|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 8:27 am
(Scroll down for a TL;DR version and discussion spoons!)
I was thinking today about some of the books I read in my early childhood; Animorphs was a favorite long before Harry Potter (third grade perhaps? As opposed to Harry’s introduction in fifth grade) and I read dozens of children-oriented Christian chapter books… but one in particular really left its affect on me. A children’s version of “The Pilgrim’s Progress,” possibly the version by Taylor Hunt (I can’t be certain.) In said book, a boy named Christian must travel through many difficult paths and endure trials and troubles in his attempt to leave the city of Destruction to pursue a grander city far away (obviously a lengthy metaphor for living the Christian life and reaching heaven.)
Why do I cherish this book? Because it introduced both homosexuality, and bondage/sadomasochism to me at no older than nine.
Granted, the references were probably unintentional, and completely subtextual, but their influences lingered and helped me overcome my “fags burn in hell / missionary style for life” phase in middle school and early high school.
Christian has a male companion at some point in the book, and though my memories of exact events in the book have dwindled, the feeling I received while reading about their mutual struggles and absolute loyalty to each other still remains. Alone, Christian might have fallen from grace - but with his male companion at his side, Christian was inspired to remain steadfast; I felt their connection was much stronger than friendship, but I was too young to put a name to this new, interesting style of relationship. At nine, I had a hard time with the dated phrases and sentence structures, but I eagerly worked through the chapters, craving more dialogue between the boys, and excited to see if they made it to the golden city.
At one point, the boys find themselves in a city of cruel, rather sarcastic citizens; I cannot recall why, but they are caught, publicly whipped until bleeding, and trussed up in a cage in the middle of the city for all to laugh and mock. This was very graphic imagery for a young child, but for whatever reason, I often returned to this scene to reread it; I yearned to read of their punishment and the subsequent humiliation, and felt a surge of affection for them as they whispered comforts to each other amidst mockery and shame. If I recall, they spent several nights in the cage.
Not even ten years old, I was forming opinions on things I didn’t really understand. Deep-rooted feelings that lingered just beneath the surface until I was old enough (and mature enough) to interpret them for what they are: an acceptance for homosexuality, and the foundation of my sexual fetishes.
TL;DR Version
At nine years old, children’s literature indirectly introduced concepts like homosexuality and BDSM, which influenced my feelings on such subjects years later.
Discussion Spoons
• What was your first exposure to similar “abnormal”/“alternative” subjects?
• What was your first slash ship?
• When were you first exposed to a sexual fetish?
• Were these experiences indirect? How old were you?
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2009 8:57 am
•Listening To: Rise Against~•Feeling: Hungry
•Playing: Fallout 3
I think the first book I read with sex was when I was like... 10 maybe? And it was a murder book, and the main characters were the schizophrenic murderer and his therapist/eventual victim. Lots of naughty stuff that I guess I didn't really understand at the time. Like the word frotteurism. Definitely didn't know that word before. rofl
And I always got tons of strange books like that when I was a kid, looking for murder novels that might have sex in them and such. And then soon after I got into Laurell K. Hamilton books which at first didn't really have sex, and are now basically all sex. So yeeeah.
I can't remember my first slash ship. Maybe Murdoc/2D from Gorillaz? No, I'm sure it was before that, some videogame character or something... I don't know.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Johnny777Nny Vice Captain
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2009 1:18 pm
I started slashing with.....probably Legend of Zelda: OoT. I loved Sheik and Link so much...I was so pissed that Sheik turned out to be Zelda... ><;; I also shipped the characters in the Sega Genesis game Streets of Rage.
I loved how dirty and violent the city was and thought it'd be so cool if they just raped the girl character I always played as. XD Which is really weird since I hadn't really seen sex at that point, but still....
Most of mine are video game related.. Because I didn't start shipping comic characters in slash pairings until I was like thirteen....
Got exposed to bondage waaaay younger, back when Soul Edge came out on the Playstation, Voldo always stuck out to me and I couldn't figure out why back then...
Also, Freddy Krueger... I think that's one of the first times I was ever turned on by anything. redface I was like five when I started to have a crush on my "buddy" which is what I called him and my talking Freddy doll at the time..
My mom was in the whole weird Goth scene and all the stuff she exposed me to got warped a little, I guess... Definitely more exposed to sex from video games and movies, though.. I only ever read comics, and I didn't care to sexualize them any more than they already were.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2009 5:45 pm
I vaguely remember shipping some sort of pairing when I was 12/13....
Maybe I'm mixing that up with getting turned on by Rocky Horror Picture show..
Yeah, it was definitely RHPS. Frank N Furter introduced me to boy/boy. XD
I don't really remember reading anything, actually. I'd have to say I really got into reading slash stuff when.... I was 18? That's when I first got on Gaia, hung around in the Harry Potter Forum when it was still cool, and started to become corrupted. 8D
Yeah. I don't really know of any children's literature I've read with those themes as a kid though. :3
x3 <3 Omfg Freddy Krueger doll. XD Awesome.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
