Linda's Literary Lair! Books for the intelligent, sexy, and curious.
The
AIDS crisis forced writers to talk about safer sex practices and it
turned into a debate. Some authors state that their readers know that
this is fiction. They think barrier methods ruin the flow. Some insist
that not acknowledging the potential consequences of sex lowers the
stakes, turns the characters two-dimensional, and throws the reader out
of the story. Your choices depend a lot on your world-building. Are you
in outer space with all bad germs eliminated? Do diseases not bother the
undead?
I say that you need to have your safer sex choices remain consistent. If
your heterosexual characters don't use condoms or gloves, neither
should your gay or bi characters.
Exercise One: How do you feel about safer sex in fiction?
Exercise Two: What are your favorite ways of writing safer sex?
Let me know! I'll post your answers on my blog.
