereotypically, your woman reader reads, then lies back with her eyes shut, afterwards.

This is a point I often make, especially when established writers wander in here to take a stab at erotica, and cite the traditional short story notions of brevity, story arcs and so on, but forget that arousal needs a different rhythm, a different rise and fall. You've summed it up perfectly - if you want to get a result, especially with woman, you've got to give them a bit more time, a bit more emotion. Generally speaking, stereotype-wise, obviously .

 

[Kumquatqueen]

I'll add here that when I'm reading stories to my wife she doesn't want them to be too long. She's quite happy with just a hot sex scene with minimal build-up.

Then again, she's a redhead, so special rules probably apply.

Reading aloud takes about 3x as long as just reading. So with the added attraction of your voice, there's possibly more desire to get to the good bit?

Individual women likely know what characters or images can jumpstart their arousal. Stories have to either nick established characters (fanfic) or spend time creating those (longer fiction, but with the option of skipping over), or allude to an established trope and let the woman fill in herself.

 

[StillStunned]

Reading aloud takes about 3x as long as just reading. So with the added attraction of your voice, there's possibly more desire to get to the good bit?

It's probably the voice. It's somewhere between Barry White and Christopher Lee.*

* In my head.

 

[nice90sguy]

It's probably the voice. It's somewhere between Barry White and Christopher Lee.*

* In my head.

In that case, it probably doesn't matter what you say to her...

 

[StillStunned]

In that case, it probably doesn't matter what you say to her...

Hmm, next time I write a story from a woman's POV, I'll have to include a description of how her male partner's voice is a rumble that bypasses her ears and only registers between her legs.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

It's probably the voice. It's somewhere between Barry White and Christopher Lee.*

* In my head.

Steven Seagal all the way here.

 

[StillStunned]

Steven Seagal all the way here.

I can't tell whether you think that's a good thing or a bad thing...

 

[AwkwardlySet]

I'm bored, so I'll bite.
Total generalisation coming up, but you did ask:
Your female stroke story is longer, because building up to wanting to masturbate is what takes the time. Stereotypically, your woman reader reads, then lies back with her eyes shut, afterwards. And to fall even further into stereotypes, it would be a rare case of men being better at multi-tasking than women!

There will be some basic plot or justification for why the sex is happening or why the woman trusts the man enough to have sex with him - possibly the biggest difference. Lots of foreplay without complaint, not just focusing on him coming and 'she came too'.

Certain kinks popular among women (eg bondage) would result in shorter 'stroke' stories, especially ones with a female POV, but in general there isn't much of a concept of a quick stroker because you're thinking in terms of a marathon. The closest would be fanfic where known attractive characters are getting together, because that trust is already established.

Total generalisation, you have been warned.

Thanks for biting

What you are saying makes sense to me, as stereotypical and subjective as it is, although you did avoid one important contested point - the description of an attractive, sexy man in such stories vs how men portray sexy women in their own stroke stories.

I agree that certain kinks like bondage, blindfolding, and spanking seem to be disproportionally popular with women and that they feature very often in, say, lesbian stories.

 

[alohadave]

It's probably the voice. It's somewhere between Barry White and Christopher Lee.*

* In my head.

And to everyone else, Mickey Mouse.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

I can't tell whether you think that's a good thing or a bad thing...

Dude, the guy's voice practically makes women's panties fall off!

 

[nice90sguy]

Seriously, if I had a sexy voice, I'd so submit an audio story here. My voice is pleasant, but meh

 

[alohadave]

Seriously, if I had a sexy voice, I'd so submit an audio story here. My voice is pleasant, but meh

I don't think you need a sexy voice. An expressive voice that fits the story is more important, IMO.

If you want to try it, go for it. It's pretty easy now to get a basic recording to see what people think.

 

[nice90sguy]

I'm sure there are some women who'd cream themsleves to Steven Hawking.

 

[nice90sguy]

If you want to try it, go for it. It's pretty easy now to get a basic recording to see what people think.

I'm slightly paranoid someone would recognise me

 

[SimonDoom]

Dude, the guy's voice practically makes women's panties fall off!

Steven Seagal, really? I've never thought of him as having a sexy voice. Is that what really turns women on?

When I think of sexy male voices, I think of stronger, deeper, resonant, masculine voices. Sean Connery has a great voice. Jeremy Irons. Russell Crowe. James Earl Jones. Patrick Stewart.

I'd be very curious to get more perspectives from women on that.

 

[AlexBailey]

I'm slightly paranoid someone would recognise me

Me too!
I once called in anonymously to a regional radio talk show and an old high school friend I hadn’t heard from in years messaged me and said he heard me.

 

[nice90sguy]

Me too!
I once called in anonymously to a regional radio talk show and an old high school friend I hadn’t heard from in years messaged me and said he heard me.

Hopefully what you said wasn't too embarrassing!?

 

[nice90sguy]

I'd be very curious to get more perspectives from women on that.

I'm not starting any more threads, but if you did, I'd contribute. The sound of a voice is really important to me. I've blown out relationships because of it, and entered into relationships because of it.

 

[SimonDoom]

I'm slightly paranoid someone would recognise me

I've wondered the same thing. I've thought about doing an audio of a story but I think if anyone who knew me happened to listen they might recognize me. I might try to narrate in a slightly lower than normal register to disguise it a little if I did it. My voice is generally mid-baritone but I can pitch it a little lower if I try.