I totally agree with your tags about the soap as well. And the post you reblogged in general. Male characters aren’t just their body parts and I still prefer fluff and angst over smut. I know smut and sex is as normal as breathing nowadays, but I still feel awkward when reading smutty fics on the laptop instead of my phone. In general, I prefer fics that focus on the emotions in a relationship. The day to day lives. I don’t mind people reading smut and writing it. But it’s not for me 100%.

I’m glad I’m not alone in my feelings! There’s nothing wrong with the smut, it’s just not for me. I wouldn’t call the fandom to suddenly stop what they’re doing and become completely PG, but working on not consuming the same level of  smut is something I have to do for myself. This is all about personal preference and what we are individually comfortable with, so we are each responsible for filtering our dashes for ourselves. 

Something I forgot to say in my tags (that I know others are saying too) is that book boyfriends aren’t inherently bad. Like you, I prefer to focus on the emotional side (fluff and angst), and so that’s what I imagine with a book boyfriend.  I don’t think there’s anything wrong with imagining the sexual side as well, it’s just my preference.

So far the fandom has been great with respecting people’s preferences and comfort levels, and I hope that can continue without any meanness.