![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Dubcon, or not?
Aug. 21st, 2014 12:55 pm*In other words, yet another post where Lauren asks for advice because she can't work this shit out by herself for some reason*
A little while ago, I got a comment on one of my fics in the Teen Wolf fandom, where someone explained that they felt a little bit uncomfortable with one of my scenes, as alcohol was involved. To put it in context, character A gives character B some alcohol (which he knowingly and willingly drinks) and then pushes him in the path of character C, whom she believes he has a crush on. Character A does this because she's hoping that a slightly tipsy character B will confess his feelings for character C. What ends up happening is that characters B and C go at it in a storeroom. Now, in the context of this story, character A is lacking some information - characters B and C are already in a relationship, so all the alcohol does is get character B slightly horny. At least, this was how I viewed the scene itself as I wrote it, and so the idea of dubcon never entered my head. However, as only myself and characters B and C knew the whole story, once the commenter mentioned it, I could see how that scene could be viewed as dubcon by an outsider, at least until the twist is revealed at the end.
So my question is this: at what point does the involvement of alcohol (or anything similar) make a scene dubcon? Was it the imbalance of power that made this commenter feel uncomfortable, in that because only one character had been imbibing and the other was sober? Does the level of inebriation play any part? Maybe I find this difficult to gauge because I myself have never had a negative experience involving alcohol, or maybe now that I'm older and know my limits (3 glasses of wine, 6 double vodkas, don't go near beer ever) I tend to place those limits on the characters I write? For example, I can be happily experiencing a good buzz from a few drinks, and still be confident in my ability to make my own choices, but maybe this isn't so for others?
Basically, I am just wondering what people's general opinions are on sex scenes where alcohol is involved. Does it make a difference if only one character has been drinking? Is it dubcon due to the imbalance between characters, or is it more to do with the alcohol and the level of inebriation itself? I hate the idea of anything I write triggering someone, just because I see something a different way to others, so should I just slap a dubcon warning on anything involving alcohol just in case?
A little while ago, I got a comment on one of my fics in the Teen Wolf fandom, where someone explained that they felt a little bit uncomfortable with one of my scenes, as alcohol was involved. To put it in context, character A gives character B some alcohol (which he knowingly and willingly drinks) and then pushes him in the path of character C, whom she believes he has a crush on. Character A does this because she's hoping that a slightly tipsy character B will confess his feelings for character C. What ends up happening is that characters B and C go at it in a storeroom. Now, in the context of this story, character A is lacking some information - characters B and C are already in a relationship, so all the alcohol does is get character B slightly horny. At least, this was how I viewed the scene itself as I wrote it, and so the idea of dubcon never entered my head. However, as only myself and characters B and C knew the whole story, once the commenter mentioned it, I could see how that scene could be viewed as dubcon by an outsider, at least until the twist is revealed at the end.
So my question is this: at what point does the involvement of alcohol (or anything similar) make a scene dubcon? Was it the imbalance of power that made this commenter feel uncomfortable, in that because only one character had been imbibing and the other was sober? Does the level of inebriation play any part? Maybe I find this difficult to gauge because I myself have never had a negative experience involving alcohol, or maybe now that I'm older and know my limits (3 glasses of wine, 6 double vodkas, don't go near beer ever) I tend to place those limits on the characters I write? For example, I can be happily experiencing a good buzz from a few drinks, and still be confident in my ability to make my own choices, but maybe this isn't so for others?
Basically, I am just wondering what people's general opinions are on sex scenes where alcohol is involved. Does it make a difference if only one character has been drinking? Is it dubcon due to the imbalance between characters, or is it more to do with the alcohol and the level of inebriation itself? I hate the idea of anything I write triggering someone, just because I see something a different way to others, so should I just slap a dubcon warning on anything involving alcohol just in case?
