When Fiction Comes To Life

The Kinsey Scale

One of my favorite slash awards categories is “but I thought I was straight”.  I love reading those stories!   My very first slash story involved a very confused popular ladies’ man named Jasper who questioned everything he ever knew when he fell hard for a man named Edward in All I Ever Knew by manyafandom .  Then there was Edward, who had a steady girlfriend, yet fell for Jasper in Secrets and Lies by OCDJen and in Masks by HopelessRomantic79

Then there is gay Jasper who only dates straight men and who snares Edward in

How to Turn a Straight Guy Gay by Lou-La  

So are these scenarios possible, and do they happen in real life?  Just ask gay Will and an actual “but I thought I was straight” RJ…

Such a sweet couple!  They actually went as a “pitcher” and a “catcher” for Halloween this year.

But does a straight person “turn gay”?  Well, not exactly, not if we study and understand the Kinsey Scale, a sexuality indicator from 0 – 6 developed by Dr. Alfred Kinsey.  This concept was discussed in The Kinsey Scale by Pastiche Pen, written for the intheclosetcontest

Personally I think the Kinsey Scale is pure genius.  It was revolutionary in its day.  It was a major breakthrough in studying human sexuality.  Genius, revolutionary, and breakthrough….  but only the tip of the iceberg.   It is so complex, and there is so much more yet to discover.  However, since our society is just barely coming out of the dark ages in this regard, we have only just scratched the surface.

The Kinsey definitions of the scale can be found at

http://www.kinseyinstitute.org/research/ak-hhscale.html

And much of Kinsey’s research continues on:

http://www.kinseyinstitute.org/

http://kinseyconfidential.org/

And there has been some attempt by Dr Fritz Klein to expand on the basic principal: http://www.bisexual.org/kleingrid.html

To understand the history of the Kinsey Scale a little better, there is a 2004 Movie about Dr Alfred Kinsey:  “Kinsey” (available at Netflix).  It is excellent and offers a great appreciation for just how far ahead of his time Dr Kinsey was.  There is also a PBC documentary:  “Kinsey: American Experience” that I have not seen yet, but is on my list.

I find it very frustrating when people appear ignorant of the Kinsey Scale.  Sometimes they claim that straight people can be turned gay, or that gay people can be “cured” (as if there is anything wrong with them in the first place).   Recently one such person who promoted gay “therapy” showed us all just how well it really works…  see the plight of George Rekkers   http://www.sunjournal.com/node/844399

I think ZJemptv provides a very nice summary of Kinsey scale:

Of course seeing ZJ brings other questions to mind!  I think it is important to note that

sexual orientation does not dictate gender identification and vice versa.  Nor does cross-dressing.  For example, Drag Queens are not necessarily transgender, nor are they always gay for that matter.  Those are topics for another day.

In the meantime, there is a very sweet story about a cross dressing Edward in The Measure of a Man by PolkaDotMoma

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6222996/1/The_Measure_of_a_Man

So where does the population tend to fall on the Kinsey Scale?   That turns out to be another very frustrating question.  Generally experts do not even agree yet.  I suspect it can still be pretty hard to get accurate information from people.  The following is the most recent study numbers I’ve seen, and it does not even incorporate the Scale:

http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/10/04/National_Sex_Survey_Released/

I think most people don’t even understand the Scale, or their own sexuality, well enough yet.  I don’t think they can determine where they are on the scale; much less provide accurate information for a study.   There is still just too much left to learn.

So our favorite Twi-slash characters did not actually turn gay instantly.  They were probably low on the Scale (between 1 and 2 maybe?) and just happened to meet that one special person who rocked their world.  Have you ever played the game “who would you go gay for?”  Then you probably aren’t at “0” either.  Personally I believe we are all born with our own unique spot on the Kinsey Scale - which makes for a lot of decimal places....   and for a very interesting world.   

What do you think?

Tuesday's Best 8-17-2010

Good morning, ladies and gents! Are y'all seated? I hope so; and I hope you're ready for some really sweet recs, because the Captain and I have a couple of good ones for you. Let's get down to it, shall we?

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Greetings, slashaholics! Captain Jezebel here again to share another slashnomenal fic with you. Sometimes it’s hard to be a fic recc’er with all the great Twific blog sites that recommend stories. Sometimes you get scooped by another site. Other times you find a great story and before you can get it up...it explodes onto the scene. *twhs*

That is exactly what happened to me last week when I chose How to Turn a Straight Guy Gay by Lou-La for this weeks rec. It seemed that as soon as I had resolved to write about it, it was upon everybody's lips er...fingers lol. I wanted to let everyone know how much I was loving it too, so what better way to tell you guys than right here, right now? *looks around with excited grin fixed in place*

 
Jasper Whitlock is a gay man. Jasper Whitlock does NOT fuck gay men. He finds other gay men attractive, but he doesn’t want them. If a man shows any sign that he is gay, bi or curious Jasper wants nothing to do with them. Scratching your head yet? Wondering how this boy ever gets any? Well Jasper is a master in the art of teaching straight boys the ‘pleasure of cock’ as  he so eloquently puts it.

