Same gender romance discussion

[Zandilar]

And don't forget asexuals, philophobics and kids. They don't need to see that romantic stuff.

 

You oversimplify asexuals. Some asexuals are indeed aromantic too... but there are also heteroromantic, homoromantic, or bi-romantic asexuals. Romance and sex are not necessarily linked to each other for everyone.

 

Likewise, the category of kids is very broad. I mean, I tend to call anyone 10 or more years younger than me a kid, and that is inclusive of thirty one year olds! Less facetiously, romance (and sex too) starts to figure into a kid's life from about puberty, no matter how much their parents might want to hide it from them. The relationships in SWTOR are pretty tame, and if I were to rate them, they would get a big old PG slapped on them (PG = Parental Guidance recommended).

Edited July 6, 2013 by Zandilar

[Seireeni]

And don't forget asexuals, philophobics and kids. They don't need to see that romantic stuff.

 

Why? Kids shouldn't be playing this game (it's forbidden from people younger than 16 where I'm from) if they can't handle this game, and the fact that you are asexual or philophobic (or something similiar) doesn't necessarily mean your character is one, too.

Not everyone thinks their characters are themselves...

[Tatile]

And don't forget asexuals, philophobics and kids. They don't need to see that romantic stuff.

 

(Emphasis mine.)

 

As far as I'm aware, aces don't mind romantic stuff (in fact, I've seen evidence of aces identifying as asexual/bi-romantic), so that's not the issue. As far as I'm aware, physical contact for aces (hugging, holding hands etc.) isn't such a big deal; it's sexual contact and sexual desire. I won't go into the problems of kissing, I'm not asexual and I've not really read anything on that particular area - it could be that many aces don't kiss because of the sexual connotations expected after the fact, it could be that there are many aces who do kiss because they find it to be a pleasant non-sexual contact. But to say that asexual people don't like romance is completely ignoring them as individuals and assuming that romance=sexual desire.

 

Philophobics, I'm sure, won't select the [Flirt] options because they'll be aware, or have some level of awareness, that romances occur in this game. If they don't want to experience them, likewise for lesbians who don't want a straight romance and straight men who don't want a gay romance, they can ignore the options that prompt.

 

Children should not be playing this game. Stop trying to bring them into the discussion. Besides, the assumption that other/same-gender relationships are inherently somehow more damaging than opposite-gender romances is, itself, homophobic.

[DarthKatai]

I try to bring this topic up in chat every time people start talking about romances, so I thought I'd add one more voice to this thread. It took me a while to figure out which same-sex relationship thread we're still allowed to post on. By now, if the message hasn't gotten through that this really does matter to players, it probably won't do much good to add one more comment, but if nothing else I don't want this thread going away until the hypothetically-non-SGR companions start living up to the promises we were made before launch.

 

Recently I took a pretty lengthy work-related break from the game, so I haven't had a chance to try out every class just yet. I was lucky enough to make my first alt an Imperial Agent and can agree completely that it's been my favorite storyline thus far, in no small part due to the awesome companions (and my... uh... Agent's particular affection for Vector Hyllus). After meeting SCORPIO for the first time, I brought up the general greatness of the Agent's storyline in chat and asked what other classes people most highly recommended.

 

I got a variety of answers, but the one overwhelming thread in the discussion was the romance options that made a particular class great. Oh, make a Bounty Hunter, Mako is a great romantic partner! Oh, make a smuggler and be sure to romance Risha! Make a Warrior-- although Jaesa vs. Vette is a tough one! Tough luck for me, seeing as I prefer to play as a female. You can criticize my choice of General Chat as a source of advice, but this seems representative to me of the overall attitude of players and, effectively if not intentionally, game developers alike. Same-sex options? What same-sex options? (Hell, what female/male options? All that really matters is the hot chicks your guy can get, right? I bring up Vector deliberately as an exception, and I'm really hoping there are some other great male romances in the game-- but they certainly don't get brought up the same way the girls do.)

 

In summary: Dear SWTOR, I really, really like you; but I would really, really, REALLY like you to go ahead and prioritize same-sex relationships. My girl should be able to get some of those hot girls, and (opinion== particular // character==strictly optional) Malavai Quinn ought to be able to do more than metaphorically suck up to my friend's male Warrior, if you know what I mean.

[Bytemite]

You oversimplify asexuals. Some asexuals are indeed aromantic too... but there are also heteroromantic, homoromantic, or bi-romantic asexuals. Romance and sex are not necessarily linked to each other for everyone.

