I've tried to make this one clear before but it's not getting though: Woodcrest is not a forced fem story. I know that in this environment it's what people have come to expect and are looking for around every corner but I want to assure you that my characters are not sadistic, nor do they want to enslave my main character. They're literally just awful people trying to do something good and failing at it because they have no idea how to care about anyone besides themselves. There is character development, but this is a series - it won't be resolved in the first few chapters.
-k
Comments
I'm not sure how people
I'm not sure how people thought it was a forced fem story, I didn't get that feeling from it at all.
Never be afraid to push yourself to new limits. While you might not see the path, you will be amazed at what you can achieve.
Ends don't justify the means.
Ends don't justify the means...
It's a dirty word, but sometimes it does describe what is happening. Forced femme is still forced femme, even if it's bringing out the girl that was already there. Forcing someone to dress, act, or sound like a woman when they don't want to is still forcing them no matter the justification for doing so. It may be a small part of a larger picture, but it's still forcing someone to do something against their will.
And as much as they hate to admit it, many authors use this in some form. One writer on here started a whole book series by forcing her main character to dress as a girl and continued to find ways of forcing the character to dress and act as a girl. Even if said character was a girl all along, the beginning was still forced femme.
I'm told STFU more times in a day than most people get told in a lifetime
May I just say...
... that I wholeheartedly disagree in this case.
If I may talk about my own life here, I had a similar situation as depicted in this story in real life.
I made a friend while waitressing. She was god's gift to men, at that point in life I was still between male and committing to my female self. I am 5'11, so not too short, had fairly good looks as a man, ughhh, but had long medium blonde hair. Weighed about 70kg, mainly because I spent 3hrs a day in gym punishing myself for not being who I wanted to be. I was 22 at the time.
So here was this 'goddess' of a woman, who most men fantasized about, and in me not reacting to her as most men did, gave away that I was not 'normal'. So she confronted me and asked me why I did not find her in any way attractive, and I had to submit to her need for answers, mainly because I wanted her as a friend.
Then, after spilling the beans to her and acknowledging that I was trans, she refused to deal with me in any other way but my female self. Yes, it was a stressful and daunting experience, but I chose to go into it with open eyes. If it was not for her, I might not have taken that final step of deciding to commit to ME. I can honestly say that if it was not for her, I would be dead in a ditch somewhere.
Yes in this story people are doing things that seem forced, but out of ignorance they are finding it difficult and doing the right things for Audrey but using the wrong methodology. It is still Audrey's choice to walk away or stay, just like it was my choice to become Abby's 'girl' friend.
My 5 cents worth.
but it is the rare moments of beauty and peace
in between the chaos,
That makes it worth living."
- Tertia Hill
I'm with Efin on This One...
...and FWIW, I found the humiliation aspect compounded by taking the biggest jerk we've met -- OK, second biggest after the assault guy -- and making her the narrator. Granted, that's the best way to show that she's totally aware of what she's doing. (And I don't know whether her attitude is going to evolve; I signed off after the second chapter of this part.)
You're certainly under no obligation to write a story that I want to read, and as Efin said you're far from the only author here who initially bullies their protagonist into femininity, or at least drag. IIRC, one such author said that it's the most interesting way to get the main character to that point before the real story, so to speak, begins.
And yes. in your story, Todd sneaked in and put on the dress before any of this happened, and Tiffany seems to be a equal-opportunity bully. Further, Todd had the option to ignore the first message on the cellphone demanding his return, though I'm not sure how practical that would have been since they had the threat of exposure on their side.
But that doesn't change the issue: that Todd/Audrey has spent the better part of the story so far having to do what they tell him to, however humiliating s/he might find it.
Eric
Let's Hear It for the Boy
Hmmmmmmm.
Neither "forced" or "femme" is a four-letter word.
Forced femme is a VERY popular genre. If I want to play the silly game of caring about hits all I have to do is make sure the theme is Femdom / Humiliation and I'm assured of a 25 - 40% lift.
This is nothing new. Forced Femme is the guilty pleasure of TG Lit.
And -- there's nothing inherently wrong with it.
Forced femme is a big tent. I'm not at all sure that sadism or enslavement are necessary attributes.
It's a little like the difference between manipulation and motivation. It's motivation if you're doing it for them -- and manipulation if you're doing it for YOU.
If your reason for dressing a young boy in feminine clothing is for personal gratification, it's forced fem. If your reason is for the self-fulfillment of the boy, it's not forced fem. You'll know it when you see it.
As Audrissa states, bad people can be trying to do something good and making a mess of it - for all the right reasons.
That's a recipe for a good story.
Jill
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
This is just
A PSA for everyone: A woman getting pissed at you is NOT humiliation.
OK, I'll Respond...
I couldn't see the hazing scene as anything else, especially from Tiffany's POV, so that we knew for certain that the whole thing was artificial. For the pledges' own good, no doubt, solidarity and all that. Right...
Hazing in the traditional sense can essentially be defined as humiliation, IMO.
Eric
It's uh...
You know...college. No one was really singling Audrey out, they were just trying to use their time efficiently. They weren't supposed to be hazing pledges like that but they didn't go grab her by herself, lock her in the basement and torment her. They never will do anything like that; the entire thing is already written and it never happens.
It’s not forced femmed, and
It’s not forced femmed, and it’s not humiliation either.
I don’t understand why people are getting upset over the story. I mean, there are stories on this site where the author spends most of the story describing their bowel movements, in multiple chapters.That’s ok apparently. But an unfinished (as of publication) of unlikable characters that might grow and change when it’s over...bring out the pitchforks.
Audrissa, you are amazing. The stories you have submitted are very well published. If it gets to much over hear, I know your stories would go over like gangbusters on a site like TG Storytime. Please don’t let these reactions discourage you. Keep writing. If you feel a story needs to go dark. Make it dark. If it needs to be light hearted, make it light hearted.
If people have a problem with it, they can choose not to read it.
I think
I think the important thing to note here is that Audrey isn't being forced to do anything - at this point she's simply being included in things, as if her presence is a matter of course. I'm pretty sure that's what we all want for ourselves.