Authors, what annoys you about depictions of your own gender by opposite-sex authors?

I think its more an issue that the male gaze of the third person narrator subtracts from Tiffani's own protagonism. Like, the segment is sort of from her perspective, but also sort of not.

I've certainly been guilty of this.


This is very much not universal.

This is exactly it. No woman thinks like that - which is what I meant to tease out in the original question about what we as authors might do wrong, and I am truly curious to hear what we female authors might be doing wrong in our portrayals of male characters. If someone's reading my story and thinking 'no man ever thinks that', then I've made a literary mistake, and I want to know.

There is nothing that a man cannot think! A man recently told me in the strictest confidence that he thought it was 1903 admittedly he wasn't quite with it. I don't understand how anyone can say no woman (or man) thinks like that! We are diverse creatures we men and it has been my experience that you never quite know what a woman is thinking anyway. If an author annoys you in his or her portrayal of the opposite sex you should find something else to read.

I have lived with the same woman since 1988. I have no idea what she's thinking at any point and she consistently fails to read my mind as well.

Well you may well be the lucky one. I have been married (to the same woman) since 1989. My experience is that often I will be thinking about something and she will start a conversation as if she has been reading my thoughts. Sometimes it's quite disconcerting but I suppose I have got used to it over the years.

Married since 1985 I get both Glagla's and Blimp's experiences.
Having joined a gym a few years back I've found that a sizeable proportion of young men seem more concerned with the appearance of their muscles than I had expected. I have, however, yet to see someone in the changing room admiring his penis in the mirror though I did see the hairdryer being used in that location once...
But to answer the original question, when an author gets it wrong my first reaction is frustration but then i have to tell myself sternly that this is fiction so a certain amount of illogicality is ok.

I'd venture that, notably from a spanking-story perspective, it would depend on why the guy is naked (and thereby displaying his 'equipment'), whether or not he wants it noticed and commented upon positively by a woman.

[1] Naked for 'vanilla' sexual interaction with her, almost certainly;

[2] Naked to receive a fun/playful spanking from her, probably, although perhaps not if they are going to roleplay a nonsexual relationship (mother-son, headmistress-schoolboy, guard-prisoner, etc.);

[3] Naked to receive a severe disciplinary spanking from her, quite possibly not, since her 'approving' remarks might be interpreted as sarcastic and/or end up being ironic.

So why would a third-person narrator necessarily have a "male gaze"? Are you suggesting that even an 'omniscient observer' third-person point of view somehow tends to be masculine if described by a male author? In which case, why not write it from a woman's first-person point of view, assuming that the male writer wishes emphasis on the feminine perspective to be a part of the story?

That strikes me as the obvious approach under such circumstances... --C.K.

My complaints are more generalities. Not all males are obsessed with the size of their "equipment", as I'm sure not all women are obsessed with the size of their breasts. I also object to a male author, or even a female author who describes a woman as "hot" as if her appearance is the sum total of her existence I like to know what the woman or man looks like so I can visualize them while I'm reading. Tales of extravagant beauty or being overly handsome don't do much for me except in instances where the object feels they are entitled due to their physical charms and is being punished in large part due to their attitude. What I'm more interested in is the mind set of the punisher and the punished. I know when I was in public school, when I learned I'd just earned myself a paddling, I got a knawing fear in the pit of my stomach that continued until I bent over and got the first lick, then the pain in my ass took over. I like stories that cover those feelings, and the feelings of the person who administers the punishment. Just my two cents worth.

My point about genitals being exposed was not about size or self-admiration but more about the exposure.
Anyone getting naked (in the main) would either like that exposure to be noticed/admired or a cause of embarrassment.

Is the same true for women baring their breasts? I mean, would a woman be slighted if, for a first sexual encounter, her partner ignored them?

Generally I prefer a kind spanker, and I *usually* write them that way. They can be flawed/human, and in fact that makes a story more interesting, but not outright cruel/mean/sadistic. But then again, I love your stories, so maybe I don't know what I'm talking about