On the Playlist: Hate on Me - Glee Cast
I’m the good little Christian girl who comes from the True Love Waits camp. So, it might seem strange that in my current WIP, my character is definitely not a virgin, and kind of sex obsessed.
Though not all of my characters turn everything into a double entendre like she does, all of the YA characters I’ve written in the past have dealt with sex in some way. Whatever their religion, and whether or not they were sexually active (or wanted to be), they thought about it. This is because I’m yet to meet a teenager who doesn’t (this where someone tells me in the comments that they’re a teenager who doesn’t think about sex.)
That doesn’t mean they think about it all the time, or that it’s even a significant part of their lives, just that it is a part of their lives. I think about sex. I think about what it would be like. I think about how it would affect me, good and bad. I think about how my decision not to have it and how it affects me, good and bad. I even channel my inner Lorelai Gilmore and say “dirty” whenever anything that could possibly be construed as innuendo is said.
So, I find it strange when I read about teenagers who don’t explore their sexuality when the plot calls for it. If a teenager is falling in love for the first time, I’m going to expect them to think about sex.
What do you think? Is it odd to you when a character, provided it fits with the story, doesn’t think about sex? Or, do you not notice? Do you think some characters think about sex too much? Others not enough?
Monday, May 17, 2010
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5 comments:
I'm also a pretty diehard Christian, and I think a lot of people at my church and family friends will be quite shocked when they read my book that's on sub right now...well, ya know, if it actually sells, lol!!! I do have the archetype virginal preacher's daughter in the book, but I also have the book narrated by a 17 yr old guy....you can imagine what he's thinking about, lol.
I think it can extend even further than just YA. Stingo in Sophie's Choice is sex obsessed to the extent I wanted to scream, "This is a serious novel, so would you stop thinking about your penis for five seconds!" LOL
And I would be very surprised for teens not to think of sex, especially those who are falling in love for the first time.
Good luck!!
Yeah, this is a great post. I understand why you would think that a teen girl falling in love should think about sex. I mean, that's what they do. That's what everyone does at some point when dating for the first time.
The thing is sometimes you might have to make compromises for whatever reason. Some books are way too commercial to go beyond kissing, cuddling and holding hands. Like Harry Potter. None of the teen characters discuss sex, or wonder about it. It's mostly crushes and kissing. I don't think it was a bad thing. I know JK Rowling knows how to write about sex, she just didn't at that point, cos it wouldn't really fit the story, to be honest. In my WIP, there's not really talk about sex. There's kissing and cuddling, but explicit sexual references are kept to a minimum. The most you'll get from it is sexual innuendoes ;) And that was a conscious decision I had to make
Krista – Good luck with your book! Yes, if I ever get published, I’d be quite ok if no one from my church read my book :P But I think they’d understand the importance of talking about sex, because ignoring that exists doesn’t do anyone any good. Yes, I can definitely imagine what he’s thinking about!
I laughed out loud at your comment about Stingo! I agree; it can definitely extend further than just YA.
Thank you!
Glen – Thanks! I like your Harry Potter example, and that makes a lot of sense. I agree with you, and I don’t think I made this clear in my post, but I do think that sexuality should be explored, so long as the story calls for it. If the story doesn’t call for it, then it doesn’t, and the author knows that better than anyone.
Hey Bri :)
I'm a christian too, and while my writing doesnt have anything too sexy, I know I loved reading YA books that touched on sex when I was a teen :) B/c you're right, everyone thinks about it.
And I think teens need to be given more credit -- I know I often read about characters that had a diff set of standards/morals to me and I still held strong to my convictions :) So I know when my daughter's older, while I may make her wait before reading certain books, I don't want to monitor her reading to keep it only in line with things we believe. If you get what I mean :)
I appreciate that my parents let me make my own reading choices (maybe they just didn't know...LOL)
Nomes - Nice to see fellow Christians in the community! :) I didn't grow up in a Christian home, and the things I read and watched weren't monitored at all after I became a teenager. So, even while reading about characters who had vastly different values than Christians do, I came to Christ. I knew in my heart what I needed to do, and didn't really long for the lives of the characters I read about. I totally agree that teens need to be given more credit! I get what you mean :)
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