a fairly weird poll about fic and warnings

[kindkit]

So I seem to be writing another fic that is (in part) about queer adolescence. Which means I once again confront the Warnings/Content Notes/Tagging Dilemma.

When the fic is done, I'll post it to AO3, which asks that its "Underage" tag be used "for descriptions or depictions of sexual activity by characters under the age of eighteen." Alternatively, you can "Choose Not to Warn."

In the fic in question, an adolescent boy aged about 12 or 13 experiences sexual pleasure and orgasm in the context of a mystical/supernatural experience. No other human (or any embodied creature) is involved. The sexual content is about six sentences long and fairly euphemistic.

Back in the day I would never have warned for something like that. But fannish norms have changed, often for good reason, and we're in a cultural moment of hyper-alert (not to mention anti-LGBTQIA+ moral panic) about kids and sex.

So take my poll and give me your opinion! Does a scene like this really meet the threshold of "sexual activity?"

NB in practice I will almost certainly go the route of tagging (either "Underage" or "Choose Not to Warn") with content notes, because I think content notes are a much more useful tool than a tag like "Underage" which can cover everything from skeevy (imo) porn to pretty bare acknowledgement that adolescents experience desire and sometimes have sex. But I'm curious about where opinions lie nowadays in these corners of fandom.

Feel free to take the poll whether I know you or not. Please bear in mind that it's about the specific fictional scenario outlined above. It's not a referendum on warnings/notes in general.

ETA: I forgot to add an option for "Tag 'No Archive Warnings Apply' and add content notes." Sorry!

Poll #27420

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: Just the Poll Creator, participants: 21

How to tag/content note this fic?

Tag "underage" and add specific content notes.
3 (14.3%)

Tag "choose not to warn" and add specific content notes.
11 (52.4%)

Tag "underage"; no notes needed.
0 (0.0%)

Tag "choose not to warn"; no notes needed.
5 (23.8%)

No tag, no notes.
0 (0.0%)

Something else.
2 (9.5%)

Comments

[ellen_fremedon]

I usually don't count "brief mention of a thing" towards archive warnings--the TOS say "In general, we rely on authors to use their judgment about the line between reference and description or depiction." Where I draw the line is generally to only use the archive warnings for underage or non-con if the act happens onscreen, is talked about graphically, or is the focus of the story; otherwise I will tag with more detailed additional tags but I don't use the archive warning.

(So, for example, I posted a story last year about characters processing the aftermath of a consensual but fraught sex pollen gangbang;* for one major but non-POV character this meant some trauma related to a past assault, which was a significant thread in the story. I didn't use the archive noncon warning, but I tagged it "Past Rape/Non-Con," "Non-graphic discussion of rape," and "Non-graphic discussion of consensual sex" and rated the story as a whole M.)

* And also/mostly the aftermath of the July Revolution of 1830.