Safe sex in fan fiction

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Are we practising safe sex yet?

Fan fiction and sex education

by Michela Ecks

Review of Literature

There is a lot of discussion, research and analysis done on the topic of pornography and the effect of its consumption on human behaviour for the consumer. In her book, The Psychology of the Internet by Patricia Wallace, she discusses two cases involving pornography. In one case she looked at a study done in Denmark in the 1960s. The “restrictions on the production and distribution of pornography were removed.” (Pg. 162) There was an immediate drop in the number of sex related crimes. This is contrasted to a study done which looked at the volume of sales of pornographic magazines like Hustler and Playboy. The volume was contrasted to the incidents of rape in all fifty states. The two states with the highest sales also had the highest rates of rape in the country. These states were Alaska and Wyoming. The author also examined some other studies and concluded that, after reading these studies, that the bigger picture indicates that there is some correlation between the consumption of pornographic material and attitudes towards sex. The author notes that these studies have some methodology issues as the scientists are loathe to create accidental harm to those they are studying.

But if pornography, including the written variety of which a large quantity of fan fiction includes, can shape our attitudes towards sex, can it possibly shape our attitudes, affect our knowledge, and affect our practices in terms of safe sex? Can the absence or presence of sexual protection in fan fiction cause a change in our thinking that would effect our behaviour?

The practice of using fiction, of using entertainment to educate people in regards the topic of practice safe sex is not a new one. In the book Sex Ed, Film, Video, and the Framework of Desire by Robert Eberwin, the author looks at several movies that used entertainment as the primary vehicle to educate the audience about safe sex. One film referenced was The Birth of a Baby, sponsored by the American Committee on Maternal Welfare in 1936. This film, aimed at women, caused a stir at the time precisely because it was billed as entertainment while trying to educate. The author notes that the period between 1919 to 1959 had a number of films that were entertaining but looked at focused on stories featuring the socially marginalized. This allowed for these films to be used as vehicles of discussion in American society, serving to educate others by their very presence and allowing people to discuss them by talking about the topic in the context of a film.

One of the most notable early films marketed primarily for entertainment value was the movie, Damaged Goods. The version with the most commercial success was the one released in 1937. It was, according to Eberwin, a box office success. It also had an effect on viewers. Reviewers encouraged all boys to watch it “for they are to become the American manhood, and the cleaner physically, the better” as one quote from the text cites a reviewer as saying.

“Entertainment Television as a Healthy Sex Educator: The Impact of Condom-Efficacy Information in an Episode of Friends” by Rebecca Collins looked at the effect of a fictional television show on attitudes towards condom usage. The study found that watching a specific episode had the potential to be a positive influence in helping teenagers acquire knowledge in terms of condom usage when the material led to the teenager discussing the topic with their parents. This more modern example of fiction, of entertainment shows that the material can still have a positive influence in terms of sex education, even when the material is not intended to have that result and is part of our greater popular culture.

According to the Guttmacher Report, discussed in “Sexual health and young people” by Pat Jackson which appeared in periodical Community Practitioner, countries that have had the greatest success in preventing teen pregnancy have had three things in common: liberal attitudes towards sex, ready and easy access to contraceptives, and effective formal and informal sex education programs. Jackson’s article looks at another study, one done in the United Kingdom. The study found that while traditional programs for safe sex education are effective in a number of areas, teenagers crave confidentiality and privacy. When sex education offers both of these, the effectiveness of the program increases. Fan fiction and other elements of popular culture, while not directly references in this article, can provide a context or a way for teenagers to look at these materials confidentially and privately.

Objective

Given that teenagers read sexually explicit fan fiction, this mini-survey sought to determine, based on reader responses, if fan fiction, not removed from its cultural setting, can be used as a means of educating teenagers about safe sex practices.

Design and Participants

This study consisted of a series of interviews with ten individuals on AOL Instant Messenger. This method was chosen over a traditional survey because of the sensitivity of the topic. It was plausible to assume that, given the target demographic and the topic, answers would be less than honest using that method. The interviews all started out with an explanation as to the topic, purpose of the study, and an explanation as to the design of the survey. Respondent confidentially was then discussed, as the material being discussed was, in a number of cases, potentially illegal for the respondents to be reading and for the archivist to be knowingly providing to minors. This was followed up with attaining basic demographic information in terms of age, country currently living in, archives respondent read fan fiction at and fandoms the respondent read material from. Participants than discussed their reading habits, presence of depictions of safe sex in their fan fiction reading, and their views of this material in the context of their own beliefs and practices. After these questions, the interviews were allowed to drift, to explore issues that the respondents brought up. The interviews concluded with the respondent being asked if they had any additional questions or comments they wished to mention to me regarding the depiction of safe sex in fan fiction, their own views and the educational merit of fan fiction in terms of teaching sex education. After this, the respondents were shown the paragraph written about them, asked to verify that the paragraph correctly described what their responses. If no, the paragraph was altered. If yes, the interview was then concluded.

