Matt Lauer was fired today after a complaint about "inappropriate sexual behavior." And it's apparently not the first incident. In the wake of sexual harassment/assaults finally being taken seriously, where will the romance genre land?
Bodice rippers--usually not by choice, "heroes" domineering and controlling female characters...doesn't this sound kinda familiar, fellow romance writers? I mean, I get it, and I've heard it from kingdom come that romance is about fantasy. And the last thing I want to do is ever analyze or sound judgy about another woman's fantasy. Like I've said before, whatever your kink, get it on.
But...but...how to phrase this? Okay, here goes: In light of recent events, could it be time to rethink many of the romance tropes, like the domineering/controlling, sexually inappropriate "hero"? Or am I sounding too preachy?
I'm all for heroes who aren't alphaholes. (Oh my god, I hope I haven't written one recently...)
ReplyDeleteYou know what bothers me though? This trope is very much alive and well, even with all these sexual harassment cases popping up. Yes, there's a difference between reality and fantasy. People who read kidnap-fantasy often argue that they don't REALLY condone kidnapping.
So to goes for the whole alpha-hole trope. The readers who love these books don't REALLY want a man telling them what to do, to shut up and submit. Or don't they? I'm not sure :/ It reminds of one of the earlier episodes of the British sitcom The IT Crowd.
Roy: "Shut up! I'm not interested! These are just some of the things you'll be hearing if you answer this ad. I'm an idiot and I don't care about anyone but myself. PS: No dogs."
[to Moss]
Roy: How does yours sound?
Moss: Well, mine doesn't sound any good now.
Roy: Lets hear it.
Moss: [hesitates] "I'm going to murder you, you bloody woman!"
Roy: [thinks] You might want to play a bit hard to get.
(the idea behind this episode is that one of the character says women want a-holes and the female character says they don't)
TLDR, I'm not sure what women want, in general, but I know what I want and I got him. A kind, generous guy who is very much an omega male (don't read the askmen definition of omega male).
Yeah, but now I have to know what the askmen definition is of omega men! :)
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