I was reading a book a couple of nights ago and the author called the guys’ assholes (arseholes if you’re British) 😀 everything from clinical terms like anus and rectum, to words like chute. All of these terms made me want to gag or cringe. Anus and rectum make me think of going to the bathroom or to the doctor and I certainly don’t want to think of buttsex in medical lingo. The last term “chute” made me think gross things like you know what. What comes out of a chute other than garbage?
On the other hand some authors call it a hole (which I don’t find at all offensive because it is a hole), or “passage” while others avoid calling it anything at all and just use words like “push in” to describe the act of having buttsex. Gather ye rosebuds while you may.
So what do you think authors should name this body part with a thousand nerve endings, that wonderful area where the cock goes like a heat seeking missile for ultimate pleasure? I’m trying to be
helpful here because I believe some authors have a major problem with the name game and don’t know what to call the little hole in the middle of a guy’s body between those gorgeous, plump cheeks and just behind his perineum and balls. Writers don’t seem to have as many problems calling a dick a dick or a cock, although a few of them are still shy and call that truncheon between guys’ legs by its proper medical name – “penis”.
Sex is supposed to be erotic and everything to do with hot mansex should entice – especially the language – so why are writers having such difficulty coming up with words that lure you into a scene and don’t sound like going to the bathroom? Words are, after all, what writing is about and for a writer to be at a loss for words is difficult to understand. Are we still in the dark ages when we were afraid to use the “F” word in books?
Readers can you help our authors eloquently describe that hole between the buttcheeks so it doesn’t sound as if the guys are going to do a No. 2 in the middle of a hot love scene? 😀 I don’t know about you but the kind of language I have read recently is enough to turn me off M/M romances forever.
LOL that is actually a good one and something I wondered about as well, because sometimes sex scenes are written very clinical and words like anus or rectum really doesn’t help that
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So far the most neutral is “hole” I guess. I can’t really think of anything else. Recently I did read a book that was very creative in the descriptive language, but I can’t remember if anything special was used. Must check that
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Other than that, I believe adjectives would help. That is if adjectives means what I think it means. Like “enticing hole” or something creative like that.
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Though come to think of it, I once read the very descriptive “entrance to heaven”, which I hought was hilarious, but creative!
Larissa
I’m really trying to be helpful and using “entrance to heaven” would make me laugh rather than think of the guys having sex. I like “hole” or “passage”.
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I’m glad I gave you a laugh or two. 😀
I know and I love how you make posts about these subjects. There are very few who manage to write it seriously and I love how you can do that
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Funny how when you start thinking about it, you remember reading many different descriptions, but when you have to name them you draw a blank!
I don’t know if it’s often a gender thing – although that’s a generalisation, as I know women who like the gritty descriptions and I know men who find it as much as a turn off as you. I’ve found through reading a lot of male written erotica – the stuff written by John Patrick and other Starbooks authors for example – that the shit-chute terminology is the norm. It would be good to hear from the male readers, as to what they like and what they don’t – what’s sexy about shit chute, guys?
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I tend to use “entrance” “hole” and of course, being historical, I can use “fundament” which i really like.
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of course, we really DON’T want to go the other way, like the story I read the other day which involved dumping “thick cream into his secret cave.”
Erastes
Did you say “dumping thick cream into his secret cave?” OMG!!
I know this is a problem but surely there must be words that don’t make one think of having a dump. I really debated about posting this but it got to the point, in the last book I read, where I couldn’t take it any longer and decided to ask the readers what they thought would be appropriate.
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I think I’ll ask a few guys.
well I’m not sure about the “dumping” but the cream and secret cave were real, and that was in a published book – the infamous “pulsing star fruit of his anus” was – thankfully fanfic, I believe.
I don’t know if I call it anything. I think if you have the players positioned correctly, saying that one pressed inside the other (or however you want to phrase the action–which is probably another column for you, Wave), readers know what it means.
On second thought, I decided to check out a small sample of my own writing that described anal sex in graphic terms (in my ebook FUGUE) and discovered that I did use the term “hole” and even “rosebud” which I personally think is lovely.
Anyway, that’s my two cents. If you want to read the sample I checked out, read on:
Suddenly, the boy gasps and withdraws his dick from Leatherman’s mouth. He holds it, impossibly big, in front of his face, squeezing hard on the base as a line of precum drools downward to puddle on the floor. Leatherman thinks this image, this reddened piece of sculpture, is something he wants burned in his brain, to keep with him forever. Is there anything, he wonders, as beautiful as a man’s cock close to erupting?
“Close.”
The boy sighs and grips Leatherman under the arms, lifting him up. The movement by the boy is almost a caress and Leatherman longs to grasp the boy, to pull him toward him, but resists and waits for his next command, which comes in an instant. “Turn around.”
But just as Leatherman is about to do as he’s told, he hears the announcement of another stop approaching. A hot rush of anxiety surges through him. How can they stop now? In spite of the anxiety, he turns, gripping the wall in front of him, staring out the window as the south end of the next station comes into view. Please, please, please, he thinks, don’t let anyone else get on. I don’t know if either of us can stop.
The gongs sound. The brakes squeal. The doors slide open with a pneumatic rush.
And no one boards the train.
The frozen moment shatters and the lust rises once more to engulf and inflame both men. The relief in the little compartment is palpable, and both pause, waiting for someone to rush to their car, yanking the doors apart so they can board.
But no one does.
Places…everyone!
Leatherman does as he’s told, turning around so that he’s facing away from the boy and splaying his large, rough fingers against the glass. Outside, the oily darkness of late summer presses against the window, almost palpable. The backs of apartment buildings, three flats and two flats, whiz by, their windows dark. Here and there, a warm yellow emerges from a solitary window and Leatherman wonders if this is any indication that others are engaged in the same type of behavior, albeit more private. He likes to imagine lots of people fucking; he wants to be part of an orchestra of sex, a great swelling rush of human coupling. Bending over, Leatherman reaches down to undo the buckle of the chaps, the buttons of his jeans. In one frantic movement, hands shaking with need, he shoves both chaps and jeans to his ankles, where they pool on the filthy floor in a confusion of denim and leather. The want in him is so intense he pants like a dog. He bends over farther and farther until his face is level with his knees, blood pounding in his temples, making his face hot. Beads of sweat pop up on his brow, trickle through the thick growth of his beard. He reaches back and pulls his ass cheeks apart, moving toward the boy closer, closer, almost as if his ass has a will of its own. He imagines the boy’s view of his hole: the hairy rosebud with its winking invitation. He hopes it ignites a fever within the boy. He hopes the boy will be ruthless. He wants the boy inside him so bad he is on the verge of tears. He wants to beg, “hurry, hurry.” But Leatherman knows his place. He is a vessel, waiting to be filled. So while he wants to push back against the boy, gobbling his cock up with his ass, he does nothing more than maintain his pose: an open invitation. Take me. I’m yours.
