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This should HOPEfully be the finally one.
Anyways, first what is the difference between CAUTION: Sex / Sexual Scenes and CAUTION: Not Work-Safe ?
Second, I am curious which of the following would apply in a story I am working on. Mature Subjects or EXPLICIT CONTENT ? The reason I ask is because while the story will have a lot of sex scenes and they will be depicted explicitly. They will not be in every chapter or even the main and/or sole focus. Heck it might take me awhile just to build up to the one as such I am honestly not sure what to apply.
Caution
To me the Audience Rating is the most important indicator. The other cautions are belt and suspenders. If your sexual scenes are explicit you owe a duty to indicate that in the audience rating.
Personally -- I've never gone beyond Mature Subjects with my writing, but that's up to you.
You're the best judge of whether your material is "mature" or "explicit" -- there's room for both within BC.
Jill
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Not work-safe
That's a judgement call only the author and reader can make. The Cautions are there for the author to use to communicate with the reader and all of them are the result of requests from authors wanting just such a tool. Caution: Sex Scenes is obvious; the story contains sex scenes and people who want to avoid them should avoid the story. Not work-safe must mean that in the judgement of the author, this is a story you might not want to be reading at work; for whatever reason. Are all stories with sex scenes not work safe? Maybe. The author has to decide that.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Mature Subjects vs EXPLICIT CONTENT
In my mind, mature subjects tells me that the story has topics that parents might not want their minor children reading. Explicit Content says to me that there will be something in described in graphic detail... usually sex acts, but it could be acts of violence. CAUTION: Sex / Sexual Scenes tells me that the adults in the story will at some point have sex which is "on camera." That is: the story line will carry on during the act as opposed to the reader knowing there is a build up of sexual tension and the participants acknowledge it after the fact.
Many authors use all three cautions just to cover their bases. As a reader who would like to see trans issues depicted as not being a sex issue I choose not to read stories that have explicit sex cautions.
Mind you, I'm not such a prude that I won't read other genres that have sex in them. However if the sex doesn't advance the story line I consider it gratuitous and really prefer that it hadn't been there.
Hugs
Patricia
Happiness is being all dressed up and HAVING some place to go.
Semper in femineo gerunt