Pink Orchid 2026: Story Event for Women-Centric Erotica - Official Support Thread

[WriterSableFox]

I submitted two stories for the Pink Orchid contest. Both I classified as science fiction, because they are that genre, even though there's F/F or F/(X or NB) pairings. I don't want to upset lesbians for not meeting their needs with my work. If that sounds like the wrong way to go, I guess I'll have to wait until they post to fix it.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Lesbianism is a big tent; we can handle almost any pairing.

I submitted two stories for the Pink Orchid contest. Both I classified as science fiction, because they are that genre, even though there's F/F or F/(X or NB) pairings. I don't want to upset lesbians for not meeting their needs with my work. If that sounds like the wrong way to go, I guess I'll have to wait until they post to fix it.

 

[SmilingLez]

I submitted two stories for the Pink Orchid contest. Both I classified as science fiction, because they are that genre, even though there's F/F or F/(X or NB) pairings. I don't want to upset lesbians for not meeting their needs with my work. If that sounds like the wrong way to go, I guess I'll have to wait until they post to fix it.

When your stories post put a link in here so I can read them. Thank you for considering where to post your stories. Categories are there for a reason

 

[THBGato]

I submitted two stories for the Pink Orchid contest. Both I classified as science fiction, because they are that genre, even though there's F/F or F/(X or NB) pairings.

When your stories post put a link in here so I can read them.

Ditto

Categories are there for a reason

Probably something for another thread, but I've been wondering about that. Like, I feel that, although my stories would almost certainly do better in Lesbian Sex, is this basically ghetto-ising lesbian themes by only publishing there? I know SciFi can be very welcoming of WLW stories, but what of other categories? My most recent two stories, and my next two, all feature Lesbians as main characters, but I'm not going to publish them in LS. I'm gonna to try to get out of the ghetto!

 

[StillStunned]

Lesbianism is a big tent; we can handle almost any pairing.

One of those tents that don't need a pole, presumably?

 

[Rambling_Chantrix]

Ditto



Probably something for another thread, but I've been wondering about that. Like, I feel that, although my stories would almost certainly do better in Lesbian Sex, is this basically ghetto-ising lesbian themes by only publishing there? I know SciFi can be very welcoming of WLW stories, but what of other categories? My most recent two stories, and my next two, all feature Lesbians as main characters, but I'm not going to publish them in LS. I'm gonna to try to get out of the ghetto!

The category system here encourages calcification, and has a bunch of unspoken rules as to which topics are higher-priority for categorization. I salute anyone who defies it

 

[SmilingLez]

Ditto



Probably something for another thread, but I've been wondering about that. Like, I feel that, although my stories would almost certainly do better in Lesbian Sex, is this basically ghetto-ising lesbian themes by only publishing there? I know SciFi can be very welcoming of WLW stories, but what of other categories? My most recent two stories, and my next two, all feature Lesbians as main characters, but I'm not going to publish them in LS. I'm gonna to try to get out of the ghetto!

For me I would rather come across a well written lesbian themed story in a non lesbian category versus having a non lesbian story (sprinklings of heterosexuality) in the lesbian category. YMMV

I have found such well written stories in the Erotic Coupling category.

 

[popparazzi]

Ditto



Probably something for another thread, but I've been wondering about that. Like, I feel that, although my stories would almost certainly do better in Lesbian Sex, is this basically ghetto-ising lesbian themes by only publishing there? I know SciFi can be very welcoming of WLW stories, but what of other categories? My most recent two stories, and my next two, all feature Lesbians as main characters, but I'm not going to publish them in LS. I'm gonna to try to get out of the ghetto!

What does the bolded mean?

 

[Omenainen]

One problem with categories is that some of them are based on kink and some on pairing. I have no answers, just the tip that lesbian pairings are well tolerated across other categories, whereas gay men get some readers really upset anywhere outside the category. Which is depressing in my mind.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Probably something for another thread, but I've been wondering about that. Like, I feel that, although my stories would almost certainly do better in Lesbian Sex, is this basically ghetto-ising lesbian themes by only publishing there? I know SciFi can be very welcoming of WLW stories, but what of other categories? My most recent two stories, and my next two, all feature Lesbians as main characters, but I'm not going to publish them in LS. I'm gonna to try to get out of the ghetto!