Rick
OMG I do remember Fugue which I rated 5 stars because I was so enthralled with this story. I have to re-read it now. 😀
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I love “hole” and “passage” because they are not only descriptive but they don’t pull me out of the story by thinking of a trip to you know where.
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Thanks very much Rick. Much appreciated.
Well, doesn’t he have a nice specimen. 🙂
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I don’t care for clinical terms as I sort of go with the assumption that what I am reading is what is going on in the characters’ heads. Would a guy use the phrase rectum or anus in their daily life? “Oh my, I have a pain in my rectum.” Umm, not likely so why would you refer to it that way in the heat of passion? Unless you’re a proctologist maybe. Do gay proctologists get bored with anal sex after looking up bums all day? Just curious.
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So I did some checking on other words for anus and really, nothing is great. Cornhole? No. Rosebud? Too flowery (literally). Starfish? Let’s not push it. Pooper? I’d rather not go there thanks. I personally don’t mind chute because for some reason (perhaps my growing up on a farm) it reminds me of the thing you push animals through to load them onto a truck, not a garbage chute – city girl vs country girl. LOL I think asshole or just hole works best or it is possible to use no word at all many times. “He lined up and pushed in.” You don’t have to say “into his bunghole”. We all know there is only one place to go down there in m/m, I think I can figure out what’s happening.
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So I don’t think I notice most of the time unless it waxes poetic about his “anus” then it seems a bit odd.
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And so we all learn something today, I just found out that the plural of rectum can be recta (or rectums). “Look at all those lovely recta.” Huh.
Hi Tam
Your research astounds me. BTW thanks for the nice pic which I think worked rather well.
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A gay proctologist? Talk about taking your job everywhere. 😀
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I like not using any word at all like Josh does in The AE Mysteries. I believe he uses “lined up and pushed in” or something close.
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I never knew that there was a plural for rectum – the things I learn from you.
Ooh, interesting! I use a variety of terms in my own m/m work – and must confess to using medical terminology for the first time in my upcoming short, A Stranger’s Touch – and entirely because that is how “the stranger” refers to such matters. The other characters in the story don’t see it that way, but it’s how he sees it, and his voice in my head was very strong. And very different. Plus the medical overtones fit in with his life.
🙂
Axxx
Hi Anne
Thanks for commenting.
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I find the use of medical terminology takes me out of the story. Since I’m reading about hot mansex I find it difficult to think that, as Tam says, the protagonists would refer to body parts in those terms. If one of them is a doctor, maybe, but not ordinary guys. However, as you said, if there are medical overtones to your book it would probably fit with the general characterization.
This reminds me of one of my favorite jokes….
Three MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) students were sitting in the dorm having a bull session, when they got into a discussion of what type of engineer invented the human body. The first guy says, “Personally, I think it must have been an electrical engineer. I mean, look at how the heart works, and nerves, and the brain. All those electrical impulses? Definitely an EE.”
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The second guy says, “No, no, no, it’s a mechanical engineer. Electricity is fine but look at the magnificence of joints and bones, tendons and muscle. It’s brilliant!”
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The third guy shakes his head and says, “You’re both wrong. I know for a fact it was a civil engineer.”
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The other two guys look at him, incredulous. “Civil engineer? Those dorks?”
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The third guy nods. “Think about it. Who else but a CE would put a wastewater treatment plant in the middle of a recreation area?”
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🙂 L
Great joke Leslie. 😀 However, we still have to move away from the “waste” connotations to something more applicable to hot mansex.
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Reading about chute so many times in a book turned me off totally from what the story was supposed to be about.
LOL on the civil engineer joke– and as for the rest? Clinical terms don’t bother me– I think I’ve used ‘anus’ on occasion, but not rectum (because the temptation of the pun is just too overwhelming, and I’m weak…”John pushed his cock in and wrecked him…” *smirk* I’m sick. I know.)
Entrance, opening, dark passage, forbidden place–all of these work. Of course, just like (eventually) we started to use cock because that’s what it is AND it sounds raw and sexy, sometimes I use ass or asshole because that’s what it is, and sometimes, the dancing around the subject just gets in the way.
Beautiful, Rick. Even sexier out of context.
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And that’s the point. A writer needs to use language appropriate to the scene. Whether a guy admires his ‘winking rosebud’, presses into his ‘back passage’, or shoves it ‘up his ass’ depends on the mood, doesn’t it?
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Maybe what offends you, Wave, isn’t so much the words, as the content. There’s too much bad sex being written. I find myself just skipping over a lot of it thinking the writer might have saved herself the trouble and just typed *insert sex scene*.
Ali
You’re right to some extent because some of the sex scens are so badly written I wish the authors would just fade to black, which works for me at times. However if they are going for a gritty scene like in Fugue, the word rectum may not be appropriate. This is one of those books where chute might. 🙂 This book is as gritty as any I’ve read and “shoving it up his asshole” would really work here . 😀
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I think when some M/M authors run out of plot, dialogue and prose they just insert another sex scene because they think that’s what the readers want. Personally I want a well written story.
To me, it’s all down to point of view. (Heck, that’s nearly my standard answer to any query about writing these days!) The language shoud be appropriate to the point of view of the character and fit in with rest of the narration of that scene. If it’s not then it will be jarring whichever word is used.
JFM
>>The language shoud be appropriate to the point of view of the character << I agree, but how many times will "rectum" or "chute" be appropriate in a book? The one I just finished reading is a classic example of what not to do, IMO as a reader. 😀
Nice post, Wave. And timely too. I was just thinking about this subject last night (while I was writing what felt like a never ending sex scene). Anyhoo, I like hole, or asshole, or back passage best, I think. Channel is all right, too, if I’m running out of synonyms. 😀 The worst two, in my opinion, are sphincter and colon. They pull me right out of the story every time I read them in something.
Amanda
As I’m sure you have figured out, I’m really trying to help. This is one area that M/M writers can’t avoid, since it’s where almost everything happens in hot mansex, unless we’re talking about oral sex. 😀
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I forgot about sphincter and colon. Again, words that I don’t want to encounter in a romance. 🙁
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Asshole, hole and anything like that works for me because it’s “real” and doesn’t try to use fancy sounding medical words like rectum or euphemisms. If you can’t use the words don’t write the books is my motto. “Chute” is the only tough sounding word that throws me off because right away I think of something else. 🙂
Definitely, Wave. These questions make us think, which is always good. Believe me, I’ve learned a thing or two from them. 😀 I honestly never even considered I was writing something offense until the “clean” discussion came up a while back.
Amanda
We all learn every time we ask questions or read. I usually ask gay friends for their opinions when I have questions about M/M books and they are happy to help.
I’m waiting for the first person who dares to write “santorum” in a story. 😉
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Leslie
Don’t even mention that ass wipe.