 

 

As an asexual, it took me a long time to not see these companion romance things as kinda weird and unsettling. And it didn't help that my first character was fem smuggler and I had Corso dumped on me right away setting off all my "UGH NO" reactions.

 

But I actually realized as I was playing my Jedi Knight that my character isn't really me, and that in the circumstances my character actually would get involved with another character. And then I just treated all that stuff as kinda like watching a movie about someone else.

 

Most of the time though, I find romantic interactions or even just sentimentalism or friendly gestures of affection to be just as off-putting as full-on physical contact and all the other stuff.

 

Other experiences may vary.

Edited July 7, 2013 by Bytemite

[AbsolutGrndZero]

I

I got a variety of answers, but the one overwhelming thread in the discussion was the romance options that made a particular class great. Oh, make a Bounty Hunter, Mako is a great romantic partner! Oh, make a smuggler and be sure to romance Risha! Make a Warrior-- although Jaesa vs. Vette is a tough one! Tough luck for me, seeing as I prefer to play as a female. You can criticize my choice of General Chat as a source of advice, but this seems representative to me of the overall attitude of players and, effectively if not intentionally, game developers alike. Same-sex options? What same-sex options? (Hell, what female/male options? All that really matters is the hot chicks your guy can get, right? I bring up Vector deliberately as an exception, and I'm really hoping there are some other great male romances in the game-- but they certainly don't get brought up the same way the girls do.)

 

Ha yeah I know what you mean, while I do have a female agent, I am not done with the Vector romance, but I can tell you the that Corso is pretty awesome... very much a gentleman, sometimes can be a bit sexist, but in a good way I think. He's the type of man that will hold the door for a woman, which some would say is not treating her equal. He really puts women on a pedestal, especially the female captain, if she lets him (which if i recall there is options to tell him he's being an idiot but I chose to like it with the "flirts")

 

Then Andronikos Revel there isnt much I can say that wouldn't "spoil" part of the romance story but I think he's pretty cool too, really fits his personality as a dashing roguish pirate.

 

Doc (jedi knight) is pretty cool...

[Eyeninja]

It depend wheter it's worth the trouble though, are people so extremely demanding this so the makers of the game have to go back and remake almost EVERY single conversation in the game so you can flirt with everyone. I wouldn't mind SGR as It would make the your character more interesting and unique to other characters. But it would create alot of work for the makers of the game is all I'm saying. Although if the makers of the game were willing to put that in, that I wouldn't mind it at all, and if you don't want to flirt with a man or a woman don't click the flirt option, thats was flirting was like in Dragon Age 2 which Bioware and EA also was involved in making.

[JetAten]

Bioware has always been pro-gay. So has EA (the sims being a major example). So I doubt there is any issue over "appropriateness" since both companies have weathered the far right "family values" gestapo and emerged unscathed.

 

From a lore standpoint...dumb argument. lore is anything the creators of star wars want to put in it. Hell they even skirted incest in the original star wars movies with that whole Luke/Leia thing. No one much cared about that. It is odd to me that people are ok with a brother flirting sexually with his sister but if 2 men do it the world comes to an end.

[wizzsama]

Personally, I'd prefer Bioware to strike some sort of balance between "equal-opportunity" romances, as it were, and exclusive romances. For example, I'd support Quinn and Jaesa being made bi while having Pierce and Vette remain straight (totally arbitrary example). I feel like an ideal SWTOR [Flirt] breakdown would be 1/3 SGR-only, 1/3 OGR-only, and 1/3 bi.

Agree. As an old rpg-player I like diversity.

 

In summary: Dear SWTOR, I really, really like you; but I would really, really, REALLY like you to go ahead and prioritize same-sex relationships. My girl should be able to get some of those hot girls, and (opinion== particular // character==strictly optional) Malavai Quinn ought to be able to do more than metaphorically suck up to my friend's male Warrior, if you know what I mean.

Agree. Mako can love any good BH, and my sith warrior can take care of some imperial officers.

 

And asexuals can just not choose a [Flirt] option and be fine.

There is more than one people which complains that "companions jump on my character just because of high affection". I am noob in SWTOR, but I remember single-player bioware games, in which my characters get laid just after simple conversations. May be it's my fault that I am no so sensitive to feelings of others, but I am not alone who get this problem.

And in any case, I would like to see romance-off button to make some "pure" characters without accidents. There is no save/load options.

