Romance and physical relationships run the gammet in YA books: some climax with the two love birds finally, slowly, kissing each other, and another has two teens we've just met rounding third base and heading to home plate before the end of the second chapter. The popular Twilight series has Bella and Edward get hitched before slipping beneath the sheets. So what's appropriate? My opinion is this: exploring sexuality in some form or another is an integral part of our teenage years. Whether we did it, didn't do it, talked about, read it, whatever - it's a time in your life when you start feeling things that you haven't before, that you don't completely understand, and can't always control. And when a YA story features a budding love, the sparks would feel a little chilly if these feelings weren't addressed one way or another.
On the flipside of all of those feelings, I do think that whatever our characters decide, we have a responsibility to make the experiences and consequences authentic. Glorifying the moment and coming out of it unchanged doesn't do anyone any good - neither for your characters nor your younger readers. As writers, we have to recognize that our characters are showing our readers what kind of treatment is acceptable and what is not. To be frank: Bella and Edward could've had sex before they got married and it wouldn't have bothered me in the least bit. What DID bother me was that it didn't bother Bella that sex with Edward left her covered in bruises. That is not acceptable treatment in my book.
To be completely honest, I've already written such a scene between Tanzy and her main squeeze. This scene is in a separate file, waiting to be dropped into the plot should Tanzy and her love interest arrive at this moment and the fire won't quiet. I'm not positive I'll use it, but I do know how the entire plot will change if I do. Because sex DOES change things - whether in real life or on paper. And if we go down that road, we owe it to everyone involved to see it through to the end.
What are your thoughts? Please leave them here, and include links to your blogs/sites/etc. And please feel free to disagree!!
I wrote a a brief sex scene in my novel between two YA characters. I must have rewritten it a hundred times in order to get it right. It was authentic, and all who reviewed it said it was handled well, although one reviewer didn't like sex between teens - period!
ReplyDeleteBut it is part of growing up and therefore has every right to be in a YA novel.
I completely agree with you, Donna. I also think that if parents are reading what their kids are reading, then an authentic experience would be a great starting point for a conversation that can be awkward to bring up between parent and child.
DeleteIt's all about how it's handled. The boy is striving to be a man and the girl is expecting the fairy tail experience ... there is a ton of awkwardness in that, in the first time. What bothers me with many YA sex scenes is they are "too adult", too erotic, and teen sex just isn't like that. So absolutely, as you mentioned, Jadie, if it's authentic I think it's fine to use it.
ReplyDeleteFairy "Tale" .... grr. where is my grammar checker. Maybe it was a Freudian slip. yikes. ;)
DeleteI also agree with you. I think that making the sex between teenagers too grown up/explicit strips the reader of being able to relate to what's happening, and could foster some very unrealitic expectations of themselves and relationships.
Deletep.s. hilarious - but totally innocent of Freud, I feel certain :)
Thank you for the comments! I was a little hesitant when I decided to blog about this because I was worried I'd start some kind of war. But for a couple of weeks it's just been me and the crickets. Keep them coming!
ReplyDeleteThere's nothing wrong with sex in YA, as long at it's honest. Which means that it has to admit that sex at that age is just as exciting as it is awkward and terrifying.
ReplyDeleteI 100% agree with you. Hmmm I think my whole stream of thought could've been neatly boiled down to your two sentences... want to beta read my sequel? :)
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