Mentions of minors in NON-EROTIC ways

[GyroscopicGraphite]

I feel the need to open this by stating that I am EXREMELY AGAINST any attempt to sexualize anyone under the age of 18. That is morally wrong.

Now then, the problem; is it creepy for there to be any minors in a story? Even as a side character, not involved in any action whatsoever, is it weird to have a minor make an appearance?

In my particular story, I want to have a flashback, a memory for some backstory. But is it problematic to focus on a child, even in non-sexual ways?

And while we're on the topic, what if it's a situation where it's someone's 18th birthday? I don't plan on writing something like that, but I have seen stories where the main character has literally turned 18 that day, and it is also stated, not written about, but stated/implied that the character has had sexual experiences before.

Does any of this sound creepy or weird or anything like that to you? And if so, where do you draw the line of 'too much'? I'm aware it really comes down to word choice and circumstance, but still, I want other people's thoughts on the subject. I would very much like to know.

I would also like to know if I'm just being overly anxious, and thinking about it too hard.

Please and thank you!

 

[OccasionalReader]

1. Depends on the scope of your story. Are there strong non-erotic portions, such as would be present in an open world story? Fine IMO so long as the children aren't presented in any erotic context, even implied.
2. Flashbacks are fine IMO, I even use them when setting up backstory for player characters.
2. I would avoid *that* like the plague. Keep away from the line between adolescent and adult for your own sanity and liability sake.

Long story short draw a line between erotica and non-erotica in your story and keep underage characters *well* on the side of non-erotica.

 

[TheLowKing]

Agreed, There's always a grey area between "definitely OK" and "definitely not OK", and operating too deeply within it is a headache at best. I'd avoid trying too hard to find out the absolute limit of what's accepted.

 

[Dansak]

Flash backs are an issue I'm having right now.

I've just written a part of a story where a character is reminiscing about when he was younger and was attracted to his friends mum. I mean, it's harmless, there's no sex or anything even close to it, but I feel the scene does fall into a grey area. I'll have to carefully edit it and probably run it past one or two author friends on CHYOA for an opinion before I publish it.

I'm a bit torn on this subject, because it is daft to think that we have zero sexual activity or knowledge before the age of 18, and then suddenly on our 18th birthday we are okay to have sex where as 24 hours earlier we were not. Life is just not like that.

But...we have to draw the line somewhere, and 18 is generally the accepted age, so that's what we have to work with. And, even though the age limit where I live in the UK is 16, I happily accept the 18 age limit as a more or less worldwide agreed age limit for sexual activity. It frequently creates issues for me in my stories, even stuff like sex ed classes at school are out of bounds if we're being observant of the rules. But it's for the best, 18 is the limit for a very good reason.

 

[OccasionalReader]

I'm a bit torn on this subject, because it is daft to think that we have zero sexual activity or knowledge before the age of 18, and then suddenly on our 18th birthday we are okay to have sex where as 24 hours earlier we were not. Life is just not like that.

The issue is not in implying that they had zero sexual activity - pretty much everyone is going to assume the opposite, actually (the only real exception is transgender individuals, who will not infrequently have zero sexual activity prior to their transition).

The issue is that we, as adults, are consuming content. Do not ask whether or not you are okay with portraying activity between two minors. Ask whether or not you are okay with your audience consuming that content, potentially as erotica.

 

[GyroscopicGraphite]

The issue is that we, as adults, are consuming content. Do not ask whether or not you are okay with portraying activity between two minors. Ask whether or not you are okay with your audience consuming that content, potentially as erotica.

This is an amazing quote, and if news outlets and the like thought like this, the world would be a better place. Probably.

 

[TheLowKing]

The issue is that we, as adults, are consuming content. Do not ask whether or not you are okay with portraying activity between two minors. Ask whether or not you are okay with your audience consuming that content, potentially as erotica.

Why would I be OK with producing it, but not with people consuming it?

(Or for that matter, vice versa? Personally, I find I'm more squeamish about writing things than I am about reading them.)

 

[OccasionalReader]

Why would I be OK with producing it, but not with people consuming it?