Edited July 9, 2013 by wizzsama

[SithKoriandr]

Gee SK, a quick Google search shows that Obama won only 52% of the vote (driven mostly by the big cities, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh) and that most of the Representatives elected to Congress were Republican. Not quite "all blue" then. Also, according to Wikipedia, there has not been a referendum on same-sex marriage in Pennsylvania -- so not "voted down by over 90%" -- and not only that, a series of polls has shown that when asked whether they favour marriage, civil unions or illegality of SSM only about one-third of respondents chose 'illegality'. So your point again was...?

 

You're right. My memory was off on that percentage. Might have been DC with the 90%.

 

Oregon, Nevada, Colorado, Wisconsin, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Florida, and I may have missed 1 or two other states...blue states (Obama won those states) and all ban SGM.

 

My point being, not all right aligned people vote no on SGM, as per the poster I replied to was implying. It's as bad as saying one can't be right wing aligned and be LGBT.

[Mitaria]

So in 2011 they said 2012, in 2012 they said 2012 and in 2013 we are still having the same argument about whether they should or not. Seems there is no real reason to argue.

[SithKoriandr]

So in 2011 they said 2012, in 2012 they said 2012 and in 2013 we are still having the same argument about whether they should or not. Seems there is no real reason to argue.

 

<_< It's the internet >_> We like to post.

 

Though I don't think it's so much a should or should not discussion anymore and now more of a "What we'd like to see." or "How much more will we get?" discussion.

[Zandilar]

My point being, not all right aligned people vote no on SGM, as per the poster I replied to was implying. It's as bad as saying one can't be right wing aligned and be LGBT.

 

You're right. There are supporters and opponents on both sides of the political divide (for instance, our former PM, Julia Gillard, was supposedly left leaning, but was staunchly anti-marriage equality, while our current PM, Kevin Rudd, is right leaning but is pro-marriage equality - note, they are both members of the "traditionally left leaning" Labor party).

 

However, the most vocal opponents of marriage equality (in America at least, to this outsider looking in) are usually religious (of one denomination or faith or another), and almost always "Right" of centre politics-wise, though I think it would be more accurate to use the term "Socially Conservative" rather than "Right".

 

(Right and Left are oversimplifications of a bunch of different political ideologies all lumped together and divided arbitrarily.)

[Justininn]

I am so mad and disappointed at Bioware the game has been out now for almost 2 years but they said the Same gender romance would have been out early in the game but then they kept pushing it. They say there not homophobic but I am starting to think they are. And I am sick of players saying why should there be same gender romance same reason you get to flirt. Then they make Makeb that was a bloody joke really was I felt you get one kiss and like 3 flirts like *** really Bioware that just made me so damn mad. The fact is they lied to us and they need to feel our wrath.

[Gondien]

Honestly, in a game that all about completing quests to save or destroy the universe, help or enslave whole planets, as well as the goal of attaining ultimate power.....is with whom you're sleeping with REALLY the center piece of your game?

 

Do you now define your "gaming life" by one pillar? Gameplay, bugs, new content...all to take a back seat to "same sex sexual encounter/relationships"?

 

Wow!

 

I hate to burst your bubble, but Bioware cut out every visual in the making love scenes.

 

Trooper_01: Yes! I'd love to!

 

(scene fades to black) - (scene returns to focus)

 

Elora Dorne: That was great.

 

Trooper_01: Sure was!

 

Get over it people.....you're not missing anything here.

Edited July 10, 2013 by Gondien

[Tatile]

Honestly, in a game that all about completing quests to save or destroy the universe, help or enslave whole planets, as well as the goal of attaining ultimate power.....is with whom you're sleeping with REALLY the center piece of your game?

 

...

 

Get over it people.....you're not missing anything here.

 

It may not be the centre of your game, but some people play for the story. It doesn't matter about actual sexual congress, but the conversations and emotional intimacy of getting there.

 

Besides, if the purpose of this game is to destroy the universe and attain ultimate power, then surely it doesn't matter what gender you are (so why do have male characters?), what species or race you are (why do we have white humans) or what sexuality you are (why do we have so many straight [Flirt] and romance options) - those can be all be got rid of, and everyone can just play an asexual, aromantic, female Mirialan without complaint.

 

Your attempt at an argument is so old hat I'm surprised you even tried. This is about representation and feeling welcome in the game - Bioware, when SWTOR was launched, with their game explicitly stated that LGB players had no place in the story element. With the release of Makeb, Bioware has explicitly stated through the game that lesbians are universal (but are all actually bisexual women, so that they'll sleep with men, the sole purpose of women in this game it seems), but gay men are limited to the confines of the morally bankrupt, culturally corrupt and oppressive Empire.