He lives for the game of finding a dyed in the wool, straight as an arrow boy and turning him into a cock loving fiend. The thrill of the challenge keeps him coming back for more, finding boy after boy, and making him stray from his straight path.

Edward Cullen is a angry, rigid, straight as they come future lawyer. He’s a rich kid interning at his dad’s law firm stuck living the life his strict father has mapped out for him. Edward also lives his life in the shadow of a famous Cullen scandal. It seems he wants to be free of his past and his set future, which causes him to be a grouchy, sour young man.

When Jasper (with an assist from Emmett...more on him later) sets his sights on Edward as his latest conquest, things start to get interesting. How do you seduce a man that is just so unmovable? Too bad Jasper is quite taken with his beauty and wants Edward and the challenge he presents.

"Nice to meet you, Edward," I say, offering him my hand over the table.

He's staring at me dubiously. He offers his own hand slowly and grips mine firmly, shaking once then pulling me closer to him over the table.

I get an instant erection from his bold move, though it's really stupid because I know it's entirely too soon for a straight boy to be making advances. It's still hot.

He doesn't kiss me, or lick my neck, or even touch my hair, but he steals my bottle of beer and gives me his own.

"I don't trust you, Jasper," he says.

I quirk an eyebrow and try to calm my breathing. "You shouldn't," I admit. I take a deep swallow out of the bottle he has traded me and he does the same.

I am a bit transfixed by the way his Adam's apple bobs when he swallows. I continue to stare as his jaw unhinges and he speaks. I love the way his neck flexes; I can imagine myself licking, sucking, and biting the corded tendons as he arches his head back whilst we make love.

It’s a dynamic power struggle from the beginning with these two. A struggle that has you laughing and panting at the same time. The story is achingly funny, as well as sexy, plus it has the awkward and sweet moments as well. I don’t really want to give too much away by going on and on, but I did promise you more about Emmett.

 

HtTaSGG boasts one of the most flamboyantly, and fucking hilarious Emmett’s out there. He really steals the scene at many moments, and he is often a much needed comic relief when things get too serious between Edward and Jasper.

"Now are you interested?"

I roll my head towards the ass-muncher who can't take a hint and groan, snapping my hand away from his dick. "Fucking Christ, Emmett, would you give it up already?"

Emmett laughs because he realizes that I had no idea it was him as I hadn't been looking. "Sweetie, it's you who needs to give it up," Emmett says back, sidling up beside me and trying to be covert as he makes a grab for my ass.

I sigh and sit down at an empty barstool because I know smacking Emmett around is only going to make him more feisty. He's a relentless oaf and his eyes have been locked on my balls since the first time we met, three years ago. He has it bad, but I kind of love him a little bit for it.

"Sweetie," I say back mockingly, "I'm hunting for virgin ass, so go away. You'll blow my—"

"I would blow you, if you let me," Emmett interrupts, giving me a saucy wink.

"Seriously," I deadpan, not asking if he is serious, because I know he is, but warning him to cool the fuck down. He will blow my cover. He's huge and... flamboyant, really hard to miss.

 

Emmett is also a sweetheart, and he helps E and J to see things that either of them aren’t able to see yet. So I have to tell you I just love this Emmett. And if Jasper’s inner dialogue, and Emmett’s funny ass don’t get you laughing there is always Jessica. Edward’s house cleaner is a petite latina that spits out hilarious one-liners, that might have you doing a spit take.

 

All in all it’s a very enjoyable read that has a little bit of everything for everyone. Come join me and see if Jasper can turn a straight guy gay...and if you do...don’t forget to leave Lou-La some love ;)

 

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For the past month or so (a little longer, but still), I’ve had the pleasure of getting an update a day in my inbox from SorceressCirce. She’s written a delightful story told in drabbles, called Paper Faces. It’s in Jasper’s POV, it’s angsty, smexy as hell, and simply wonderful. It’s 70 drabbles long, and almost finished, so there’s plenty to read, and still a little to look forward to.

Jasper is at a party, he’s more than a little bored when he seeks refuge on a balcony and finds someone unexpected. Someone from his past. Whether there is any future here, you’ll have to read for yourself, but needless to say the present is filled with tension. Both of the sexual and the angsty variety. But there’s definitely something there.

To give you a very small taste:

Solid weight presses into my back as a hand snakes around my hip, cupping my cock. I can smell him, impossibility mixed with musk and citrus, and my mind recoils from the violation even as my body betrays me, seeking his warmth.

Obviously, there isn’t a hell of a lot more I can give you, since each “chapter” is only 100 words long. The story is well told though, and absolutely worth reading. It’s like morsels of dark chocolate. Taken in small doses, and savored like the sweet treat that it is.

Oh, and just to let you know, there’s a good chance that we’ll be getting the other POV as well, at some point. ;-) Trust me, you’ll want it, too ;-)

 

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 I hope y'all enjoyed these stories as much as we did. Be sure to check back next week when Aradi and I will have more goodies to share.

 

In the mean time, voting is open for the Slash/Backslash 2.0 edition. Go check out the entries, and cast your ballot! 

 

See you next week!