(Or for that matter, vice versa? Personally, I find I'm more squeamish about writing things than I am about reading them.)

Well it's comparable to writing about stuff you're not personally into. Some stuff we write about because we're trying to portray our story on an as is basis, but we should still consider the reader when doing so. One rule that I've learned from my time GMing ttrpgs is that the GM is fine going into detail on far more than the players are okay hearing about

 

[GamerChick077]

My new story brought up events that happened when the main character was 5 but he was 18 by the end of the introduction. I think it's fine as long as you don't do any sex stuff with them.

 

[OccasionalReader]

My new story brought up events that happened when the main character was 5 but he was 18 by the end of the introduction. I think it's fine as long as you don't do any sex stuff with them.

You seem fine on the ethical front, as there's clear division between child and adult here. My only issue is moral, two-fold. First, you used truck-kun, which my wife annoys me constantly by talking about XD. Second is a matter of typo: your phone auto-corrected "dye your hair" to "dry your hair"

 

[gene.sis]

And, even though the age limit where I live in the UK is 16

16 in this case is the age of consent. The age of consent varies wildly (11 to 21) from country to country.
It is the age that society (or rather lawmakers) say is old enough for minors to consent to sexual actions in their private environment.

Then there is the age of majority, which is 18 in most countries.
It is the minimum age for a person to be shown in pornographic content in most countries.


The age of consent is completely irrelevant as the issue is erotic/pornographic content.
So only the age of majority (18) applies.

stuff like sex ed classes at school are out of bounds

High school seniors graduate at about age 18. Your story might take place in the wrong country.

Does any of this sound creepy or weird or anything like that to you?

Not necessarily.

From a rules' point of view, you can have side characters who are underage for various storytelling reasons.
It is also possible that the main character is underage before being depicted in any erotic context or in non-erotic flashbacks. (There might be additional requirements if it appears that the character might not reach adulthood before being depicted in an erotic context.)
It is also possible to offer information about when a character was underage to provide some backstory. This needs to be done in a reporting, non-arousing manner.


You might want to have a close look at the Rules about the meaning of erotic context as it isn't just about "action" or "sex stuff."

 

[GamerChick077]

You seem fine on the ethical front, as there's clear division between child and adult here. My only issue is moral, two-fold. First, you used truck-kun, which my wife annoys me constantly by talking about XD. Second is a matter of typo: your phone auto-corrected "dye your hair" to "dry your hair"

Aren't morals and ethics the same thing?

 

[OccasionalReader]

Aren't morals and ethics the same thing?

Interesting tangent, but no.

Ethics are universal and may have some cultural dependency, but generally are about what will be beneficial to society. Morals, on the other hand, will be based either in some higher principle or in religion; the term mores shares a root, and means what is commonly accepted. Ethics is about good vs bad, morals is about right vs wrong.

To highlight the difference between the two, let's dive nose-first into a rather controversial topic: incest. Morally, incest is pretty much universally blanket seen as wrong, regardless of the moral system you're working with. Ethically, however, inbreeding is most definitely bad, but there's actually nothing ethically problematic about two sisters or two brothers being in a relationship, so long as they're relatively close in age (I cannot ethically endorse parent child pairings, for numerous reasons).

 

[Dr.T]

This just reminded me of Star Trek Race, (had to look it up but they are the “Ocampa”, they age 12 times (or more) as fast as humans. They are vastly smarter than humans and reach human adulthood in mind and body around 2y.o. Most die by the age of 7. In Image Comics’ Invincible, the Thraxans saw this and said “hold my beer” they die in a single Earth orbit.