 

I know you don't care, you don't care for the story, it's self evident from your post. But this thread is a thread for people who do like story content and believe that a) Bioware should be upholding both Bioware and EA's inclusive values; b) that they want to enjoy the game without arbitrary restrictions and being told "you don't belong here"; c) that in this day and age, it shouldn't be an issue.

 

We shouldn't have this discussion thread because it shouldn't be necessary, but Bioware decided it is, because Bioware decided that they would not stand by their company's inclusive values, which have been demonstrated in ever game they have thus far made and that, instead, they would ignore a large part of their player base and exclude them from representation and full options.

 

But of course, you're just trolling, you don't actually care about anyone's opinions here.

[Ohmygah]

I'm very disappointed that there are so little same gender options. I myself may not typically use them, but it's important that Bioware includes them for those who do. I think the developers may benefit from putting themselves in the shoes of non-heterosexual people and then consider what they would want from romance in the game.

[SithKoriandr]

I am so mad and disappointed at Bioware the game has been out now for almost 2 years but they said the Same gender romance would have been out early in the game but then they kept pushing it. They say there not homophobic but I am starting to think they are. And I am sick of players saying why should there be same gender romance same reason you get to flirt. Then they make Makeb that was a bloody joke really was I felt you get one kiss and like 3 flirts like *** really Bioware that just made me so damn mad. The fact is they lied to us and they need to feel our wrath.

 

They push what they think will sell. Hence the CM.

 

Would you be happy if they said "F/F romance seems to sell, but the M/M romance flopped, so we did more F/F romance options and selling them on the market as it's obvious it will make us money, but we're going to have to push back any M/M options for now."?

 

Now, I really don't know if that happened. I also don't know the number of players that chose the SG Flirt Option, but I'm sure BW does. So the question becomes, were they a big hit? Did it help or cost them subs? If it swayed more towards one side than the other, should they cater to that side, while ignoring the other, because it'd be more cost effective. Or do they work on both sides, taking a hit on profit for the one side, but make it up on the other side, still basically costing them time and money, but will get less flak for it, but at the same time, the flak really isn't that important.

 

And if it was a big hit, the question would be, why haven't they released a SGR companion to the market yet? If one is in the works, why not announce it?

 

Always remember, BW and EA are a company first. They're also not a company that tries hard to keep their loyal costumers. They're a company that see's profits first

[NightsisterIvy]

disappointing that can't include the SGR dimension of my personal char sheet into the game. was a nice lil tease on makeb with the hand on the hip and the brief lil kiss, but be nice if my female jedi knight could romance kira... I know, I know, been said hundreds of times, just wanted to add my 'affirm'

*******************************************

[MeisterBabylon]

As long as BW doesn't lock me out from the rest of the non-romance related conversations with my companions when I turn down a chance same-gender romance, I'll support this equality.

[Gondien]

It may not be the centre of your game, but some people play for the story. It doesn't matter about actual sexual congress, but the conversations and emotional intimacy of getting there.

 

And the romace is what percentage of the "story" as you put it? Please combine all planets, all companions and class quests.....Is it even 10% of the game? No. For you it would appear to be 50-80% of your "story" or at least the focus of it.

 

Besides, if the purpose of this game is to destroy the universe and attain ultimate power, then surely it doesn't matter what gender you are (so why do have male characters?), what species or race you are (why do we have white humans) or what sexuality you are (why do we have so many straight [Flirt] and romance options) - those can be all be got rid of, and everyone can just play an asexual, aromantic, female Mirialan without complaint.

 

Heck, why not go one step further and only release one race, one class and turn this into an xBox game?

 

Your attempt at an argument is so old hat I'm surprised you even tried. This is about representation and feeling welcome in the game - Bioware, when SWTOR was launched, with their game explicitly stated that LGB players had no place in the story element. With the release of Makeb, Bioware has explicitly stated through the game that lesbians are universal (but are all actually bisexual women, so that they'll sleep with men, the sole purpose of women in this game it seems), but gay men are limited to the confines of the morally bankrupt, culturally corrupt and oppressive Empire.

 

If accepting your sexuality (and spending a ton of money for voice actors, money they don't have) is the only way to make you "feel welcome", then again I say you're focus for an MMO is delusional. MMO's were not created to express sexuality. In my guild, we have gay and straight members. Never once has this issue arose that LGBT member don't feel welcome. We accept them as any other players in a game to complete content. No special treatment. Just regular people. Being LGBT or Straight doesn't make you a better or worse player. Though some here believe so.