(sound of cat expelling hairball)
LOL. Best discussion ever *g*
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Just a point of fact here. If Guy Getting It In Whatever-You-Want-To-Call-It is with a man of more or less normal proportions (that is, not hung like an actual horse) and they are not having Fun With Extreme Fisting or anything, the COLON should not even enter the picture. So that word would just be wrong, wrong, oh so very wrong. Factually speaking, never mind aesthetically.
**takes off nurse hat**
Ally
I’m so happy you think this discussion is relevant. 😀
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I don’t even want to think of the colon in this context.
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I notice you haven’t said which words you like. 🙂
Heh. I don’t have any strong feelings one way or another, to tell you the truth. Well, no, that’s a lie. I absolutely despise over the top, flowery purpleness. I’d rather read the nasty-gritty than read anything too florid and purple. Not that I’ve really read anything like that in the gay romance genre. I’m hoping to continue to avoid it *g*
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Me, I tend to use “hole” or “ass” or just use the action words, as Rick suggested (btw, yummy excerpt, Rick! Ally approves, oh yes O_O ). I’ve used “anus” and even “rectum” on special occasions, when the combination of character’s thoughts and the situation made those words sort of happen naturally. But when it comes to sex scenes I tend to be kind of a simple girl with simple words, I guess.
Ally
>>I absolutely despise over the top, flowery purpleness.<< I guess that means starfish is out. 😀 I like ass and hole, just saying. 🙂
Me too! Obviously. LOL.
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I’ve never, ever seen “starfish” before. Not really sure whether or not I’d classify it as purple. More just… odd o_O
First of all, I think an author that must mention the orifice by name in every scene forgets that readers already understand the mechanics of sex. It’s part of the “show, don’t tell” lecture.
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I’m not in love with sphincter, colon, or rectum, but if the author just has to call it something, I’m pretty much okay with everything else. And even the worst terms only make me giggle and roll my eyes. They won’t make me quit reading.
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And I know women find it unsavory, but that hole has everything to do with going to the bathroom, so it’s kind of difficult (and possibly pointless) to sugar coat it. In fact, I’ve read porn in which the men practically glory in this fact.
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I think it just takes time. Nobody thinks twice about reading oral sex scenes, even though we all know that involves sucking on the pee hole (which is never 100% free of urine residue, btw). Soon readers will become jaded and the poop chute will be just another handy-dandy orifice.
Jen
>>Soon readers will become jaded and the poop chute will be just another handy-dandy orifice.<< So we're talking about an orifice where we can stuff food? 😀 Kidding aside, some of these descriptions make me roll my eyes and wonder why authors have difficulty with simple words to describe asshole. Why not just use the word if you can't find another one that's acceptable to you?
It has become just that for me.
Rick
I’m looking forward to your next book where there’s fruit in the guy’s asshole. 😀
In a book I read over the weekend “boy cunt or man cunt” was used in what I think was supposed to be a sexy scene. Maybe it works for some but…
Aliens
Did the author really use “boy cunt” or “man cunt”? Please email me the name of the book so that I DON’T buy it or request it for review. I just can’t believe that.
I’ve read stories where the ‘hole’ was referred to as a boy or man cunt, but they’re not published ones. And most of those were in the TG/TV variety. It seems to be ‘the words’ to use when writing a particular kind of story. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the phrase used in homoerotic. Well, maybe as a derisive term (I seem to remember a sadistic SOB abusing a guy and using those types of terms to further humiliate him).
Oh gads, Aliens. Man-pussy, mangina, boy-cunt…er NO! Do not go there and more, do not take me with you. Alas, I have encountered them.
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I use hole, opening, tight ring, ass. Rosebud will make me giggle and starfish gets the book a one-way ticket to the wall (especially combined with mushroom)
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Chute? I could do that. “We gonna have some rodeo sex. Get in the chute and try to hang on for eight seconds, boy.”
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@Leslie, If we do a sequel to Shell-Shocked, we will definitely use both santorum and saddlebacking.
Angel
>> “We gonna have some rodeo sex. Get in the chute and try to hang on for eight seconds, boy.”
<< In that context it sounds funny to use chute, but when the word is used throughout a book for "hole" or something like that I have to put the book down. * >>Man-pussy, mangina, boy-cunt…er NO! Do not go there and more, do not take me with you. Alas, I have encountered them.<< I must not be reading the right books because I have not encountered these descriptions. 😀
Speaking of mangina, I have a yaoi novel thanks to Kris that has a self-lubricating ass. Honestly, the other guy claims there is clear fluid and he gets wet. We seriously think he needs to see a Dr. because that’s not healthy. Oh and it’s NOT a paranormal.
Tam
If you think that’s funny, I read a book (M/F fortunately) where the author swore that the woman’s asshole sprayed cum. I kid you not. She’s quite a well known and well loved author.
OMG, shut up, shut up. Ewwwwww. *barfs*
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I wonder if it’s the same M/F author who wrote about the “secret gland” in her FEMALE protag’s ass.
I’m not so much an author, but when I used to roleplay pretty frequently I always used the word “opening”. It just seemed like that was the most innocuous word, and wouldn’t lead to either laughter or disgust. Now that I think about it though, it’s not a terribly accurate description…
Mikuto
I don’t find opening either inaccurate or offensive. It is an opening – the biggest next to your mouth (or your va ja ja or if you’re a girl). I just can’t deal with the descrioptions which sound like you’re going to the doctor like “rectum” or “chute” which sound as if you’re going to take a dump.
“Hole,” “ass” and “asshole” make the most sense to me. I mean, that’s what it IS. “Entrance” or “passage” might work in a pinch, but most of the euphemisms are awful. It’s not a rosebud (that makes me burst out laughing); it’s not a pulsing starfruit (that makes me stare incredulously); it’s not a cornhole (that brings up memories of “Beavis and Butthead,” and you don’t want to go there during a sex scene); it’s not a boycunt, man-pussy or mangina (that makes me think that the author believes that males have vaginas and that I should send her a textbook on anatomy); and while it IS a chute and a pooper, the use of either makes me think that the author is about to get into serious coprophilia.
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Though this meaning for “rosebud” does give a whole new meaning to “Citizen Kane.”
*dies*
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someone really needs to change the end of that film.
Oh, god… I can’t stop laughing.
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I just continued imagining the new Citizen Kane ending, together with rosebud & master-piece in it… and people started looking at me… so I should probably stop. XD
Tracy’
You knock me out. 😀 I always believe in keeping it simple and ass or asshole or just hole or passage work for me. No coprophilia please
or Citizen Kane reference to rosebud. 😀
Thanks, Wave, for the laughs. 🙂 This is a very funny post! But it’s brought up a lot of good information, too. Those clinical terms (sphincter, rectum, anus) are just not that great for setting mood, especially if as Ally pointed out we don’t even get the location right (colon)! If we’re collecting votes, I’ll say as a reader that I’m all right with hole, channel, opening, asshole, and arsehole.
