Sex in YA?

I have it in my book that's on sub with pubs.

What are the age of your MCs?

If sex is frowned upon in YA then a lot of the books out there shouldn't be on the shelves as we speak, but as Arya asked, what exactly are the ages of the characters? 13-15 is a bit on the young side. 16 and beyond is considered the more reasonable age for sex in YA.

Well, as long as it's not graphic then it's okay. There are a lot of sex scenes in YA. I mean, teens do have sex.

Plus, you say your characters talk about if having sex is right for the both of them. That's called getting across a message. Abstinence. And that's not frowned upon.

But a lot of YA books have sex scenes. They're not gratuitous and sometimes they fade to black, but it is okay. People won't break out pitchforks or anything if you put one measly sex scene in your book.

Hope I helped

Your beta needs to read more YA...

Smish said:

Your beta needs to read more YA...

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I had this same thought. I've read countless YA with sex scenes. Even more with "almost" sex scenes, or steamy makeout scenes.

I remember reading an old thread about this. Here's what I read on there. Well, what I can remember from it.

It's not looked down upon at all as long as it's not graphic. You could do a fade out or skim the details of certain acts. If your characters have casual sex, then it's probably a good idea to mention protection.

Smish said:

Your beta needs to read more YA...

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No kidding!

Sex in YA:
http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=155001

Also:
http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158096

And there's a good bit about sex in YA in Shady Lane's Edgy YA stickied at the top of this page.

kaitlin008 said:

I had this same thought. I've read countless YA with sex scenes. Even more with "almost" sex scenes, or steamy makeout scenes.

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I'm on the fence. Can't tell from the OP whether the beta had a problem with the almost sex scene or the description of the almost sex scene.

But, yes, plenty of YA with sex on the pages.

I think it's fine. AT that age you can get a lot of mileage from one character stroking another characters hand. Its very new to them at that age. You dont have to be too steamy but its better to go too far then pull yourself back a little. Also have teens read it who are in the age group you are writing for.

Good luck: )

sex is fine in YA. YA is 'young adult' and young adults have sex and do drugs and go to wild parties, etc. YA authors should accurately portray what teens go through. That really bugs me when authors don't think teens go through some pretty graphic stuff. Read Looking for Alaska by John Green (won the Printz Award) and you'll start to get the idea...

hey, I've read some pretty steamy sex in some YA. I don't mind it (I'm 29 though ).

As a teenager, i didnt come across sex in a novel until I was 15. And, yeah, it was pretty hot (Even though in hindsight it was quite a tame scene...). It was a guilty pleasure reading it. IF however, my Mum knew it was in there, she wouldnt've want me reading it.

I saw some parents doing crits on Amazon for a few books, giving them low ratings because their daughters (12 and 13, etc) were innocently reading them and there were sex scenes. I think they were alos saying it was irrelevant to the plot.

I guess you have to think about who youre marketing your book to. If it's the lower teens, maybe tame it down. Although it sounds pretty tame as it is. Also, is your entire book an edgy YA? You can still have some sex without having to call your book edgy IMO

Sex scenes can be written tastefully. Not line by line descriptions of the physical activity, but more stream of consciousness style. Melina Marchetta does this really well in 'On the Jellicoe rd'

Speaking of Melina, her first book, 'Looking for Alibrandi' is an HSC text in high schools in Australia. The two MC's in that keep dancing around sex, the chick kinda agrees and they get halfway there, and then she pulls back. Then the guy keeps bringing it up, and they have a fight, etc, etc... - all this approved to be studied in schools by the board of education.

I thought I'd never write sex in my stories, and my first novel is a nice, clean Ya with some romance. But my second...well, the characters did it. And I think you need to be true to the characters and the story.

Tasteful sex in YA is okay. Not in MG, but YA... yeah. The scarier question for me is NO sex. If your MC is chaste, as mine happens to be (by choice), tough types cast them as "Mary Sues". That always p*sses me off! Having sex is not mandatory. (And no... I'm not a prude.)

AlishaS:
my Beta thinks sex in YA is general frowned upon or that the amount of semi-detail I put into the scene might be too much so what is the opinion out there?

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Basically, what everyone else said but to give you specific comfort, of the many excellent book written by Melvin Burgess, 'Doing It' and 'Lady: My Life As A Bitch' are both about sex and promiscuity, the latter having won a number of YA awards.

MM

Smish said:

Your beta needs to read more YA...

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Totally agree. The HoN series has loads of references to sex, one sex scene and other scenes where sex is explored. After all this is what you go as a teenager. I think it's cool that you have that sort of discussion between the MC's.

I find that with my stories, if I feel borderline embarrassed, then it's the right amount of sex! I've had to blur some things to keep them from being too graphic, but not enough to lose the experience.

- Julie

P.S. I think I'll blog about this topic later this week!