Ok so I’ve been wanting to say this for about 2 years now, it’s been bothering me for too long. This is just my opinion. people of this community talk about how stories are just stories and its just fiction, which I agree but if that is the case then why is it so hard for most authors to write a female mc who has or had casual sex before? Why is hard to write a female mc who’s strong, nice and has casual sex? like authors are horrified at the idea of having a mc who sleeps around because casual sex= damaged goods and bad person but have no problem writing toxic li, having cheating etc saying its more realistic, well guess what? Woman in real life like to have casual sex yet I never seen one that wasn’t either the mean girl or the best friend. Not only that, this also stereotypes woman that you can only be a good person if you only do relationships or stay single because you can’t have a strong woman mc who is kind and enjoys casual sex. It also stereotypes men into only being sex object who are only good for sex, I also know this because a lot of my friends happen to be males and dress and look similar to episode guys and I can tell you for sure most authors do in fact stereotype their male characters, all the bad boy li are all written the same, it also feels like they don’t want to make a like able li who doesn’t sleep around or does a different type of drama that doesn’t evolve him sleeping around and it’s honestly sad to see authors streotype men as dudes that are only good for sex and can’t be loyal, my friends have had girls call them “fu*kboy” just because of the way they look. This is why so many guys don’t join episode.
So again I ask if authors have no problem making toxic li, cheating, stereotyping your characters, making realistic actions, making many plot devices just to have the li sleep with other girls or make the li very stupid etc, then why is having a strong female mc who sleeps around considered taboo? I mean it’s just fiction right?
This has been a big problem for many, many years in any story, not just on Episode. I have seen a rise of stories like that, though, despite the community’s efforts to spread awareness.
Omg yes I talk about this all the time. Any time I read a story where the MC slut shames or acts like she’s better than another girl for not sleeping around I immediately stop reading. It angers me so much. The internalized misogyny is real.
I haven’t even thought about this, but this is super important!
I think I want to include this in my story, but it is not a romance, it is a crime drama, so how do you think I could make the MC of my story like this? Like she enjoys casual sex but isn’t seen as a slut for it and no one judges her?
I agree with you 100%. I hate how normalized slut shaming is in stories, and I hate how the whole “jealous mean girl who sleeps around and wants the LI” trope pins girls against girls. A person’s sex life is no one’s business but their own. I’ll also add that it’s honestly not just fiction. It enforces the whole -not like other girls- idea and influences how the readers could potentially react to future situations. Fiction is never just fiction.
If you do use it, I think to make her not seem like a “slut” is to not make people talk about it or make it a big thing, maybe just have her friend joke about it, and the MC to not care about it and is not scared to talk about it, because she doesn’t see it as a big deal
yes!!! slut shaming is so normalized in these stories so many authors don’t relative that what they are doing is harmful.
body count doesn’t matter in any way and if you’re shaming a woman for that, it’s your internalized misogyny.
there’s so many stories featuring female mcs and a female villain. can we change it up…? women shouldn’t be against each other if sexism is what we are fighting.
While all of those things are valid in the topic of sexism, slut shaming is 100% just as valid as the things you’ve listed. Women are treated like they’re only valuable if they’re “pure” and it’s disgusting. No ones self worth should be tied to the amount of people they’ve slept with yet society treats women who have had a lot of sex (especially sex workers) like they’re lesser than everyone else. Having MCs that perpetuate this idea is very harmful and there is just as much room for this conversation as there is for any conversation you listed above
I think you can definitely add it - sometimes having slightly less “relevant” points to the story can help provide texture and personality to your character. I think as another user said with the casual sex being something people do not judge since it is her body after all.
For the scene to hold relevance to the plot then maybe depict it as her for instance (I’m assuming she is an officer/detective? Please correct me if I’m wrong) she is in bed with another dude, woke up the morning after and she gets a phone call regarding the case & has a brief interaction with the guy. Show for instance that she isn’t overly attached so like he tries to kiss her cheek and she moves back then gets ready.
I agree a lot with you, I do think these screwed up ideas about women need to stop. Like even the way a woman dresses in something that isn’t a long sleeve turtleneck and maxi skirt is seen as a slutty outfit is & a woman sleeping around is considered a slut yet a guy who sleeps around is a stud? In fact, these ideas are what perpetuates a very twisted misogynist culture. A woman can sleep around if she wants, it is her body. If it upsets you, then that is a you problem - don’t make it a problem for everybody else. Glamorusing promiscuity in men but demonising it in women is yet another double standard in society and has managed to transfer into stories