And I love Angelia’s description of rodeo sex!
Val
If you’re ever thinking about writing M/M you need to pay attention. Seriously, this post is intended to be helpful because I realize that many authors have this problem and they think that euphemisms are better than the real word, which is quite acceptable.
* snort! * 🙂
Ok, if I were a writer, I would use asshole, or manhole, stud asshole, masculine manhole. Definitely not rectum or anus, too clinical for me. I don’t like the british term arse either.
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I have role played on a gay sex line and have used terms like manpussy, mancunt, mantwat, to describe it. Bitch hole. I remember a fairly good story on nifty.org that used the term ‘marine mancunt’ several times. Faggot ass.
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I have to chuckle at you women wondering how to describe this body part. You write excellent romance and the sex is quite steamy. Just an observation.
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I’ve got to go feed my cattle right now. I may add some more later. If you haven’t banned me by then. lol
John
You know I love you and would never ban you just don’t you dare use these terms
>>manpussy, mancunt, mantwat, ….Bitch hole. ….. ‘marine mancunt’ several times. Faggot ass.<< if you ever write an M/M book or I will find you and rip your heart out. 😀
O_o I’ve actually read several of those terms in porn as well, mostly in anthologies from Alyson Press.
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I may not mind anus, hole, channel, etc, but I’ll admit those more…er…colorful terms make me cringe.
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Can you imagine the scandal if women started calling the clit a “chick penis” or “her glistening feminine hard-on” in erotica? Ewww! LOL
Jen
“chick penis” or “her glistening feminine hard-on”
Please don’t give M/F writers any ideas. PLEASE. 😀
Okay, that’s it. I am going to start writing straight porn just so I can type “girl boner” in a sex scene and have someone pay me for it O_O
OH yeah, Nifty! Excellent place to visit. And I’ve read variations of ‘manhole’, etc there as well.
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Most women tend to like sex words to be softer, more X than XXX. And I’ll admit, there are some words that’ll throw me out of a story faster than Bob Feller pitched. But mostly, I don’t mind whatever word is used. However, I have noticed a trend on ‘rosebuds’ fluttering. I always envision butterfly wings when I read ‘flutter’ and that just makes me go ‘huh?’
To my mental ear, “anus” is about as erotic as a line I read somewhere recently–a badly written shag scene that had the mood-breaking, “they continued to have oral sex,” at which point I discontinued reading.
“Asshole”… no. And it’s the same problem as I have with “cunt.” Both are such offensive epithets that they knock me out of the mood, reading or writing. And “hole” is almost as bad, because it does not really describe the article in question (think I’m joking? Use the dictionary lookup.) The closest definition is ‘burrow’ and that’s pretty far down the list. I know these are probably the minimum-vocabulary default terms, but I like to write characters who’ve got a little more linguistic versatility. And, like Erastes, my historical characters are just as likely to use some other euphemism. I tend to go for ‘opening’ or ‘inside’ because, as others have said, anyone reading about gay sex has a pretty good notion of what that opening is, and what ‘inside’ means. Besides, most of my characters are romantic enough not to be scatological, but not sickeningly so… no ‘rosebuds,’ no pulsating, and starfruit had probably not yet been given that nickname. (Besides, the fruit are yellow, aren’t they, and solid at the center, unlike a healthy…. No, let’s not go there.)
And the only colon I would type is this one :
It’s all context, though, isn’t it? I could see having a (contemporary) character say, of someone who’s a hit and run lover, that a current interest is just another asshole. The cowboy POV of ‘chute’ is just perfect–it works in that setting.
I seem to remember an amusement-park ride called “shoot the chutes…” There’s something that could be reinterpreted in a whole new direction!
Lee
Thank you.
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I think you’re reflecting what the readers are trying to say. As some authors and readers have said on the post – why call it anything? We all know what goes into what but if you (the author) have to call it something, please no chutes, rectum, or pulsating starfish for the reasons given. 😀
I think I am of the “no noun at all, just action” faction.
“Opening” and variations of “hole” are fine, though I have to admit that “hole” all by itself, though perfectly inoffensive invariably makes me think of potholing. Like the Wookey Hole, for example…
Oh, no, not Han/Chewie slash!
Lee
You are having way too much fun with this. 😀
Liade
Did you say “Wookey Hole”? Now I’ve heard everything. I’m so glad to have provided amusement for everyone. 😀
I’m with the majority here. I cringe at anything too clinical like anus or rectum and also at anything too flowery
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To be honest hole works for me, just like cock works for me. It’s simple and effective. Who needs to imagine up anything else for what is essentially just anatomy? 🙂
Jen
You and I probably see these descriptions more frequently than the regular readers of M/M because we read so many more of these books. I don’t know about you but I’m suffering from overload of these terms.
Lee, that’s Wookiee. And yes, it’s out there. Wrote some back in the day.
Oh, I know.. I saw Star Wars about 27 times in my misspent youth. But I just don’t think Chewie’s the sort of entity who’d cheat on his wife. (With Han, I can believe almost anything…)
Ok, the terms I used in my earlier comment are not normally used in gay romance. I’m a long time reader of gay fiction where each chapter described a new coupling between the quarterback and the towel boy and the coach, and then the quarterback and the running back, and then the quarterback and the physical therapist. No love, definitely no romance. Just sex, hardcore man to man sex. READ SEX!! So those crude terms for where the cock goes are very appropriate for that genre. (If you don’t like the football examples, you can easily substitute cowboys, truck drivers, and hitchhikers.)
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I hope I didn’t offend any of you by calling you, ‘you women’. grin I am gay, but I don’t have anything but respect for your gender and your writing abilities.
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Have I dug myself out of the earlier hole, I mean ditch?
John
>>I am gay, but I don’t have anything but respect for your gender and your writing abilities.<< I know that, John, having received countless pieces of mail from you. :) * >>Have I dug myself out of the earlier hole, I mean ditch?<< The hole is getting deeper and and more slippery with every word you write and it will take strength for you to climb out. :-D You will have to do a lot to make up. * BTW Last time I checked, Rick Reed who also commented is very much a guy * I have visited your favourite site Nifty to read Bobby Michaels’ free stories.
Well, most of us are “you women.” Guys probably don’t have to worry about this because you know what you call your various bits. Though yes, writing sex-and-nothing-but(t) is a little different than writing romance. And I’ve seen discussions just as long on what to call a woman’s access hatches.
As long as you’re not hollering that we shouldn’t write this at all, I’m not going to take offense. Thanks for posting!
John, I’m curious – ok – most of us are discussing Romance, but we aren’t shying away from the fact that some of us read these books not only for the story but for the sex scenes, and Romance can veer from “close the door sweet” to really ripe and raunchy.
