penis or dick? [Explicit Language]

[dale]

so i'm writing my stories. and when it comes to naming sexual crap, i sometimes become like baffled about what to do.
i'm not an erotica writer...well...only once......but what should i do? sex is a part of my stories, even if they aren't technically
"erotica". should i use the word "dick' or "cock' or "penis" or what? and for me? it gets even MORE complicated with the female
anatomy. because to me? women are very sacred. so i don't like naming their "netherlands" as anything other than flowery.
but my point is...what word can a non-erotica writer use to label the dick and the "flower"? i like my writing to have an element
of class to it, believe it or not. should i just say dick and cunt? in my previous works...i've skirted the issue by portraying the
sex scenes as "musical" or "abstract coloration". even in my erotica story. the publisher emailed me giggling about how i actually
made violent sex "classy". anyway...i'm just posting this thread because i'm bored and drunk. i'm insane anyway, so who cares.

[Sam]

Penis and vagina.

I hate reading about 'manhoods' and 'lady parts' and all other euphemisms for genitalia. If you're going to have sex in your novel, have sex in your novel. Don't have euphemistic sex in it. Have the balls to use the proper terms.

If it's good enough for encyclopaedias and medical volumes, it's good enough for the pages of a novel.

[Pidgeon84]

Idk, I guess it depends on the context or what you're trying to go for. I mean, I think you gotta be a little more colorful than penis and vaginal. If I was with someone and those were the only words they used, I'm pretty sure things in the sack would get boring awfully quick. But it also doesn't have to be porn talk. I guess you just have to find middle ground.

[KJay]

It very much depends on the story. I absolutely agree with Sam that I hate it when people use words like 'manhood' etc, but on the other hand using the words 'penis' and 'vagina' just seems to clinical.

If it is romance you are trying to achieve, penis and vagina are not the words you want to use.

I also hate reading about dicks (mostly American) and cocks (English).

I think to me a good sex scene leaves a lot to the imagination, so maybe you can avoid having to use specific body parts and suggest more.

[Firemajic]

Use your imagination and be creative...makes for a good lover and a good writer...lol.. Peace...Jul

[Gargh]

Good luck! Sex doesn't tend to figure much in what I write and I'm so glad, it's really tricky. So many words for the female genitals are really derogatory and a lot are derived from archaic terms for things like bucket and other such disposable terms that wouldn't give your female characters/readers any sense of agency in, perhaps, the way slang terms for male genitals do. I've seen people use 'vulva' before, which is a nicer word than 'vagina' and potentially more accurate? I personally dislike euphemisms and put one book down after the author kept referencing 'her sex' like the poor character's genitals were some mysterious unknown land of pleasure rather than an active body part (can't recall what it was). In your position, if I absolutely had to write sex in, I would probably stick to actions, name nothing unless I had to, and if I did then I'd tailor my words to fit what the characters would use... in fact, I may add that question to a couple of character questionnaires!

[TJ1985]

I'd say skip the terms completely. If you absolutely must mention the penis, then call it what it is: A penis. However, that's a corner I'd try to write myself out of before I got down to the fine details. When I'm dabbling in erotica I try my best to use as few terms like penis, vagina, or soldering iron as I can. Most folks have that one word that makes them melt, so I don't try to pick one hoping I get the right one. If my reader doesn't know the essential mechanics, I assume I'd only confuse the matter by bringing a lot of names into the mix.

When somebody talks about making chili, I'm not thinking about whether the stove is gas or electric, I'm thinking about the heat.

[Potty]

If it's good enough for encyclopaedias and medical volumes, it's good enough for the pages of a novel.

Your pick up lines must be really astonishing.

[Firemajic]

Your pick up lines must be really astonishing.

LMAO...oh Dude....lol

[Deafmute]

I can't even imagine a classy scene in any story that HAS to include words naming the genitalia. We did a challenge to write something like a 5 page sex scene and make it non pornographic and I don't believe any of us actually named the genitals, and the whole scene was sex. Sex is more than just the act. Its feelings, thoughts, emotions. If you are writing a classy story and sex comes up, then make it personal not physical. Don't write what they are doing so much as what they are feeling and thinking about each other. Write about their insecurities, their fears, write about how their partner helps them overcome that. Write about their confidence, what the other one does that make them feel like a man or woman. Describe the shaking of the bed. The sweat rolling off his shoulder. The moment they lose breath together and collapse gasping for air.

Just don't write about how big the guys ()*&(* was.