I don’t know where else to go to ask this.
How can you guys tell if someone enjoys taboo fantasies just as fantasies or if one enjoys taboo content because they have those real inclinations IRL?
It’s a doubt that has been eating away at me for quite some time now.
You’re using a couple of terms interchangeably and it’s hard to understand what you’re asking. Are we talking about someone who fantasizes about doing something in the real world, views fictional depictions of that thing, or both?
I guess both, this someone first consumed taboo fictional content and has begun to fantasize about doing those same acts in real life
Sounds like they probably have some level of real attraction to the real thing. To my knowledge fiction can’t cause attractions, but it can be an early outlet for yet-to-be-recognized attractions.
That said, the end result is kinda the same either way. They may or may not have real attractions, and they’re using fiction as a safe and healthy outlet.
One way to determine how serious the attraction is, is to review a different fantasy genre and see how you feel about it. If that also causes a reaction, then maybe you just have wide ranging interests. If no desires come of it, then the original fantasy is probably what you like. To paraphrase elliot, you were probably attracted to that fiction because something in you resonated with it.
My take is I’d worry about him acting on his fantasies. Seems he may be so fixated on it to try and make it a reality. Would be very bad for everyone involved. Don’t know that you can stop someone from that? Best you can do is advise them not to act on it, that they’ll regret their actions.