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What I’m interested in why men enjoy these more graphic words in the sorts of stories you are talking about – I have shelves of them (for research purposes you understand *cough cough*) I still don’t find what’s sexy about “boypussy” and “grabby rectum” – if i’m enjoying a one handed read, i have to almost skirt over the “shithole”s and “meat plunger” to just imagine the scene. Men don’t describe their anatomy like this while having sex or talking about sex (to my knowledge) so why do they write like this?
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(Generalisations, of course as I know NOT ALL men do, but the John Patrick books I have are nearly all this way)
We could call them “opinions.” Because, you know, everybody has one.
KZ
Of course everyone has opinions. However, I didn’t understand your comment in this context. Did you mean that authors should call this body part whatever they want? If that’s what you mean, certainly that is their prerogative.
“Opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one.” Which is sometimes expanded to explain why there are so many books in the world (we all have different opinions about books).
–
L
Leslie
I use this quote many times – it’s one of my favourites.
You took it WAY too seriously, Wave! 🙂 Yup, Leslie got it, i.e., “Opinions are like assholes; everybody’s got one.” The saying’s been around for quite a while — well, maybe not in Canada. 😉
Hi KZ
I did “get” the quote but I was only wondering if I had missed something. Oh yes, we’ve heard of that quote and used it, even in The Great White North. Damn, maybe we’re still in the dark ages IDK. In defense of my lapse, blame it on responding to so many comments.
Personally, I think nothing says ‘I love you’ like, “Fuck my man-hole, bitch!” Of course, I realize I’m an overly romantic individual. : )
I do have some very serious questions, though. I mean…if his cave was a secret, how’d they find it in order to fill it with the thick cream? Perhaps there were clues and a decoder ring? And why is this gland also a secret? Are the gland and the cave in on it together?
And maybe it was just a typo and ‘shit chute’ was meant to be ‘Shit! Shoot!’
And if his place is forbidden, then what’s that guy doing shoving his cock up there in the first place?!? That is totally rude, dude! Um…manners much?
I’d also advise anyone with a pulsating starfish, man-up already, and go to the nearest emergency room to get the vibrating butt plug removed. You just can’t leave it up there and hope for the best!
Ethan
You are, without a doubt, one of the funniest people, which is much better than saying you’re the funniest author. Romantic? I don’t know 😀
*
>>And maybe it was just a typo and ‘shit chute’ was meant to be ‘Shit! Shoot!’ << * I knew that letting you loose with this post would give you unlimited scope. I had no idea what you were going to say and of course you didn't disappoint me. * >>I’d also advise anyone with a pulsating starfish, man-up already, and go to the nearest emergency room to get the vibrating butt plug removed. You just can’t leave it up there and hope for the best!<< * I rest my case. 😀
I laughed my ass off reading everyone else’s comments.
.
Of course I couldn’t pass up a blog post like this one. You had me at rosebuds…
Ethan
As I said in the post “gather ye rosebuds.”
*
I’m waiting for the next time you write about rosebuds or pulsating starfish – you’ll hear from me. 😀
I will admit to having used ‘Mangina’ in a story — but it wasn’t part of a sex scene. : )
Hahahahahahahaha, Oh My! Ethan, this made me laugh so much – thanks, now I can go sleep with a smile on my face. My bf thought it was “scary” – hahaha 😀
Okay, since we are all being honest here…I can live with various words for the anal opening (whatever we decide to call it). What drives me wicked up the wall is the the clinical description of, “Apply lube. Insert one finger..one knuckle, two. Insert second finger, one knuckle, two. Insert third finger…finally he is relaxed enough…” I really, really don’t need all the fingers…LOL
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L
Leslie
I did several posts about the 1 finger, 2 fingers three fingers process and many other fun things that M/M authors are fond of, including the famous tying off of the condoms that female M/M authors were writing into just about every story. Maybe some day when I have some free time I’ll send you links. Alternatively most of them are found under polls.
Entrance or opening are my usual picks, and are easy for me to use when writing, but I would not stop reading a book for using anus or asshole or extremely crude terms. I might chuckle a bit or skim through the sex scene though.
*
While reading through this discussion, and nearly falling on my ass laughing at certain comments (Citizen Kane and Wookie holes and rodeo chutes, Oh my!) it occurs to me that there can’t be much difference in men’s back doors. I don’t mean in description, but in physicality. I’m not a proctologist or a gastroenterologist so I’m not an expert.
*
Cocks can be different, long, short, fat, thin, curved, straight, pale, dark, wearing a sweater or a helmet, maybe even some jewelry. But with buttholes you get a tight entrance and no added features. The person’s skin might be a different color, they might have a trimmed lawn or a shrubbery, but it’s same with almost every person. And if there is a strange variation such as color or elasticity, it’s usually not a healthy thing.
*
I must admit, when I first started reading this blog years ago and I read the word “rosebud” in passing, I thought people were talking about a guy’s nipples. Rosy color and all. It was very embarrassing when I found out differently.
>> But with buttholes you get a tight entrance and no added features.<<
Well, that would be ideal, but I have had guys tell me about men with buttholes as big as the Lincoln Tunnel…LOL
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L
Leslie
>>Well, that would be ideal, but I have had guys tell me about men with buttholes as big as the Lincoln Tunnel<< Maybe those guys are into fisting. 😀
Kim
>>The person’s skin might be a different color, they might have a trimmed lawn or a shrubbery. << Your post had me chuckling as I was reading >>Cocks can be different, long, short, fat, thin, curved, straight, pale, dark, wearing a sweater or a helmet, maybe even some jewelry. But with buttholes you get a tight entrance and no added features<< I'm rolling in the aisle here!! :-D * >>I must admit, when I first started reading this blog years ago and I read the word “rosebud” in passing, I thought people were talking about a guy’s nipples. Rosy color and all. It was very embarrassing when I found out differently<< * I'm very happy to have been instrumental in your education. 😀
You may thank Monty Python for the shrubbery. ^_^
Hi Wave,
I don’t really have anything to add, but I did want to tell you I really enjoyed the topic and commentary. Very useful.
Madeleine
I’m so glad that you enjoyed the comments. Sometimes the bloggers amaze me – just when I thought I was too jaded to be surprised they throw a zinger my way.
Well, I’m going to be an echo and say I prefer to write and read asshole, hole, entrance/opening, or just plain ass. Writing the scene without naming it is even better when possible.
~
However, I don’t mind the use of anus– in the rare scene it works–but even if its not doing anything for me personally it still won’t pull me out of a story and have me close the book.
~
What will pull me out of the book is calling it rectum. That ‘is’ too clinical. Don’t ask why I see it so differently than anus. I couldn’t really explain it. Variations of ‘mancunt’ I find offputting. First, I don’t like the word ‘cunt’ even when used to describe a woman’s anatomy, and unless a man has had surgery down there he does not have a vagina in any shape or form.