The participants in this survey were found through three methods. The first method was by requesting acquaintances that fell with in the targeted demographic for this survey, fan fiction readers between the age of thirteen and twenty-two, if they would be willing to participate in a survey regarding fan fiction and attitudes towards safe sex. The second method included asking acquaintances if they had any of their own friends or acquaintances whom might be willing to participate in this survey. The person then asked their acquaintance, explained the gist of the survey and was asked to contact the interviewer if they were interested in participating. The third method was to find people by randomly contacting a user from FanDomination.Net who had left their AIM nick in their profile.

See the case studies and tables at the end of this document for specific demographic information.

Results

Most of the questions asked in this survey that directly pertained to non-demographic information were of a non-quantitative value. The responses thus needed to be analysed. They were, broadly speaking, slotted into three categories that could answer the question of “Do you believe that reading sexually explicit fan fiction has had a positive effect, negative effect or no affect on your knowledge of safe sex practices and your likelihood to, if you were to have sex, safe sex?” The results found that seven respondents claimed no effect of sexually explicit fan fiction their views and likely practices, two with a positive effect and one with a negative effect.

The two respondents who reported that fan fiction had a positive effect on their views regarding practising safe sex and increasing the likelihood of their practising safe sex were both fifteen years old. The individual reporting that fan fiction decreased their likelihood of practising safe sex was fourteen years of age. The three respondents aged seventeen years and above all reported that fan fiction did not have any effect on their views, knowledge of safe sex practices and likelihood to practice safe sex.

In every case but one, respondents indicated that they had been provided some form of education regarding safe sex in a school setting. The exception to this case was a student, who was home schooled, where their parent had not discussed the topic with them. The relative merit, the value of this information in terms of educating them on the how of it was not consistent with all cases. Most did indicate that this education gave them a basic understanding of the concept that practising safe sex was important in terms of their own physical health. In two cases, it was noted that while the individuals received a safe sex education, they felt it was rather rote, with the school doing it out of a sense of obligation, because of curriculum demands; they did not feel it was out of a greater sense of concern about the student’s own physical well being.

In three cases of individuals who felt that fan fiction had no effect on their own beliefs and potential safe sex practices, there was a view that expressed that this was not the role of fan fiction, should not be the role of fan fiction. The individuals said that if they or others truly wished to learn about safe sex, there were better alternative places to get information. This included additional classes at school, websites and health textbooks.

In five of the seven cases where a person said that fan fiction did not influence their views and practices regarding safe sex, individuals expressed a sentiment that fan fiction is fiction. They expressed the idea that there is a clear and distinct seperation between reality and fiction; the expectations of similar behaviour in both should not be held. The respondents indicated that they knew the difference between the two.

During these various discussions, on two occasions, there were references that given the nature of their universe, having characters engage in safe sex would not be realistic. Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter do not lend themselves to the practices of safe sex. It would involve an overemphasis in some cases on minor plot details if an author wished to include them because of those universes. This was explained as a possible reason why the readers may not have had greater exposure to material featuring characters engaged in safe sex.

The case of the individual who said that fan fiction had a negative impact on their likelihood to practice safe sex and their awareness of to the importance of safe sex claimed that it they felt it was likely a result of being desensitised to the material; they were so used to reading about people not practising safe sex and not suffering any consequences for their failure to practice safe sex that it became harder to believe all the horror stories. While they said that they intended to practice safe sex when or if they engaged in sexual activities, they nonetheless were somewhat concerned.

The two cases of fan fiction having a positive effect in terms of views of safe sex as a result of reading fan fiction both had different reasons for this. In one case, the respondent indicated an increased likelihood of practising safe sex was because authors who wrote safe sex wrote really hot safe sex, hotter sex than the stories they read than the ones where the characters did not engage in safe sex. The other respondent just indicated that fan fiction created a greater awareness of the necessity of practising safe sex as it was something that she saw repeatedly in her readings.

In seven discussions, abstinence was referenced as a form of safe sex. In zero cases was this later discussed as a practice read about in fan fiction. All discussions that referenced specific forms of safe sex practices mentioned condom usage. When one respondent was asked in a later follow up about this specific safe sex practice, the respondent indicated that they had run across this only once that they could recall in their reading. It happened in a novel length Good Charlotte heterosexual fan fiction. The characters initially agreed to abstain. In subsequent chapters, they gave up this vow and then engaged in unprotected sex.