 

I know you don't care, you don't care for the story, it's self evident from your post. But this thread is a thread for people who do like story content and believe that a) Bioware should be upholding both Bioware and EA's inclusive values; b) that they want to enjoy the game without arbitrary restrictions and being told "you don't belong here"; c) that in this day and age, it shouldn't be an issue.

 

I do care about the story. Planet, FP and class stories. I love them. Played through them numerous times. I just don't feel the need to complain about one side quest, out of all the quests I've done, that I didn't like or didn't end up the way I wanted. FYI, it's a video game....it's not real. You can opt out of any romance in the game. I went through the romance option on one out of eight charaters. No one told you "you don't belong here". That is a made up pity us trip design to make others feel guilty. Bioware made a product. I'm sure there are a million things the devs would love to do. Limited budgets allow for only so much. You're asking for a "just for me", when statistically LGBT players are a minority. Truth hurts.

 

We shouldn't have this discussion thread because it shouldn't be necessary, but Bioware decided it is, because Bioware decided that they would not stand by their company's inclusive values, which have been demonstrated in ever game they have thus far made and that, instead, they would ignore a large part of their player base and exclude them from representation and full options.

 

Mass Effect 1 had no LGBT option so the above statement is false. Unless you count the blue girl who wasn't either but could sleep with anything (even a tree). And again, I think you are in for a shock if you believe LGBT players are a "large part" of their player base. While I believe the larger part is straight player with a motto of "Live and let live" or "who cares?"

 

But of course, you're just trolling, you don't actually care about anyone's opinions here.

 

I love the way you close up. All that great dialog and to end with namecalling and an insult. Just like any 2nd grader out there. Hardly befitting such a moral superior, such as yourself.

[Tatile]

If it's so unimportant, why are you against it?

[Zandilar]

I'm not Tatile, but I just wanted to address some misconceptions you seem to have.

 

And the romace is what percentage of the "story" as you put it? Please combine all planets, all companions and class quests.....Is it even 10% of the game? No. For you it would appear to be 50-80% of your "story" or at least the focus of it.

 

For me, it's < 0.000000000000001% of the game because it doesn't really exist in any meaningful capacity in the game for me right now.

 

If accepting your sexuality (and spending a ton of money for voice actors, money they don't have) is the only way to make you "feel welcome", then again I say you're focus for an MMO is delusional. MMO's were not created to express sexuality. In my guild, we have gay and straight members. Never once has this issue arose that LGBT member don't feel welcome. We accept them as any other players in a game to complete content. No special treatment. Just regular people. Being LGBT or Straight doesn't make you a better or worse player. Though some here believe so.

 

If, like most other MMOs, SWTOR had NO (interactive-ish) romances in it at all, then you'd have a point.

 

But OGRs are all over the shop, every class has at least one for each gender. If your point were to stand, Bioware would have to chop them out too... Because "MMO's [sic] were not created to express sexuality."

 

I do care about the story. Planet, FP and class stories. I love them. Played through them numerous times. I just don't feel the need to complain about one side quest, out of all the quests I've done, that I didn't like or didn't end up the way I wanted. FYI, it's a video game....it's not real. You can opt out of any romance in the game. I went through the romance option on one out of eight charaters. No one told you "you don't belong here". That is a made up pity us trip design to make others feel guilty. Bioware made a product. I'm sure there are a million things the devs would love to do. Limited budgets allow for only so much. You're asking for a "just for me", when statistically LGBT players are a minority. Truth hurts.

 

You're making a false assumption here, that only LGBT players want SGRs for their characters.

 

The majority of slash (yes, m/m stuff) fiction online is written (and consumed) by straight women. Believe it or not, the audience for SGRs is a lot deeper than you seem to think. (I am not sure on the numbers for f/f stuff, but imho the best stories are written by women.)

 

Mass Effect 1 had no LGBT option so the above statement is false. Unless you count the blue girl who wasn't either but could sleep with anything (even a tree). And again, I think you are in for a shock if you believe LGBT players are a "large part" of their player base. While I believe the larger part is straight player with a motto of "Live and let live" or "who cares?"

 

Liara. She LOOKS like a woman, who cares if her race is mono-gendered, her character parses as a woman. Fem!Shepard/Liara is f/f, a femshep involved with Liara is not straight. Asari seem to have a thing for sentient beings, so I doubt they'd mate/bond with a tree (though given their own taboo against mating amongst their own people, who knows what they did before they made contact with other species off their own home planets).