I thought “well Doc, you should look over the rules again.” :

• A character is considered to be an underage character if at least one of the following points is true at any moment of the scene:
  • the character is younger than 18
  • the character is physically described as underage (e.g. a body height which is very unusual for an 18-year-old)[?] [Rules as written any of us with Giantism or Dwarfism would disqualify ourself insert. Worse Dwarfism isn’t even defined genetically, it is still defined as ANY adult under 4’10, so it is the basically the line of what is considered very unusual.)
  • the character is mentally described as underage (e.g. childish naivety)
  • there are references implying that the character is underage (e.g. the character is described as a High School junior)

Hobbits are adults by 33 but not really until they are fifty, Fae run the gamut from eternal-youth to born-with-ancient-wisdom. Dwarves and Elves generally require a human life time to be culturally an adult though they usually grow and mature at roughly the same speed as humans. Then there are the the fantasy Ocampans, Goblins and Orcs, they usually get decades to live but fewer than humans and are adults by their teens, but they’ll still be adults at and young enough to they won’t be in to a geriatric fetish territory.

I agree with the rules. I understand our need for the rules. I’m just pointing out what seems to be some no go territory we writers might not foresee.

 

[Dr.T]

16 in this case is the age of consent. The age of consent varies wildly (11 to 21) from country to country.
It is the age that society (or rather lawmakers)

irrelevant the EU and enforced 18 universally through politically leveraging trade laws against countries that didn’t pass laws pornography require all depicted person be 18. If you’re old enough, you remember when this came down hard on the Dutch Club Seventeen that was started after the [how can I avoid web search triggers] infamous “Friend of Humbert” because Dutch had much lower statutory rape laws (which they have since lowered to 12, but last year they at least added it is rape is there is no consent, but it is poorly worded) and at the time there were a bunch of 17yo trading stories of their first times and they were all 17 at their first time. It was a successful publisher and there have been a slew of legal issues with it being mailed to other countries and put on the web. Which is no small part of why the EU pressured everyone to pass the same laws on erotic material. I say erotic since the EU doesn’t use the American Legal definition for d Pornography that we have bandied about so much here.

 

[Hvast]

I'm a bit torn on this subject, because it is daft to think that we have zero sexual activity or knowledge before the age of 18, and then suddenly on our 18th birthday we are okay to have sex where as 24 hours earlier we were not. Life is just not like that.

No one demands to have that in your story. It is perfectly fine to have "Character A and Character B were lovers since their first year in highschool." Just don't describe it in arousing detail.

 

[Dr.T]

No one demands to have that in your story. It is perfectly fine to have "Character A and Character B were lovers since their first year in highschool." Just don't describe it in arousing detail.

This is some of the clearest and sensible I have seen in the subject.

Thank you.

 

[FidelityBoss]

I feel the need to open this by stating that I am EXREMELY AGAINST any attempt to sexualize anyone under the age of 18. That is morally wrong.

Now then, the problem; is it creepy for there to be any minors in a story? Even as a side character, not involved in any action whatsoever, is it weird to have a minor make an appearance?

In my particular story, I want to have a flashback, a memory for some backstory. But is it problematic to focus on a child, even in non-sexual ways?

And while we're on the topic, what if it's a situation where it's someone's 18th birthday? I don't plan on writing something like that, but I have seen stories where the main character has literally turned 18 that day, and it is also stated, not written about, but stated/implied that the character has had sexual experiences before.

Does any of this sound creepy or weird or anything like that to you? And if so, where do you draw the line of 'too much'? I'm aware it really comes down to word choice and circumstance, but still, I want other people's thoughts on the subject. I would very much like to know.

I would also like to know if I'm just being overly anxious, and thinking about it too hard.

Please and thank you!

You're definitely overthinking it. Having minors as side characters or in backstory flashbacks isn’t inherently creepy, it’s just part of storytelling. As long as there’s nothing inappropriate, it’s fine. The "just turned 18" trope can feel a bit forced, but it depends on how it’s handled. Ultimately, context and intent matter most.

 

[Audiflex]

You're definitely overthinking it. Having minors as side characters or in backstory flashbacks isn’t inherently creepy, it’s just part of storytelling. As long as there’s nothing inappropriate, it’s fine. The "just turned 18" trope can feel a bit forced, but it depends on how it’s handled. Ultimately, context and intent matter most.

Yeah, you're right it's all about how it's written and the context. Minors in stories can be totally normal if handled well, and the "just turned 18" thing can feel awkward if it’s too obvious. As long as the intent isn’t sketchy, it’s usually fine. Storytelling’s all about balance!