Given the small sample size, there does not appear to be any relationship between where a person reads fan fiction, what fandoms they read fan fiction from and the effect that fan fiction has had on fan fiction serving an educational value in terms of increasing the likelihood of practising safe sex. Age of the respondent seems to play a minimal role. If this sample size was larger, it is possible that patterns for these three variables may begin to emerge.

Conclusion

“Well, [fan fiction] is really just a way to play out fantasies and explore the different areas of the human mind, so really if the character has safe sex or not it doesn't matter because it really is just a fantasy. And not all fantasies are about sex, anyway. I don't think people pay attention if the characters even have safe sex or not, and unless they got an STD from it by the end of the story they wouldn't care. Is not like people are going to go out and imitate what they read in [fan fiction], and if they're old enough to read writing about sex they SHOULD be aware of it.” (Respondent 10)

Fan fiction serves different roles for different people. Some people see it as a bit of fantasy, escapism. Other people see it as a stepping off point for learning to become a better writer and eventually go professional. There are different views on what makes a good story. For some readers, the inclusion of realistic depictions of sex, including condom usage, is important to good story telling. To other readers, this is additional, extraneous information that detracts from a story. The importance of realism, a knowledge of consequences if people are not practising safe sex, has a higher value to some readers. This value is not universal; it makes determining a well written, enjoyable story difficult. Backgrounds of fan fiction readers differ. All of these things play a role in determining the value of fan fiction serving as a tool in fan fiction culture for teaching safe sex. It cannot be ignored though, that in some cases, fan fiction does serve a role in increasing the awareness of the importance of practising safe sex.

This all begs a question of should fan fiction be purely relegated to the realms of fiction, an enjoyable hobby or should it be used as a medium for education, a tool to understanding our culture and its practices. Readers certainly do not agree in their expressed views and their experiences.

Case Studies

[1] A twenty-year-old male from Australia is not a large reader of fan fiction. He reads it sparingly. When he does read, he mainly reads stories from the Harry Potter at SugarQuill. Most of his reading thus lacks in sexually explicit content. Still, he has read some and noticed that some of the stories he read featured some references to forms of protection. These were neither a turn on, nor a turn off to reading the story. While a virgin, he believes that this reading has had no impact on his own perceptions of practising safe sex because he has always maintained that he will practice it as he has been aware of the need to do this from outside sources for a long time. Fan fiction has played no role in educating him in regards to these practices.

[2] A fifteen-year-old from the United States reads fan fiction primarily on FanDomination.Net. Her primary fandom is My Chemical Romance. From her reading, she notes that the practice of safe sex is sometimes mentioned. In a number of cases, the lack of practising safe sex can lead to women getting pregnant on accident. While her initial inclination was to think that the depiction of safe sex or the consequences of safe sex do not play a role in her views of safe sex as the topic is covered in school, her second thought was that it might play a greater role than she thought in making her more aware of the consequences of the lack of using protection. For her, as a virgin, fan fiction is sometimes used to explore and learn more about sex. The stories that have the greatest impact, are most memorable and most likely to, according to her, have some educational value are the ones that are part of a larger story that is itself memorable. Fan fiction is a safe environment to explore that which she does not know. She feels the educational implications in terms of sex education in terms of safe sex are there but are generally not part of her greater awareness when reading.

[3] A fan of stories about bands like The Used, My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy reads some sexually explicit fan fiction on FanDomination.Net and Quizilla. The fourteen-year-old from the United States says that from her reading experience, most of the stories she has read do not have the people engaging in safe sex. This does not bother her because this is fiction. She notes that she does get taught about safe sex in school but for the most part does not feel the administration care about the topic much beyond teaching what they are obligated to teach. This attitude regarding safe sex is one she carries with her when reading. The reader believes in the end, that no matter what the school says or what is depicted in fan fiction, she will probably practice safe sex.

[4] Another fifteen-year-old from the United States reads Harry Potter and Good Charlotte fan fiction. She posts and reads fan fiction primarily on FanDomination.Net and on LiveJournal. While she does not read much sexually explicit material, the material she does read generally tends to feature stories where the people engage in safe sex. She feels that reading this material has made her more aware practising safe sex and that the stories she has read have had a positive effect on her views. They have shown that you can still have hot sex that is still safe. While she would practice safe sex regardless of what she read, feels that reading fan fiction has increased her awareness and upped the encouragement level to engage in safe practices.