 

As I said above, LGBT players are not the only ones who want SGRAs in SWTOR.

[Gondien]

For me, it's < 0.000000000000001% of the game because it doesn't really exist in any meaningful capacity in the game for me right now.

 

Couldn't agree more. I would ask devs to focus on bug fixes and new content to build a stronger paying player base, rather than spend money on voice actors to refit the romance option for SGR.

 

If, like most other MMOs, SWTOR had NO (interactive-ish) romances in it at all, then you'd have a point. But OGRs are all over the shop, every class has at least one for each gender. If your point were to stand, Bioware would have to chop them out too... Because "MMO's [sic] were not created to express sexuality."

 

And I would be perfectfully happy if they cut the romance option from this game also. If sex and sexuality are that important to your "game"....go play Red Light District.

 

You're making a false assumption here, that only LGBT players want SGRs for their characters.

 

I make no assumptions other than most don't care either way. I have never seen this as a repeated 'hot topic' in Fleet General Chat. Only the smallest number of players come here to the forums to complain about "what they didn't get". (To which forums are used for.)

 

The majority of slash (yes, m/m stuff) fiction online is written (and consumed) by straight women. Believe it or not, the audience for SGRs is a lot deeper than you seem to think. (I am not sure on the numbers for f/f stuff, but imho the best stories are written by women.)

 

Now this I completely agree with. I have found female writers (gay or straight) run alot deeper into their charaters emotional expirience than their male counterparts. I give them all credit for this ability to not only understand emotion, but express it through writing. However, I don't believe that straight women write these stories about SGR because that's what they want in any way. They have a story to tell and are selling a product. Simple.

[Zandilar]

Couldn't agree more. I would ask devs to focus on bug fixes and new content to build a stronger paying player base, rather than spend money on voice actors to refit the romance option for SGR.

 

New content could be extra conversations and missions with/for current companions. Why couldn't that include SGRs with them?

 

Or... How would you feel if they were to implement new companions who were SGRable?

 

And I would be perfectfully happy if they cut the romance option from this game also. If sex and sexuality are that important to your "game"....go play Red Light District.

 

/facepalm

 

If you don't like love and romance in your game, go play World of Warcraft or RIFT or EVE or...

 

See, I can do that too.

 

I make no assumptions other than most don't care either way. I have never seen this as a repeated 'hot topic' in Fleet General Chat. Only the smallest number of players come here to the forums to complain about "what they didn't get". (To which forums are used for.)

 

To the first point, not caring either way means that they don't care if it IS in the game or if it is NOT in the game.

 

To the second: And yet here you are, in the forums complaining about the idea that some people want different things to you in the game. You're not doing a good job of showing how much you don't care.

 

We have this ONE thread in all of the forums, and you're making out as if we're hysterically demanding we get our way BEFORE anything or anyone else... Which is patently not true. (You know this thread has been going since before launch, right?)

 

Now this I completely agree with. I have found female writers (gay or straight) run alot deeper into their charaters emotional expirience than their male counterparts. I give them all credit for this ability to not only understand emotion, but express it through writing. However, I don't believe that straight women write these stories about SGR because that's what they want in any way. They have a story to tell and are selling a product. Simple.

 

For a start, you can't make generalisations about who writes emotional stuff better, because that largely relies on the genre they're writing in, whether or not the story is more character or plot driven, and the individual author in question.

 

Women writing male/male slash fanfiction on the Internet are not seeking to sell a product (because there's no money in fanfiction unless you happen to be both very very good and very very lucky*), they are writing for self-entertainment purposes primarily, and entertaining others is secondary. Yes, they have a story to tell, and usually it involves hot guys having sex with each other! Because that is what they want to read about. If they weren't getting anything out of it, they would be writing something else.

 

For me, being a female writer of femslash, I certainly am writing it because I want to see my favourite characters becoming involved romantically and sometimes even making love (though I find erotica in general to be rather tedious). I am also writing it because that is what I want to read. I am not writing it to sell a product, thank you very much, I am trying to entertain myself and anyone who shares my tastes.

 

(By the way, one of the biggest mistake a writer can make is to try to write to a market, rather than writing what they want to read.)

 

* And by very very lucky, I mean Melissa Good being picked up as a writer for the last seasons of Xena, or E L James disguising her Twilight Fanfiction as Original Fiction and being picked up by a mainstream publisher. (By the way, I have no idea if E L James is very very good, because I haven't read her work - heterosexual (or BDSM) erotica is not to my taste - but she certainly falls into the lucky category!)