~
The little kid in me always giggles at the use of the term butt or butthole. It just seems really juvenile to me, and I’m sorry if folks use it. I don’t mean to offend, but butthole just does not work for me. I read an author once that wrote, “Oh yeah, put it up my butt.” I fell off the bed laughing.
~Gr8 Post, Wave!
Sage
>>What will pull me out of the book is calling it rectum. That ‘is’ too clinical. Don’t ask why I see it so differently than anus. I couldn’t really explain it. Variations of ‘mancunt’ I find offputting<< * I'm with you there. I find the word "cunt" incredibly demeaning, but that's just me. * >>The little kid in me always giggles at the use of the term butt or butthole<< I'll think of you the next time I see these terms. 😀
I have used hole, entrance, passage and orifice with descriptors like tight, hot and sensitive when I write. Even pushed in can be a bit more creative like sank into or invaded. Fun topic
Hi Debra
I hope that the comments at least made you laugh, and if they were at least helpful that’s what I was aiming for.
This whole topic brought to mind an old Sophie Tucker joke in which her boyfriend, Ernie, in the dark, says,
“Soph…you got no tits and a tight box.”
To which she responds, “Ernie…get off my back.”
Rick
Maybe Ernie was secretly gay and was feeling his way. 😀
Great post, Wave! Love all the comments. You guys had me cracking up. And Ethan – you funny, funny man!
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I like it best when the action itself is described (and the emotion and tension and release are the focus) rather than the body parts. If the scene is set up right, we all know where he’s going.
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I do prefer simple words: “ass,” “hole,” “inside him,” and “into him.” Even “entrance” or opening” work.
Sloan
We have to do something about Ethan. He’s out of control. 😀
*
Most authors seem to think that they have to tell the readers exactly where the top is going when we figured it out all by ourselves without the words. If you have to use descriptives, simple non medical words are always better.
“We have to do something about Ethan. He’s out of control.”
.
– Back away from my Wookie
Ethan
Is that what you call him? Wookie? I would have thought you could come up with a more exotic name. 😀
My very favorite descriptor is an age-of-sail one: the Windward Passage. And “Admiral of the Windward Passage” for a gentleman who navigates the channel.
Lee
I’ll think of you whenever I see the term “passage” and place the word “windward” in front of it. 😀
I stumbled across this post, and I can’t stop laughing. Starfish? Why?!
I think I have to agree with the majority– simple, non-medical terms are best, they keep the reader in the scene. I don’t see a pressing need to describe the opening with two men, it’s not like there are other options.
My all time favorite unique description has to be “pucker”, from either an Erastes or Jaime Craig book. It stuck with me, because it was accurate, but not overly graphic or flowery.
Hi JohnR
Thanks for commenting. It’s so nice to talk to someone new – as you can tell from the razzing, everyone else is either a “regular” here or they comment occasionally.
*
I like “pucker” which I’ve seen in quite a few books, although it does make me think of kissing 😀 but I also like the no description option the most. As you said, there’s only one place to go and we alll know where that place is because guys have only one opening down there.
*
Thanks again for dropping by and I hope you will again occasionally, because we try to have a lot of fun in between reviewing books.
Starfish? Ack!!! LOL! I tend to stick to the basics…hole, opening, entrance, passage, etc. in my writing. I’ve been known to use anus a time or two or three, but sparingly. It doesn’t bother me like some other terms, but it’s not my fave either. I can’t stand to read about rectums and colons…too medical and kinda scary in some weird, pervy way (although I certainly have nothing against doctor play *g*).
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I don’t know that I’ve ever used rosebud…maybe, but I can’t remember, and if I have it couldn’t have been more than once or twice ever in all my work because something about it makes me giggle. Kinda like the word pussy in het or f/f fic makes me giggle. Don’t know why, exactly, but there ya go. Oh, and Sage, butthole makes me giggle, too. Although, like rosebud I might have used it once or twice if it fit for particular characters.
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As far as man-pussy, man-cunt, and so forth…I’ve been known to read and watch a fair amount of gay porn (no comments, John! *g*) in my time, and those kind of terms are fairly commonplace. In the right context (porn, ahem) they’re kinda hot. But in a romance, even a really steamy erotic romance, they don’t work for me. Maybe if the heroes are doing a scene it would work, with the right characters, but generally speaking…in a romance, uh…no.
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Great post, Wave! Hehehe!
Hi ML
I’m so happy that this post was interesting enough to tear you away from Fires of Ballian. 😀
*
Your books do not offend in this very important area, as I recall, but I’ll check out future ones to see if there are terms like “starfish” or “rosebuds” in there. I can’t remember your use of terms like “rosebuds” but the words that John loves (“man pussy”, “man cunt”) have no place in M/M romance – porn yes. I will have to smack him over the head. 😀
*
Seriously, since this is really important to readers, I hope that authors check out the comments in this post when they write future M/M romances so that they maintain the sense of “romance” in the books. When we read M/M books we don’t want to be blindsided with medical terms or other jarring words that take us out of the story.
I’m a guy and prefer simple (the basic words people have already mentioned)–or no word at all (as Rick & many others mentioned). Not too clinical, not flowery, and definitely nothing that makes me think of other uses for the hole (e.g., shit-chute). I hate most of the ones John mentioned, so clearly there’s not a consensus among men. 😉
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I’m not a fan of rosebud, but I suppose it’s not the worst. I think it’s also used for nipples, like Kim W. said…also, I think of it as being used to describe pussy, so that brings me to my other big pet peeve…
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…authors, please don’t describe butt anatomy like pussy. I’m a bi guy and love female anatomy, not just male anatomy, but they. are. different. Related: they. WORK. differently! I roll my eyes when I read a description of anal intercourse that makes it sound like the author’s a woman and thinking of how vaginal intercourse works. Sorry, I know I’m probably mistaken when that crosses my mind, but some of the descriptions I read really do make me wonder if the author gets a little too caught up in the scene and forgets who the particpants are.
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Ahem. Sorry. 😉 You did ask (some of this). 😉 Great topic, Wave; I love these word-choice posts!
P.S. I forgot to say–I do think that context matters, though. Some of the eye-rolling terms in gay porn are always eye-rolling for me; others might work in some situations (but never things like man-cunt or mantwat–those will always throw me out of any story, porn or erotica or whatever). 😉 Oh well, as long as it’s not in every paragraph, I’ll probably keep reading….
Hi Kendall
KISS (keep it simple, stupid) is the motto I try to live by, and I think the authors are trying to find words that are either esoteric or “medical” because they don’t want to offend. They forget that people who read these books know exactly where the action is going, and we don’t expect a map or want too many descriptives of the location of said “action.” 😀
*
I think John is talking strictly about porn because he has not complained on the site or by email to me that he thinks authors should start using terms like” man pussy.” 😀 In the context of gay porn everything is fair game.
*
>>…authors, please don’t describe butt anatomy like pussy<< I hear you loud and clear and I hope the authors do as well.
