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So this isn’t actually a question that someone asked. It’s something I’m currently encountering in a book I’m working on. Not only that, we see it in various other stories as well. In The Orville, we see an amoeba-like creature hitting on a human woman. She rejects his advances of course, but that got me thinking.

So the question stands… in Fantasy, where does a humanoid and non-humanoid romance or just affection become taboo? Where are you crossing moral or ethical lines… or just pretty much driving away a more squeamish audience?

Humans have a tendency to look at non-humanoid species in fantasy as almost animal in nature. Now, one could argue that apes are also humanoid, but as they’re of lesser intelligence, and not entirely self-aware, a relationship there would be also be considered gross and rightly so.

All right, so now that I’ve grossed you all out… let’s go into Sci-Fi and fantasy. Where do we draw the line between a relationship and… what would be considered bestiality? Well… that’s tough…

First of all, the defintion of bestiality is as follows:
“sexual intercourse between a person and an animal.”

Okay, fair enough. However what is a person and what is an animal?
Well let’s look at the definition of an animal:
a living organism that feeds on organic matter, typically having specialized sense organs and nervous system and able to respond rapidly to stimuli.
“animals such as spiders”
  • a living organism other than a human being.
    “are humans superior to animals, or just different?”
  • a mammal, as opposed to a bird, reptile, fish, or insect.
    “the snowfall seemed to have chased all birds, animals, and men indoors”
  • a person whose behavior is regarded as devoid of human attributes or civilizing influences, especially someone who is very cruel, violent, or repulsive.
    “those men have to be animals—what they did to that boy was savage”
  • a particular type of person or thing.
Okay… well what’s the definition of a person…
noun
noun: person; plural noun: people; plural noun: persons; noun: first person; noun: second person; noun: third person
  1. 1.
    a human being regarded as an individual.
    “the porter was the last person to see her”
    • used in legal or formal contexts to refer to an unspecified individual.
      “the entrance fee is $10.00 per person”
    • an individual characterized by a preference or liking for a specified thing.
      “she’s not a cat person”
    • an individual’s body.
      “I have publicity photographs on my person at all times”
    • a character in a play or story.
      “his previous roles in the person of a fallible cop”
So just so we get everything straight, an animal is a non-human mammal, or a human devoid of being civilized. Or, more ambiguously, a particular person or thing…
While a person is a human being regarded as an individual.
So by that definition, only a human being can be a person. Okay, fine. Fair enough, but then what is an elf? Elves typically (unless you’re a Harry Potter fan) are superior forms of life to humans. They’re in tune with nature and are actually more intelligent, or at the very least, equally intelligent. Are they animals? Or is it because they look similar to humans that this somehow satisfies the requirement.
So then perhaps… perhaps in terms of fantasy, we need to set aside the dictionary definition of what a person is. I think in many cases, we as fantasy writers, have already done that.
So what should the definition be?
Perhaps… “A sentient, self-aware, life form”?
Some might say that you should add the ‘humanoid’ to that definition. I do not necessarily think that’s necessary. How can something be taboo if it’s two creatures, both of sentient, self-aware level of intelligence?
However… I could be wrong, what does everyone think? If you made it this far and aren’t icked out too much, let me know!

Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.

jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com

I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have 4 published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.

Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.

Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/James-Harrington/e/B00P7FBXTU

Note:
If you have read my books, PLEASE log into Amazon and post a review. I really love to hear everyone’s thoughts and constructive criticisms. Reviews help get my book attention and word of mouth is everything in this business!

Thanks friends!

Catch you on the flip side!

-Jim

Category: advice, fantasy, Fiction, literature, Opinion, Science Fiction, Writing Tags: , , , , , ,

12 Comments on “Interspecies Romances in Fantasy: Where Do You Draw The Line?”

  2. I believe calling any sentient, self-aware, life form a creature (or animal) rather than a person would be, at the very least, unkind and insulting. Instead of a racist, that would make someone who is that seriously xenophobic a speciest?

    But as for relationships and where to draw the line, I would certainly draw it with any species that finds human flesh particularly flavorful, no matter how much they may be a person, even if not a human person.

    Then again, there are the words of the red shirt (future security chief) in the film Galaxy Quest, when he said, “Hey guys, get a room…” before he turned away and said, “Ohh… That’s not right…” One can only imagine.

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  3. You also have the question of how anthropomorphic a character has to be before you’re comfortable having them date a human. For example a catgirl that just has cat ears and a tail? One who looks like a Thundercat? Something that would fit in a Starfox game? Obviously something above Garfield but where is that line drawn?

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      • Reminds me of a Star Trek novel, The IDIC Epidemic, which went into interplanetary marriage and what some cross races had to do to have children. The story is about a disease that only affects hybrids and how people reacted as a cure was sought. I recall really enjoying it.

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  4. Pingback: BW’s Morning Article Link: Interspecies Romance…in fiction of course | BW Media Spotlight

  6. This definitely raises questions, especially as humanoids begin to mimic behaviors that mirror mankind. I believe it was in the first season of Amazon’s series, Humans, that they dealt with the moral pains felt within the family when the father had relations with the robot that watched over the children—the physical act, while technically consensual (the humanoid apparently had the apparatus and a special key code to enable it), still communicated the failure of the man’s marital commitment to his wife. In many ways I could see such behavior applying to the sexual draws that AR/VR might offer, since this is dealing with tech, but the moral lines can get very skewed based on the author’s creative approach and how life-like the humanoids are.

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  7. The minotaur was created by a Queen falling in love with her prize bull. She had her slaves make a fake wooden cow she could crawl inside to trick into intercourse.

    I think it is fine. Demons and Angels, Humans and Elves. As long as it fits the story and isn’t some debased, perverted fantasy of the writer.

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  8. It is interesting that I ran across this post since I am currently writing a human/elf relationship in my book. Nothing serious in the first book, just a budding romance with mostly flirtation. But in book two they will have a child together.
    I don’t see this as a problem, half-elves are common in fantasy, and where exactly to people think they come from?

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    • True, but it’s surprising how rare it is to actually see the relationship.
      I think my YA series is the only one I’ve seen outside of LOTR with a human male and elven female.

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