A hypothesis I have not tested much

[lliira]

I haven't read enough books with this exact issue to fully develop the theory yet, but...

It seems that a lot of books with Exceptional Woman Syndrome, Badass Variety, besides denigrating feminine women, have a very high number of male characters who are total cardboard cutouts. Their "personalities" consist of: hot and props up heroine. 

I guess lots of books starring Badass Men have female characters who are only hot and prop up the hero, so this is some sort of turnabout. But it's still damn boring either way. 

Comments

[redsixwing]

Yup. Bad writing with less annoying gender stereotypes is still bad writing. *sigh*

[lliira]

Yep. And I find this author's books really insulting to me personally anyway - like, so sorry I can't kick ass and I like poetry and I get emotional? I guess I'm not a proper woman? But then they're also, quite frankly, dull to read, and not just because of the fact the "hero" has no personality to speak of. I'm a character reader, and she's not a character writer, which is super-odd in the romance genre.

But I don't think these books belongs in the romance genre anyway. Imo they should be shelved in fantasy. The thing I expect above all in romance novels is emotion, and I feel no emotion from these books.

[redsixwing]

Bluh!

Nooo, don't send the bad writing to fantasy... there's quite enough of that over here. ;)

[lliira]

Oh, I agree with that, no genre needs more bad writing, and I love fantasy too. I just want the bad writing to be all shelved in its proper place, since it apparently has to exist :P. (Also I think if this author gave up on trying to write romance her writing would get 100 times better.)

[silveradept]

Depending on the writer, yes, this is entirely true, or is less true to certain amount of degrees. The "hot" part almost always carries through, the personality may or may not.

[lliira]

I'm down with "hot". It's the "no personality" part I can't stand. And I don't see how anyone with no personality can be hot anyway.