*
>>I roll my eyes when I read a description of anal intercourse that makes it sound like the author’s a woman and thinking of how vaginal intercourse works. Sorry, I know I’m probably mistaken when that crosses my mind, but some of the descriptions I read really do make me wonder if the author gets a little too caught up in the scene and forgets who the particpants are.<< * Another excellent point. I hope the authors are reading this and will "man up." 😀 * Thanks for commenting Kendall for for making some great points. I did ask for comments and I am so glad that some of the male authors and readers of these books took the time to do so in addition to the female authors and readers.
You so have to make a top 20 list after everyone has finished making comments.
actually maybe a top 10 DO’s and a top 10 DONT’s
I think its safe to say the starfish is going in the DONT’s list lol
But in all seriousness this is something that isn’t easy for an author, it is the authors job to make the scene hawt but also not repetitive – as an author – you would need a variety of words for it especially if the scenes are explicit.
my preference is the blander ones that you like Wave- entrance, hole etc
I actually dont mind Anus – not all the time throughout the book but maybe once
Rectum is to medical for me and anything funny like rose bud i kinda mentally gloss over, it doesnt ruin it totally for me but it can stop a scene from being hawt…
Thanks for the great laughs 🙂
Jess
I’m so happy to have provided a few laughs. I must admit that the comments in this post were some of the funniest I can remember, and we have had some doozies in response to my posts in the past. 😀
*
On a serious note, I really was trying to be helpful because I read hundreds of these books and after a while the terms morph into one big “turn on” or “turn off” list, for me anyway.
*
As KZ and Leslie pointed out, using that old adage we all know – opinions are like assholes, everyone has one. So while I’ll consider a list of does and don’ts at the end of this post, I would not want the authors to feel that readers are trying to dictate to them the words they should use in describing this very important part of the anatomy, which plays such a crucial role in M/M sex.
*
Every author has to decide which words to use in his/her story, while trying to avoid repetition. There is always the option of not using a word at all since we all know where the action is going, and as I said before, we don’t need a map with descriptions.
*
Thanks for commenting.
Flow of the story is everything to me. If the description stymies me (or is icky) then the scene is skipped over. You gotta love an engrossing sex scene in the midst of a good story.
*
Pucker, rosebud, bum, bottom, rim, entrance and others just work. Any reference to poo is a bit much for me (let me skim over reality in my fiction). To others that may be a delight.
*
I was reading Radcliffe (f/f) yesterday and she did refer to her erect clitoris in all sorts of mannish terms. So the mangina and the rest ain’t any sort of stretch in crossover terms across the sexes.
*
I have been part of many hysterical discussions about ways of describing genitalia in romance, from “love sword” to “her flower”, for me this is a new slant on a favourite topic.
I’m loving it!
*
Did I read “his love pucker” last night in an ebook? I think I did.
Hi Sair
Thank you for commenting.
*
I don’t read f/f or m/f so I miss all the lovely discussions there. 😀 Did you say “love sword”? Is that another word for cock? Why do they have to come up with these euphemisms? We live in the 21st century.
*
I’m just reading a book with “butt pucker” – I guess I’ll have to become accustomed to that one – at least it’s not “chute.” 😀
“where the cock goes like a heat seeking missile for ultimate pleasure”.
*
Lol. That whole post is so funny, as are the comments :). I didn’t know there was a plural for “rectum” either :). As for the rest, words that work in certain stories might not work as well in others, depending on the feel of the story (romantic or rough, historical or contemporary), but in gerenal I’m not fond of the clinical terms either. Rosebud can work sometimes, same for hole. For some reason I’ve read “puckered opening” a lot lately. I usually prefer bypassing the term altogether and see “he pushed in”.
*
Nice discussion subject, as usual 😀
Hi Mary
Nice to see you taking an interest in such a topic because I know you don’t read these books for the sex. 😀
*
Clinical terms or others like “starfish” and other purple prose really bother me when I’m reading an M/M romance. I like the idea of just saying something vague like “push in.” We all know where “in” is so there’s no need, I don’t think, to add a lot of nouns, verbs, adverbs or whatever to describe the guy’s asshole. It all depends whether the book is porn or an M/M romance. But everyone will have their own ideas or opinions – I only hope that some day we will all be so enlightened that the medical terminology will disappear.
How about this for a blog title LOL
Arseholes – The Top 10 Turn On’s & Turn Off’s
This way you are not dictating to the authors you are just showing them whats hawt and whats not LOL
Jess
That is an excellent title. This is the reason I love the bloggers /readers who drop by this site -you guys get to the heart of the matter and have excellent suggestions. I was going to do a wrap up of this post because I think it’s really important, but I didn’t want to appear that I was trying to dictate to the authors because, after all, they are writers and I’m not.
*
Thank you, Jess. I’ll do my post on the weekend when all the suggestions/comments are in.
Hmm, perhaps in high fantasy novels it could be referred to as the Clenching Gates of Splendid Pleasure?
Steve
You’re so bad! That suggestion will definitely make the “cut” and be included in the wrap up 😀
Perhaps, to go with Steve Berman’s suggestion, the penis in high fantasy novels should be called “the Jeweled Key That Unlocks the Many-Shaped Treasure Chests of Bliss.”
Tracey
Please see my comment to Steve. We try to be accommodating. 🙂
Excellent. I see we need to do a Lexicon of Pornographic Terms for Fantasy Fucks.
Steve
If you visited this site you would know that we have a post on the home page on the bottom of the left hand sidebar entitled “Gay and M/M Sex Terms”. All we would need to do is update it. 😀
Ooh. Top 10 lists. Yay!
This was a fun post, Wave. Where else could you read about assholes and have people say, “I was just thinking about this last night…”?
Wren
>>Where else could you read about assholes and have people say, “I was just thinking about this last night…”?<< Tell me where else and I'll visit. 😀
Some of the oddest I’ve read have been “the winking star of his anus” and “chocolate pucker”. Both made me laugh, so I guess that counts as pulling me out of the story… chocolate pucker had a side of ew though because it made me think someone might need a remedial course in Wiping 101.
That said, no one term really turns me off completely as long as it’s not overused throughout the book and it’s in context.
Even man-pussy/man-cunt, etc. are okay if, for example, it’s used while talking dirty during sex. I mean, I certainly wouldn’t expect him to say “would you please thrust into my rectal cavity with a bit more force? there’s a dear.” … so coarser language, in such as situation, would be much preferred and much more acceptable.
You made me laugh so hard especially about a remedial course in Wiping 101. where do you guys get this stuff? 😀
*
>>“would you please thrust into my rectal cavity with a bit more force? there’s a dear.” << Don't you dare give writers any ideas with that line. I'll bet you someone is writing this in an M/F romance somewhere. Please don't let them do it in M/M. You're right that sometimes gritty language is the only thing that would work - trust me I know after visiting Nifty over the years. However, I don't know about romances - maybe gay fiction or porn. 😀
Because I am evil, I did put “Would you please thrust into my rectal cavity with a bit more force?” into a Google search.