There's this notion that the categories become corrals, but I tend to think that's an internalising effect from some readers, who don't want to find other kinks in their category of choice. That's fair enough, lesbian women not wanting to find hetero men in the stories they read, gay men not wanting to find women, whatever other road lanes you want to choose; but that does NOT mean that's the only place such pairings should go.

That's a rubbish notion, I reckon, put about by self-appointed category police. It's when some readers (and to a lesser extent writers? I don't know) get militant about it, that it starts to have an alienating effect. I don't think that's positive or helpful.

So yes, publish freely into other categories, or you become part of the silo, which isn't always a good thing.

 

[THBGato]

What does the bolded mean?

You mean "ghetto"? Well it's a Venetian word that roughly translates to "neighbourhood", but came to be used more widely when Napoleon confined all Jews to one specific area of Venice when he conquered the city. Since them it has been used to mean a process by which a group of people is confined to a specific area, also known as the ghetto.

What was your point?

 

[SmilingLez]

One problem with categories is that some of them are based on kink and some on pairing. I have no answers, just the tip that lesbian pairings are well tolerated across other categories, whereas gay men get some readers really upset anywhere outside the category. Which is depressing in my mind.

I agree with you. I don't understand why "pegging" is accepted whereas gay male anal sex is not. Both are exactly the same

 

[PennyThompson]

I agree with you. I don't understand why "pegging" is accepted whereas gay male anal sex is not. Both are exactly the same

The balls don't touch other balls during pegging, this is a key distinction

 

[rampe]

@Omenainen I read your story. At first, I was thinking that reading brothers fighting and complaining doesn't help a lot to make separation to the real life for the reader such as me. It felt too real. Then I started to think is there a certain age when you just know what you are sexually. Well sexuality changes all the time so the main character could have also but sad that it seemed to be too late. The ending was quite radical. I think this was quite unique story. If I would have to change something in the story I would shorten the story from the start a bit and added good old revenge sex in the end. But this wasn't my story. I think this looked a lot like your story and that's just great!

 

[crookedletter]

The balls don't touch other balls during pegging, this is a key distinction

Sometimes I just love this place.

 

[SmilingLez]

The balls don't touch other balls during pegging, this is a key distinction

Thank you very much for that explanation.

 

[Aoife_from_Ulster]

Just sharing. I submitted my second Pink Orchid story this morning, Diane After Hours. It is a second chapter following the series intro via the 750-Word Project. This chapter is publishing to the LW category. I expect it to be brutalized by readers there, but hey, I love Diane and her journey regardless.

My first for Pink Orchid, The Belle and The Bull, posted to EC is faring decently at a 4.6 just under 9,000 reads but only 48 votes.

It is what it is, I loved writing it and reading it back myself a few weeks later.

 

[rampe]

When your stories post put a link in here so I can read them. Thank you for considering where to post your stories. Categories are there for a reason

You shouldn't still take those categories too seriously. The things aren't often so black and white than one could think and into someones favorite category can be published something that the reader didn't think. Is it a point to go crazy? I don't think so. I just move to the next story.

 

[popparazzi]

You mean "ghetto"? Well it's a Venetian word that roughly translates to "neighbourhood", but came to be used more widely when Napoleon confined all Jews to one specific area of Venice when he conquered the city. Since them it has been used to mean a process by which a group of people is confined to a specific area, also known as the ghetto.

What was your point?

MY POINT Was curios never saw the phrase related to a category. I looked it up sifter my post. That's why I asked.

 

[THBGato]

MY POINT Was curios never saw the phrase related to a category. I looked it up sifter my post. That's why I asked.

Fair enough.

Basically, you could see Gay Male, Trans and Lesbian Sex as ghettos, confining those groups to those sections and restricting their access to other spaces. Or you could see those categories as safe spaces for those groups where they can, for once, be in the majority. Of course it's entirely possible for both those things to be true.