Anyway, it’s what I believe, so here it is again.
I have just been catching up on a backlog of reading, and found this thread that I’d overlooked –
Self-Description: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=6086
I was going to reply in that thread, but decided that it brings up a wider issue that belongs in the TUGs Talk sub-forum.
Anyways... In a genre like TUGs stories, I imagine Mary Sue-ism is commonplace.
For those who don’t know what I’m talking about...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_sue
To quote Scottstud94 from the “Self-Description†thread (I trust it’s not a breach of board etiquette to quote from another thread):
Scottstud94 wrote:I hate to be so negative but I am so sick of everytime a user describes themselves they have "D cups" or an 8-Pack, or muscles the size of a bus. Here NOBODY knows you therefore they do not care if you lie about yourself to make you look cooler. Now some of us may be telling the truth (kudos) but I'm willing to bet that's a solid 10%. I tell myself like I am, not a figment of my imagination.
TUGs stories are by their very nature fantasies. Even when they are true, most of the time we are playing out in real life a fantasy of bondage and submission. In my case, 90% of all my bondage experiences involve some form of role-play. When one adds the special characteristics of TUGs (like the risqué and taboo elements), I guess it’s not really surprising that we remember them as larger than life. When we describe them to others, they take on heroic dimensions... and so do we.
Partly it’s because most TUGs (mine, at least) are more exciting to do than to read about. In how many different ways can you write “He put me in a hog-tie and left me helpless on the floor while he watched TV.� The urge to spice up your story is almost irresistible.
The same goes for how we describe ourselves (and our TUGs partners). Yes, it definitely hurts the credibility of a story that is supposed to be non-fiction, but as a projection of the author’s fantasy it adds another facet to the tale that is interesting in itself.
~ Sarah
(This post has been edited four times – a new record?)