Estrus - or, Why Heat Fics Suck · 11:53am Nov 28th, 2013
So, I don't usually voice my opinion on what writers should and shouldn't write about. It really is up to them. But something lately has caught my attention, and made me analyze my feelings on a particular subject.
One author whose works I very much enjoyed brought out a story that had everything going for it. It was funny, well written, and had good characters in it. But, at some point, I had to stop reading, and I wasn't really sure why. Something was bothering me about the story, and I think I've figured out what it is.
In the story, the mares of Ponyville go into heat all at once. They proceed to chase down stallions, who all put up a resistance ranging from token to abject terror, and chaos ensues.
Now, I get the trope, and I've seen it before in other media. Love potions, magical perfumes, super-effective aphrodisiacs, these are nothing new. So why did it bother me here when it didn't in the other cases?
Was it bringing something that affects real horses into the contest of ponies? Not really. I mean, the show has done that on occasion. We see ponies having foals, so one can naturally assume that some aspects of a horse's life cycle apply to ponies. I'm not even bothered when fics draw on real horse anatomy. So what's the problem here?
The problem, as I see it, is that this entire trope is extremely sexist. If you think about it, what is really happening here? Women are pursuing men against their will, trying to get them to sleep with them. What would happen if you turned the genders around? Would you think a story where all the men in Ponyville suddenly have a hightened sexual desire and chase after all the mares was particularly funny? No, I think you might consider that closer to a horror story! So why is it funny when mares do it, but scary when it's stallions?
Simply put: Stallions (and, by extension, men) are allowed to have heightened sex drives. They are practically expected to. Whereas women are supposed to be chaste and pure. When women's sex drives are heightened, it's funny, because no woman could possibly have a heightened (or any) sex drive! The men are supposed to chase after the women, not the other way around! If that were true, it would be hilarious! (/sarcasm)
So, yeah, Estrus fics are extremely sexist and degrading to women. Not to mention the whole issue of consent that casually gets cast aside so often in these fics, because, you know, women can't rape men, right? (That was sarcasm again, in case you were unsure).
I'm not saying you can't have estrus in your fic, or even write a fic about it. But, if you do, make it mean something. Don't do it for the sake of a cheap joke. Explore how this affects a pony and their relationship with those around them, how it changes how they behave and how they feel about it afterward.
Please, don't make it about "Lol women chasing men for sex". Please.
You deserve a medal. And because I think you'd like it... I'll also post this so that you can use it later. I will most definitely follow you, and I find almost every view you've expressed here to be correct. Indeed, this site, and specifically the trope of using heat, is indeed quite sexist. I honestly wish that morals still applied or at least were discussed in some heat fics but they aren't and oftentimes all consensual ideals are thrown out the window. In all, good job summing that up.
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1564506 That is entirely too kind, thank you! And thanks for the follow, I enjoyed your stories already, so it was a bit of a thrill to see your name pop up!
Well, if that's your opinion. Then there's nothing we can do about it. Some people like swing, some people like blues. They may suck for you but other cats dine in their own tuna, you dig.
Also, there's these things called pheromones that the females release. So in a way, it does affect males to some degree.
It is very sexist, but then again so is putting gender signs in bathrooms. In a same way as race segregated bathrooms to be racist. Because plugs and outlets are not the same.
I do commend your courage to say your mind though. Not many people do that today.
Now this comment ain't meant to be taken so hard. It's just here to say that each dog's got his own feeding bowl. Keep writtin' stories, I have a few of your's 'read later'-ed.