[5] An American fifteen-year-old reads fan fiction at a variety of archives including FanDomination.Net, LiveJournal.com and AFISlash.com. Her fandoms are Mest, AFI, My Chemical Romance, Simple Plan and previously, Good Charlotte. In most of the stories she has read, the characters have not practised forms of safe sex including characters using the pill, a condom or practising abstinence. In a number of cases, the inclusion of these elements would have been detrimental to the plot development, as mpreg stories generally require a failure of or lack of presence of birth control. The absence of the characters not practising safe sex has not effected the reader’s perceptions of safe sex. This is because there is an awareness that this is fiction on the part of the reader and because she has had reinforced, in her non-fiction and at school, that practising safe sex is important. The concept is further reinforced by her own morality as she does not plan to engage in any sex until she is married. As such, fan fiction plays little part in forming her views.

[6] A twenty-two-year old reader and writer of wrestling and Lord of the Rings fan fiction at FanDomination.Net says that fan fiction has not impacted her views and practices on safe sex. Her primary fandom, Lord of the Rings, does not really, in her view, lend itself to writing situations involving safe sex. The couples that are involved tend to be together in long term, monogamous relationships and the canon itself does not touch on the topic. As such, she has not read many stories that feature safe sex. Whatever happens in the story, it is a story. The presence and use of safe sex may take away from a story but it is ultimately, in her view, the choice of the author. Those writing choices will not impact her own safe sex practices.

[7] A seventeen-year-old fan fiction reader and writer from the United States does most of her fannish activity at FanDomination.Net. She reads a lot of fan fiction featuring musicians. These include Good Charlotte though she will read fan fiction about other, more obscure bands if they interest her and the writing is good. As she has gotten older, she has read fewer stories featuring sexually explicit material and feels that this reading habit will continue as she begins to write more original material. The stories she calls reading sometimes had the people engaging in safe sex, sometimes not. If they did not feature safe sex, she would have noticed the absence of this practice as it plays to the realism in a story. When it comes time for her to have sex, she believes that she will be focusing on the other person and whatever fiction she may have read will be irrelevant. What will matter is the decisions she and her partner will make regarding safe sex. If she wants to know more about it, she can take a sex education class.

[8] There is a fourteen-year-old from the United States. She reads Mest, My Chemical Romance, The Used, Taking Back Sunday, Green Day and Good Charlotte fan fiction on LiveJournal, Greatest Journal and FanDomination.Net. Most of the adult material she has read does not feature people practising safe sex. She feels that the inclusion of this element really does depend on the author and can sometimes add to the believability of the story. The reader feels that, to a certain degree, the lack of people in stories practising safe sex has desensitised her the need to do the same. The education she is getting in regards to this topic academically is not as good as she may want, partially due to being home school. Her knowledge regarding safe sex comes from her health book and her own common sense. While she thinks that reading all those stories which features characters not practising safe sex are desensitising her to the subject, she does plan to, when she has sex, to engage in safe sex.

[9] A thirteen-year-old from the United States reads a lot of fan fiction. Her fandoms include Fall Out Boy, The Killers, Interpol, From First to Last, Avenged Sevenfold, Mest, Simple Plan, Taking Back Sunday, Brand New, Sugarcult, Bright Eyes, Alkaline Trio, The Used, My Chemical Romance, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. She reads fan fiction on FanDomination.Net, Scattered Thoughts, Stranger Than Fiction and LiveJournal. Almost all of the stories of an adult nature that she reads do not feature characters practising safe sex. The characters generally face no consequences for not practising safe sex. The reader feels that despite this lack that her views on the practice of safe sex are not changed. When she has sex in the future, she plans to practice safe sex. Her reading of fiction is just that, fiction; the stories are obviously not true and should not be indicative of actions she should take.

[10] A fifteen-year-old from the United States reads fan fiction on FanDomination.Net, Greatest Journal and LiveJournal. She primarily reads fan fiction based on the musical acts Thursday and Bright Eyes, though she will read fan fiction based on other groups that her friends write. The reader does not read much adult material, and the adult material the she does read is generally confined to material her friends have written. Condom usage is the primary form of safe sex that appears in some of the stories she has read. Otherwise, most of the stories do not feature characters engaged in safe sex with no consequences for not practising safe sex. She feels that fan fiction has not played any role in shaping her views and likelihood of practising safe sex; health class has. The reader also feels that it will ultimately have little impact her future actions as she has little to no interest in having sex period. What goes on in a story in terms of character action has little importance as it has little connection to her interests.

Tables Ages of Respondents

Age Total

13 1

14 2

15 4

16 0

17 1

18 0

19 0

20 1

21 0

22 1