[Niamh.]

So I only learned this today, I never actually read the book version of Stephen Kings IT but apparently at the end of the book, after they defeat Penneywise they get lost in the sewers and Bev decides the best way to "find their way" again is to have sex with all of them??? They're supposed to be 11/12 in the books??

I'm actually reading a Stephen King book at the moment and I feel a bit weird about it now, learning that about IT has made me feel a bit off about him Thoughts?

[bots]

i read the book a long, long time ago, and i sure don't remember that being in there

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by bitontheslide

i read the book a long, long time ago, and i sure don't remember that being in there

It's definitely in there :

https://www.vulture.com/2017/09/how-...rgy-scene.html

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-e...-a7938881.html

https://litreactor.com/columns/the-s...ephen-kings-it

[Niamh.]

Stephen king's comments on it :

I wasn't really thinking of the sexual aspect of it. The book dealt with childhood and adulthood—1958 and Grown Ups. The grown ups don't remember their childhood. None of us remember what we did as children—we think we do, but we don't remember it as it really happened. Intuitively, the Losers knew they had to be together again. The sexual act connected childhood and adulthood. It's another version of the glass tunnel that connects the children's library and the adult library. Times have changed since I wrote that scene and there is now more sensitivity to those issues.

[Ammi]

..do you mean was there something in his childhood that he was drawing from..?...

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Ammi

..do you mean was there something in his childhood that he was drawing from..?...

No I mean what he wrote was pretty sick and it makes me think less of him

[Ammi]

...ah okay, I see what you’ve written..what Stephen King says and it does make sense also...from a writer’s perspective...

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Ammi

...ah okay, I see what you’ve written..what Stephen King says and it does make sense also...from a writer’s perspective...

How do you mean? Have your read the book?

[Ammi]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

How do you mean? Have your read the book?

...no I haven’t read it, I was just googling what he had said about it because it’s obviously been something that’s was questioned with him...


“I wasn’t really thinking of the sexual aspect of it. The book dealt with childhood and adulthood –1958 and Grown Ups. The grown ups don’t remember their childhood. None of us remember what we did as children–we think we do, but we don’t remember it as it really happened. Intuitively, the Losers knew they had to be together again. The sexual act connected childhood and adulthood. It’s another version of the glass tunnel that connects the children’s library and the adult library. Times have changed since I wrote that scene and there is now more sensitivity to those issues.”


“That sounds like my statement,” said King when Vulture reached out to confirm that he had authored the post in question. “To it I’d just add that it’s fascinating to me that there has been so much comment about that single sex scene and so little about the multiple child murders,” he added. “That must mean something, but I’m not sure what.”

[Niamh.]

It just seems like an odd direction to go in considering how young the characters are for a start but also because Beverly was a victim of sexual abuse at the hands of her father and he's kind of implying the way to empower herself is to have a gang bang with 6 boys?

[Ammi]

...yeah I probably need to read the book actually.....but I’m not a horror
/ Stephen King fan at all...and then obviously there’s that chapter...but this particularly (his own words..)..is a bit disturbing as to what he means...


Times have changed since I wrote that scene and there is now more sensitivity to those issues


...is he saying that it would have been okay back in the day..but that times have changed...hmmmm...

[Wizard.]

mess i'm on page 250 of 1100 so I will let you know how it goes down when I get to it.

Also there is no such thing as book spoilers, books are material things which can be opened at any point, and I don't get why people need to be surprised about things, that's not what reading is about.

[Jake.]

I remember thinking this when I read it last year. Pretty messed up, no matter how he thought of it

[LaLaLand]

I remember reading the book when I was in school and it was like a bible, it's so thick isn't it and shocking, especially this and Lesley's obvious paedo/abusive Dad.

Love all of the little "Easter Eggs" in the movies though in homage to the bits they can't/won't delve into from the book, like how in the first movie there's a few references to turtles, like when Billy sees Georgie at night in the house (leading to the basement scene) and he drops/smashes that Lego turtle he's holding - a reference to Maturin who's of course IT's "nemesis" in the book, the giant turtle with the Earth on it's shell.

[Josy]

I read the book when I was quite young, maybe 14 or 15 I think, I saw it as them thinking of it as confirming they were now adults iirc

[Josy]

Although the more I think of that now as an adult it is pretty sleazy

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Josy

Although the more I think of that now as an adult it is pretty sleazy

Yeah because firstly they were all so young (which you might not have really considered at 14/15) plus that it was one girl who was being abused by her dad with 6 different boys

[Tom4784]

It's a great book but the sex scene is revolting for a myriad of reasons and I'm glad they kept it out of every adaptation thus far. It's not really needed at all, it doesn't add another layer to the story, there's no social commentary to it and I can't remember if it even gets mentioned again after it happens.

It's just really bizarre and a dark mark on a classic story.

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Ammi

...no I haven’t read it, I was just googling what he had said about it because it’s obviously been something that’s was questioned with him...


“I wasn’t really thinking of the sexual aspect of it. The book dealt with childhood and adulthood –1958 and Grown Ups. The grown ups don’t remember their childhood. None of us remember what we did as children–we think we do, but we don’t remember it as it really happened. Intuitively, the Losers knew they had to be together again. The sexual act connected childhood and adulthood. It’s another version of the glass tunnel that connects the children’s library and the adult library. Times have changed since I wrote that scene and there is now more sensitivity to those issues.”


“That sounds like my statement,” said King when Vulture reached out to confirm that he had authored the post in question. “To it I’d just add that it’s fascinating to me that there has been so much comment about that single sex scene and so little about the multiple child murders,” he added. “That must mean something, but I’m not sure what.”

This comment here troubled me a bit, for a moment I was thinking oh maybe he's right why are we all focusing on that and not the child murders? but why that "one sex scene" is much much much more focused and is more "wrong" is because the child murders and also beverlys sexual abuse by her father are all put forward as being wrong in the book whereas the "sex scene" (even calling it that sounds gross when it involves children) is put forward as being positive and empowering for a victim of sexual abuse. I wonder if Stephen King ever spoke to a victim of child abuse/sexual abuse or anyone who works with victims to get an opinion on it because I would find it hard to believe they would have told him this was a good way to deal with it

[Vicky.]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

This comment here troubled me a bit, for a moment I was thinking oh maybe he's right why are we all focusing on that and not the child murders? but why that "one sex scene" is much much much more focused and is more "wrong" is because the child murders and also beverlys sexual abuse by her father are all put forward as being wrong in the book whereas the "sex scene" (even calling it that sounds gross when it involves children) is put forward as being positive and empowering for a victim of sexual abuse. I wonder if Stephen King ever spoke to a victim of child abuse/sexual abuse or anyone who works with victims to get an opinion on it because I would find it hard to believe they would have told him this was a good way to deal with it

Aint it always the case

Sounds like this was random and unneeded and I am curious as to why he felt the need to add it in. 'Finally being adults' does not really do it for me as..you don't need to have an orgy to be an adult.

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Vicky.

Aint it always the case

Sounds like this was random and unneeded and I am curious as to why he felt the need to add it in. 'Finally being adults' does not really do it for me as..you don't need to have an orgy to be an adult.

Yeah exactly, why put it in at all? It's weird and unnecessary. And i think if you're going to handle a subject like child abuse in a book and basically use this as a way that character over came it, you need to research that first because it sounds like a horrifically wrong idea imo (I'm no expert but honestly do you need to be to know that's all kinds of ****ed up?)