*
Top searches that didn’t have to do with proctology or searches at airports:
*
1) A porn story from–I swear to God–Enemas4fun.com.
*
2) Another porn story called “Mom and Son.” The little blurb after the link also included the line “He cried noisily and started pouring his semen deep inside my anal cavity.”
*
I…really didn’t dare continue glancing at what the search engine had found.
*
Suffice to say, Wave, that you were right: someone HAD used that line before, in porn if not in romance. And we really DON’T need anyone to use it ever again.
*
ew ew ew “started pouring” really sounds like an enema doesn’t it?
E
STOP THAT. I don’t even want to think about it. 🙁
Tracey
Thank you for doing the research.
There really is a site called Enemas4fun.com.
What else will they think of? I’m getting sick to my stomach just thinking about it. Eewww!!!!
*
>> Suffice to say, Wave, that you were right: someone HAD used that line before, in porn if not in romance. And we really DON’T need anyone to use it ever again<< * I'm hoping that the authors who access this site on a regular basis will read this post and all of the fancy names and medical terms will disappear in time. I still have to review the book that started all this. 🙂 Let's just keep it simple, just like we do with cock, prick and dick. 😀
As I tend to be slow and always late to the party…
* *
I’ll cop to having used the word anus once or twice, but not as a regular thing. In fact, it was primarily (as someone said in a previous comment) to avoid repetition. *blushes*
* *
On the whole, I try to stick with simple terms, when necessary. Hole, opening, entry… and on one or two occasions, I may have written something along the lines of ” he pushed inside *name here*’s tight, flexible ring” (which yes, is a little much, in retrospect. LOL).
* *
Rosebud doesn’t really do it for me because in my mind, it’s to similar to budded, which I’ve seen (and used) with regards to nipples. And starfish/starfruit just makes me laugh because it seems so oddly random. I mean, I suppose I can see where the concept comes from, but by that criteria, sex-eel and meat-zucchini are equally valid. Just because there’s some vague resemblance (and I do mean VAGUE) doesn’t necessarily mean it should be pointed out. *hee*
* *
I’m with pretty much everyone here with regards to things like “man-cunt”, “boy-pussy” and the like in romance. They don’t generally work for me as a reader. I’m not entirely sure why, but maybe some part of my brain interprets it as the one saying it (usually whichever character is dominant in the sex at the time) wishing the guy they’re banging was female, which somewhat derails the whole romance between MEN aspect for me. Like I said, I’m not sure. I just know I don’t like it. LOL
* *
As a side note, I did once read a book with a lead character who was in a permanent state of transition (in that she had breasts but also a dick and had no plan to change that). This character constantly referred to her cock as her “man-clit” which I found just as off-putting as “man-pussy” or whatever.
* *
Just saying. 😛
~Tis
TC
>>I’ll cop to having used the word anus once or twice, but not as a regular thing. << * We'll forgive you this time. I don't mind repetition as long as the words are commonly used terms. In M/M sex, asshole, or hole or any number of words are available so there's no need to get fancy. Any woman reading M/M books or gay porn knows these terms very well. 🙂 * ..I’m with pretty much everyone here with regards to things like “man-cunt”, “boy-pussy” << * these terms are never OK with me in M/M romance. I don't want to see "pussy" or "cunt" anywhere near a book about gay men. * Simple is good and anything like rosebud should be banned. 🙂 * Thanks for commenting TC. I'll be checking your future M/M books. 🙂
Wave, you said: **Thanks for commenting TC. I’ll be checking your future M/M books. **
*
Threat or promise? 😛 *ponders*
*
~Tis
TC
>>Threat or promise? *ponders*<< * Both. 🙂
I LOVE “sex-eel.” I think I’m going to start using that in RL. 🙂
*sniggers* Feel free, scspaine! Just please let me know the reaction you get the first time you do! *hee* (Yes, I may have linguistic-voyeuristic tendencies. :P)
~Tis
Wave, I will confess to having used both althought not sexually. It was a serial killer making mockery of the children’s rhyme, “I love little pussy.”
~
I encounter it most in stuff written by men. One more reason I tend to avoid male-written erotica off the web.
~
Keep it simple, keep it sexy.
Angel
>>It was a serial killer making mockery of the children’s rhyme, “I love little pussy.”<< You're serious? Boy, all the fun I miss by not paying attention. * I do like both male and female erotica as long as it's about two guys, and I have my favourite authors who don't get into child porn or golden showers or something else that might squick me.
When I read, I just like for it to be called simple terms (hole, asshole, arse, anus). I don’t mind some of the more “flowery” terms either (rosette, rosebud), and I don’t even mind the harlequinesque descriptions (tunnel of love, volcano sheath) if used in the right tone (kidding, or camping it up but not earnestly serious). I’m like some of the other commenters, though; I don’t like to read female terms (man-pussy, man-cunt) or just disgusting sounding (chute, shit hole) in the stories I read. It just throws me right out of the mood and gives me an unfavorable feeling toward the story.
Hi Countrygirl
Thanks for commenting.
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I think it’s safe to say that most of us like it simple – hole, asshole, arse, passage etc. I must say that since M/M books are about gay men I don’t really go for “tunnel of love”, or “volcano sheath” (neither of which I had ever heard of – just goes to show that I don’t read the right books) 😀 Definitely chute or shit hole would not be among my faves and the same goes for man-pussy or any variation therof.
Sorry about the way-late reply on this, but I was just thinking about this this morning, and then I read this post. So, yeah.
I used anus, exactly once, and it seemed to fit when I was writing it, but I’ve wondered about it ever since.
As far as I recall, I’ve only ever seen female references to male body parts by male authors, and I don’t mind them per se – like most things it depends on the context, the tone of the work, etc., etc.
Things like “chute” however, definitely don’t work for me, and are offputting, even as dialouge/dirty talk. Dirty talk can get too dirty (for me; ymmv).
On the other hand, dirty talking can be unintentionally hilarious – but really, that’s kind of fair. Quite a lot of dirty talk probably is hilarious in real life, except (or indeed, even) in the exact moment it’s said. Sex scenes don’t always have to be sexy – they can be sad, or moving, or funny, or whatever, and depending on the tone you’re going for, your word choice will probably vary.
That said, your word choice probably won’t work for everybody. I’ve never cared for the word “dick”, though I quite like “cock”, and I have no idea why about either of them.
As we’re on the subject, one of the grossest things I see in stories, and it is all over the place, is the phrase “shit-eating grin”. That’s a horrible mental image, and it doesn’t matter who’s face you put it, it’s gonna make me 🙁 It doesn’t help that I usually see it on the face of the hero/his lover. Yuck.
But as I said, it’s everywhere, so clearly I’m in the minority on that one!