Chapter One: Sex
Before we can really begin, we need to nail down some terminology. We need to mean exactly what we say. What is sex? Frankly, if you didn’t know, you are too young to have a Wattpad account. Let’s review Wattpad’s CG again.
A sex scene does not specifically need to be sex itself and includes other sexual acts (such as oral sex) where it specifically describes the actions themselves.
That is one twisted sentence. It belongs in a cryptic crossword.
This is a possible alternative, although I would be open to suggestions:
A scene where there is implied or described consensual and sexual touching of erogenous areas, including genitals.
This could potentially include all types of sex. Masturbation should also fit — I assume that permission is quid pro quo. The definition excludes medical examinations. It excludes rape and sexual abuse. Fetishes are a grey area, but they always are. I say let the genitals show the way — when they are involved, it is sex. A fetish can be sexual without being sex.
But why do we include sex in books in the first place? Aren’t such scenes just for titillation? Do we need sex at all in books?
In general, I think that we write sex scenes for the following reasons:
1. To express attachment — romance or love.
2. To acknowledge the characters as physical, sensory beings.
3. To reveal something about the characters that you would not be able to show in any other situation, including changes in power, hidden intensity, unexpected vulnerability.
4. A plot device that is either integral to the storyline or used obliquely as foreshadowing or symbolism.
5. Pornography.
One of my favourite books, Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay has a specific sex scene. It fulfills points 1 to 4 perfectly. In fact, I would say that the book is impossible without the scene — the rest of the story hangs off it. I won’t spoil it for you, but if you’ve read it, you would know exactly what I mean. I rarely gush about a book, but this story is perfection.
Point 5 is obvious. Pornography is ‘Prohibited’ under Wattpad. To their credit, they describe it quite nicely.
A story is considered pornographic when it exists solely for the purpose of sexual stimulation. These stories focus on sexual acts, rather than telling a story. “Telling a story” means the work must have a plot unrelated to the sexual scene/s, or must show a progression or growth in its characters.
Beautiful and seemingly obvious. Surely pornography does not exist on Wattpad. Hmmm — hashtag, hashtag… Oh, yes it does. But that should be for a later chapter. As an adult, I would be ambivalent with porn being on Wattpad, except its recommendations sometimes shoves it in my face. Or if it is the cover media, in somebody else’s. I cannot describe it, or I might get the mature rating slapped on me. Unexpected and unsolicited pornography is not fun, especially when woven so densely into the Wattpad framework. Fanfiction you might like? Not like that, thank you.
Apart from this, I am also annoyed that such explicit material exists in Wattpad while other users are pulled up for subtler work with less gynaecological focus. Then there are the 13-year old readers to consider.
Finally, the eagled-eye among you would have noticed that there is a reoccurring word, both in my words and in Wattpad’s mighty vocabulary. Sex depends on it. Marvin Gaye sang about it. The word is ‘sexual’. That will be focus on my next chapter.
