oceana

carolinecrane asked whether writers have a responsibility to promote safe sex in their fiction, and here's my answer:


To make it simple:
For me, safe sex is a must in any fic that does take place any time after 1985.
If I read a sex scene, I want the guys to deal with it somehow (or girls, or boys and girls, whatever I read). It doesn't make the sex scene any less hot, it makes it more realistic, and therefore hotter. I read adult fiction, and I want these guys to behave like adults. I don't think I'll ever read in a fandom where people are stupid enough to ignore the dangers of AIDS.
They know that it exists, they know how it is transmitted, there is no way that they would ignore it.

I make exceptions for certain fandoms, and for certain types of fics.
If they are in an established relationship, they don't even have to mention the condom. I will just assume that they have dealt with it at the beginning of their relationship, and that's it. Mostly, I don't even think about it.
PWPs can do without condoms, unless they are first time PWPs, though those should have been banned long ago anyway.
But that's it.
Unless you give me some kind of explanation on why there is no mention of safe sex, it will annoy me. I won't stop reading, but there will be this moment where I say "That is sooo dumb.", and it will make me enjoy the story less.

Sure, there are fandoms where safe sex isn't an issue. Highlander, for example. If you can't die, why bother with safe sex. Oh, wait! Maybe you can still give it to people? And wouldn't that be a good reason to bother?

Harry Potter is another fandom where safe sex is blissfully ignored. I have no idea why. Just because they are wizards they can't get AIDS? I don't think so. And if they had found a cure, I would like to think that they would share it with the rest of the world.
But for HP writers, safe sex doesn't seem to exist. In fact, I can't think of any HP fic I read where condoms were used. I remember one story where they used a spell as protection. It's at least some explanation.
One could argue, at least for Harry/Draco fic, that they are young, and that young people tend to ignore the dangers of sexual intercourse. Maybe. I don't think it's a good argument, but at least it is one. I don't think they would ignore that, I think young people who have grown up in a world where AIDS exists are so used to it, that they would never have unprotected sex. But I know that I'm wrong, I know that the reality is different. Still, that doesn't mean that the characters I want to read about are that stupid.
In my opinion, there should be a lot more safe sex stories in HP fandom.

I've read a Sentinel story where Jim could detect the virus with his senses, which is silly, but better than nothing.

A popular excuse to do without condoms in SG-1 is the fact that they get their blood tested after every mission (and that they never have sex anyway). That's fine, I can buy that.

Angel is one of the classical "no condom" fandoms, because writers assume that vampires can't transmit HIV, and I can live with that. Though you'd think that vampires would be especially in danger of being infected with all the blood they drink.
That's Angel, it isn't real, and it isn't supposed to be real, so I don't really care if they have safe sex or not.

But in any fandom that deals with "real" people, I want to see safe sex. That includes Due South, Stargate, Sentinel and CSI (especially CSI, because they would no more about the dangers than anyone else).

Now, the reality looks different. I've learned to ignore the lack of safe sex in slash fiction. If I read only safe sex fics, I'd have a lot more free time to do, hmm, whatever I would do if I didn't read fanfiction all day long.
But the one thing I really really hate is the blow job thing. There they are, giving each other blow jobs, swallowing "mouthfuls of come", and then they want to fuck and they use a condom for protection. Yeah, right. So yes, there are other reasons why one would use a condom during anal sex, but usually those reasons aren't mentioned. No, after they swallow "greedily" those "mouthfuls of come", they suddenly care about safe sex. It makes me want to scream, and not in a good way!
NO, let me repeat that, NO character I want to read about is that stupid. NO.
So do me a favour: if you don't want to write about condoms, don't. It's your choice. But if you do, and I'd really appreciate it, then please let the characters act like intelligent, responsible adults, and not like a bunch of teenagers who failed sex ed.
The sad thing is that I can think of only one fic with safe sex blow jobs. It's Kass's Words of my Mouth. Only one fic of the thousands I read.
*sigh*

But to answer carolinecrane's question whether writers have a responsibility to promote safe sex in their fiction.:
No. No, you don't. I would like to read it, but that doesn't mean other readers agree with me. The very fact that so few people write about safe sex probably shows that readers don't want to read it.
I read slash, and if there is even the question if condoms should be involved, then it is probably NC-17 rated slash.
Stories that should be read by adults, and that are (hopefully)written by adults for an adult audience, who knows about safe sex.
Just because some slash writers don't think condoms are necessary, people won't stop having safe sex. No, there is no responsibility for safe sex in slash fiction. There is no responsibility for anything in fanfiction, it's your story, if you really think Daniel should dance charleston naked in the gate room, go ahead!

You don't have to write it. And your readers don't have to like it.

To see what I mean about grwoing up in the 80ies, read this: Basingstoke - Strawberry Pop Tarts

For an AIDS timeline, see this link.

And if you want to read a very sad fic about AIDS, you could read "In another life" by Saraid and Sinead.