From a comment on one of my ongoing stories, it seems a shaving scene hit a reader squick. Is there enough demand to justify a 'Shaving' tag? Perhaps in the 'Sexual Activities' category?
AJ
From a comment on one of my ongoing stories, it seems a shaving scene hit a reader squick. Is there enough demand to justify a 'Shaving' tag? Perhaps in the 'Sexual Activities' category?
AJ
Could it have been the specific description of the shaving process that hit his squeak?
I can't imagine that plain (pubic) shaving is really something to squeak about. For a lot of women (and men) it's a normal regular activity. For others it's more like a soft core fetish. I would ignore the one-in-a-million that does squeak about it.
I would ignore the one-in-a-million that does squeak about it.
I agree.
It is likely you could find someone who dislikes just about anything your character|(s) do, don't do, think, etc. If a reader is so sensitive to everyday actions/thoughts being performed by fictional characters in a story, then maybe it's time they consider seeking therapy..?
I don't want to malign the reader who complained - I consider all feedback to be valuable.
Statistically it's more like one in a thousand who has the squick AND went to the time and trouble to mention it. Others may have felt the same way and dropped the story without providing feedback.
And there's also the reverse consideration - some readers may enjoy shaving scenes.
AJ
And there's also the reverse consideration - some readers may enjoy shaving scenes.
That's more likely than squeaks.
That's more likely than squeaks.
And I might have searched the odd adult site for videos of shaving, but everything seemed unrealistic and faked :(
AJ
And I might have searched the odd adult site for videos of shaving, but everything seemed unrealistic and faked
That's just like codes like "black" and "Asian". Since they're stereotypes, the photos are often staged, rather than 'real life' or 'authentic'. Some people don't mind staged shots, but I generally avoid them, as they seem 'lifeless' and more of a turn off than exciting.
I'd much rather see two people cuddling than two people 'pretending' to be intimate who really have no interest in such things.
That's more likely than squeaks.
To the best of my limited ability, I've just done a SOL search for stories in which men shave women. The particular search criteria I chose returned over 500 hits, of which possibly a fifth were genuine matches. If you add in women shaving women (except themselves), I reckon 100 stories is a fair estimate.
Unfortunately that doesn't answer the question of how much readers actually care :(
AJ
To the best of my limited ability, I've just done a SOL search for stories in which men shave women. The particular search criteria I chose returned over 500 hits, of which possibly a fifth were genuine matches. If you add in women shaving women (except themselves), I reckon 100 stories is a fair estimate.
I bet it's even more but I think that for most stories it's not a recurring event throughout the story.
To the best of my limited ability, I've just done a SOL search for stories in which men shave women. The particular search criteria I chose returned over 500 hits, of which possibly a fifth were genuine matches.
Unfortunately that doesn't answer the question of how much readers actually care :(
There's an easy answer to that. Since it's not sufficient enough to warrant an entire story, so the act is often added as a simple component of a budding romance (i.e. they're 'one and done' scenes, rather than continually repeated, playing to a particular kink).
That also explains why it's a squick. Readers aren't so much disgusted by the activity, as they're simply annoyed at how common they're inundated with sex acts they don't consider particularly erotic.
I don't want to malign the reader who complained - I consider all feedback to be valuable.
All feedback is valuable, sadly too few readers take the time to comment and a proportion of them fall into the extremes of loving or hating all or parts of the story in question.
My comment wasn't intended to malign, I don't think the reader is 'evil' my comment was a genuine suggestion that so sensitive a person might consider help, as often such sensitivity isn't confined to reading matter but to other parts of daily life.
I don't want to malign the reader who complained - I consider all feedback to be valuable.
I wholeheartedly agree, but when I get these requests, I suggest the reader submit the suggestion to Lazeez themselves, claiming that readers have more of an input collectively than authors do individually. In other words, stop complaining to me, and take it to the proper authority.
Just for clarification, was the user complaining about it's inclusion in the story, your handling of it, or it's not being listed?
I don't like shaving so I grew a beard.
And some gay men shave their beards, and vice versa.
Shaving ?
In my opinion, Lazeez shouldn't create codes for every little thing readers like or dislike.
What's next - a Scratching code. Should it only apply to a character scratching their ass or groin, or should it also apply to someone scratching their arm, leg, head, or another exposed portion of their anatomy?
Yeah, that is silly, but I also think some of the current codes are excessive. But Lazeez makes the decisions.
a character scratching their ass
In the Dalziel & Pascoe TV crime drama, the Dalziel character had a habit of scratching his bum in front of posh birds. It might have been a form of foreplay ;)
AJ
In the Dalziel & Pascoe TV crime drama, the Dalziel character had a habit of scratching his bum in front of posh birds. It might have been a form of foreplay
It seems more like flashing: not intended to attract anyone, but an attempt to shock someone (i.e. an 'antisocial' activity rather than a come-on). In short, they want them to be disgusted or to run away.
Yeah, that is silly, but I also think some of the current codes are excessive. But Lazeez makes the decisions.
I think, at some point, it makes sense reviewing the code usages, and eliminating those rarely used entirely, while modifying those which could be used more efficiently.
But I agree, we seem to have too many to be useful. I also think it might work better if we have two separate selection categories ('search for' and 'squicks', using the identical codes). That would eliminate reader's squicks entirely, while limiting the overall number of tags (hopefully), as things like 'pee' could be taken out of the main tag categories.
I also think it might work better if we have two separate selection categories ('search for' and 'squicks', using the identical codes).
That capability is already there, but I think it's a Premier Member capability. Having a Premier Membership I'm not always sure if what I see and use is what the basic members see and use.
When I use the Category Search function page I have the option of using a Simple Form or a Complex Form. Both show the same list of categories, but where the Simple form only allows me to click to include a category in a search the complex form has two boxes I can click on - one to include a category and one to exclude a category. Thus with the simple form I can click on Rags to Riches and Farming so the system will look for a story with both of those categories to show about people becoming rich farmers and only such stories. However, with the complex form I can click on + Rags to Riches and - Farming so the system will show all of the Rags to Riches stories except those with a Farming code. Thus you can exclude categories in a complex form search.