Are Gender Bender, Harem, Romance, GL and BL Tags considered sexual in nature? [Poll]

[Chaos_Sinner777]

Just because a girl has five wives doesn't mean the story goes into what they do in the bedroom.

 

[IanWhite2105]

Not inherently, but it is unfortunate that they are often of that nature. My personal issue with such tags is that they are often overplayed or are the entire backing of the story. “Gender Bender” and “Romance” being the main focus point is understandable considering how they would play a large part in a scenario but they are ultimately less important than plot & character development. The issue comes when inherently secondary topics (GL/BL/Harem) become the driving factor behind the story.

If the entire conflict or storyline originates from those topics then it often leads to primary topics like “Romance”, “Fantasy”, or “Mystery” being forgotten about for the majority of the story. The reason why many people dislike cultivation novels is because most of the conflict comes from the MC having/obtaining a harem. It is also why I shy away form BL/GL novels.

When I look for a novel it is the story and characters that keep me invested, not the “social issues” or the “adversity of being different”. If such things occur in the story then I have no issue and may even find it moving. It is an issue when writers try and make 100+ chapters where [insert same douchebag, different name] insults Protagonist with the same thing they have heard before.

IDK about anyone else but after the 3rd-4th time of being called ugly/stupid the only people that it bothers are 5yr olds.

 

[ElijahRyne]

Only the Harem one is…

 

[Syringe]

I don't believe so, but they are super likely to be. I think that's the biggest distinction that needs to be made. My interpretation comes from 'sexual' meaning smut/r18+ stuff.

Romance, BL and GL don't have to be sexual. Love is love, but because of this it's likely that characters/the story goes further than this, thus becoming sexual.

Genderbender sits on a weird spot, because characters will inevitably try to understand themselves. What they hate, what's different, etc. It can all be sexualized, but also can be danced around. A good Genderbender will tackle the psychological aspects along with the physical. I don't think 'checking' one's changed body is sexual, unless they immediately begin doing weird stuff to themselves.

I might be wrong, so please correct me if my interpretation is weird.

 

[proxybaba]

it depends on the perception of individuals, like a fresh-out-of-oven user who barely touched the teens, even a deep kiss is considered sexual for him but for veterans and adults, it's just a thing to get by.
so the answer to your question is bit vague

 

[OP1000]

All the tags can be used to write a story that does not feature any sex( although this is very rare for the harem tag), so I would not consider these tags as 100% sexual in nature.

 

[Daitengu]

Just to clarify, how someone interprets a tag is subjective.

Reason I feel they’re all sexual in nature is because it implies the main character or characters will only have sex with a specific group. Even if sex isn’t in the story, the fact it’s romantic is sexual.

GB is sexual in my opinion because the main character is thinking about how their sexual organs have changed in parts of the story and gives the reader a fantasy in that.

Again, it’s only an opinion.
I don’t see sexuality as needing to be ‘fan service’ or ‘smut’.

I see what you did. You're mixing together the different definitions of sex and applying sexual as an adjective equally to both definitions. Yeah, might not want to do that.

Sex 1. The defining dangly bits your born with. I'm born a male.
Sex 2. Bumping uglies.

Gender bender is the tag because a sex bender is just shagging all the things akin to a drinking bender is specifically about booze.

The word sexual is mainly associated with actions, looks, etc to do with shagging. So just thinking about your change in sex isn't sexual while thinking about how hot your change in sex is, or how things would go in bed is sexual.

 

[AnonUnlimited]

I see what you did. You're mixing together the different definitions of sex and applying sexual as an adjective equally to both definitions. Yeah, might not want to do that.

Sex 1. The defining dangly bits your born with. I'm born a male.
Sex 2. Bumping uglies.

Gender bender is the tag because a sex bender is just shagging all the things akin to a drinking bender is specifically about booze.

The word sexual is mainly associated with actions, looks, etc to do with shagging. So just thinking about your change in sex isn't sexual while thinking about how hot your change in sex is, or how things would go in bed is sexual.

I don't even think you understand the point of it being "sexual in nature" so I will try to explain why your subjective definition is only applied in your head, and the double nature of this poll.

Sexual in nature is implied in the fact that if the body is different, the reader will be thinking about the fact that the person is living in a different body, and the conclusion eventually comes down to the fact the person is probably going to be seen differently. Unless you're going to assume that everyone in the story is miraculously asexual and no one thinks about having sex, or the sexual dynamics between multiple characters in a romance.

Therefore, the purpose of this question was mainly, "Do you think about sex when you see those tags" rather than "is it actually sexual in nature."
Those who vote no indicate they didn't think about.

Essentially, it's only sexual in nature if the person reading or looking for the tags thinks so. Your rule doesn't apply to anyone but those who think like you.

Thank you for coming to this ted talk on subjectivity.

 

[LunaSoltaer]

Technically? Yes to all. However: Harem is really the one that invokes the most "INCOMING SMUT" vibes. The rest can be done completely sexlessly, and even well. However, some readers will absolutely invoke sexual imagery whether you intend to or not.

It's a clusterfuck.