But for now, in my admittedly naive 24-year-old opinion, I'd say there are definitely worse ways to learn about sex than L&C fic.
And one of the WORST ways (especially if you were taught, like DJ, Kaylle, and myself, that sex is for marriage) is BtVS Nfic, which is where I learned about it. That fandom didn't reinforce my beliefs AT ALL, which is why I can see the sense of DJ's argument.
Sure, this fandom reinforces the loving, consentual, usually-marriage sexual relationships--but not every fandom does. I LOVE that the Nfic here is locked up tight (or as tight as possible, what with the non-security of the internet these days), despite the fact that I have READ fics that need the locks a LOT more than these do.
Actually, in some ways, I think my love life might not be as "bad" (I know, I know, how can a 23-year-old virgin's love life be "bad," right?) as it has been if I'd not started reading Nfic when I was a teenager, or if I'd started reading fic at all in L&C, and then been "forced" to wait until after I was an adult.
Because, during the years when I was supposed to be learning self-control and "all things in moderation," and how to respect myself, I was reading stories where people constantly let go of their self-control, whether they were in a loving relationship or not, and who often used each other sexually to make themselves feel better.
I wouldn't want any of my future kids (and yes, I am aware that I'd have to find a man, not to mention get married first) reading ANY Nfic until they'd learned the lessons that I'd short-circuited with my adolescent Nfic reading.
I said in another thread in one of the other forums here that I wish L&C was the first fandom I'd read fic for, and I meant it. That doesn't necessarily mean that, if I had, I'd not still be vying for the Nfic to be locked up tight--especially since I don't think I was even 16 before I started reading BtVS Nfic (and at the time, I knew a 14-year-old who kept an Nfic site of her own).
This has nothing to do with me being prudish or offended by smut--I just don't think it's an integral part of the story, most of the time.
It's really not--which is why lately, if I've come across an Nfic that is totally awful, I just go find another fic. I have no trouble with having a textual "fade out" before the scene ends, and then "fading in" on the couple having a nice morning after scene. Now, I only read an Nfic if the first page or so (whether it be the PG version, or the Nfic version doesn't matter) grabs me and won't let go--it has to be THAT well-written.
