tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630346294397505634.post5156509011303400494..comments2024-03-28T03:06:23.447-04:00Comments on Romance Novels for Feminists: The Li.st Romance Panels: Is Romance Feminist?Jackie C. Hornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04146684628443152376noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630346294397505634.post-1093276471446928112015-08-04T11:12:49.590-04:002015-08-04T11:12:49.590-04:00Answering your question- I've always thought t...Answering your question- I've always thought that the romance genre is not feminist in itself, BUT the majority of the books in the genre assume a feminist POV. <br />I mean, the majority of romance novels pass the Bechdel Test with flying colours, whereas that does not happen in other genres, from mysteries to literary fiction. At least that's true with contemporary or historical novels published in the last twenty years. I'm not so sure about romance novels older than that and, certainly, not in the paranormal genre. Perhaps it's because I'm not very fond of that subgenre, but the few paranormals that I've read sounded like 'bodice rippers redux' to me.<br /><br />About billionaires - I've asked myself the same question many many times. It's the same thing as the dukes and all that noble titles. I haven't got the answer, because I don't understand why that type of character works so well.<br />My personal tastes are different, so my fellow romance readers never cease to surprise me. <br /><br />I was thinking about diversity in romances. It looks like an obsession in American romance blogs this past year, and my European POV is a little bit different. I've tried to explain it many times and I'm tired so I'm not going to explain it again. To sum it up -yes, I want diversity in my romance novels, but diversity has more to do with different countries, and cultures and languages and less with the colour of one's skin which doesn't look so important -to me.Bona Caballerohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08999745390738959715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630346294397505634.post-79945515896534238202015-07-28T20:16:13.396-04:002015-07-28T20:16:13.396-04:00Kate:
I'm wondering about your comment "...Kate:<br /><br />I'm wondering about your comment "most of our billionaire heroes are shown working really hard" -- in my admittedly somewhat limited reading of the billionaire books, it's more that people TALK about the hero working hard. We're not SHOWN him working hard. Because if he's working, he's not wooing the heroine, right?<br /><br />And I don't think the working-class heroine is as common as she once was. I far more often see a middle class woman as the heroine of the billionaire books. So it's not a total rescue, financially-speaking, is it? A "rescue" into luxury, perhaps...<br /><br />A heroine winning the lottery definitely plays more into the "rescue" trope than a billionaire heroine who worked for her $s.<br /><br />I guess what I'm asking is, why don't more women dream about financial success? Is there a way to portray such a fantasy in the context of a romance novel? Or would one desire get in the way of portraying the other?Jackie C. Hornehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04146684628443152376noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630346294397505634.post-17779682421766902712015-07-28T13:34:26.078-04:002015-07-28T13:34:26.078-04:00My understanding of the "billionaire hero ...My understanding of the "billionaire hero 'rescues' downtrodden heroine" trope is that it is, as you said, based on the financial climate, and I think this extends to the reason a "billionaire heroine" wouldn't be as popular, in a couple of ways.<br /><br />Most of our billionaire heroes are shown working fairly hard to earn/keep/manage their money, and if I'm going to have a fantasy of extreme wealth, I want it to come without work! Oh, sure, I'd still do something productive with my time, as most of the 'rescued' heroines do, but it would be completely based on personal satisfaction; fantasy me doesn't even THINK about money, post rescue. So a heroine who's a billionaire from the start would likely seem flaky or as if she didn't appreciate her money if she ignored it as thoroughly as I think the fantasy suggests 'rescued' women could.<br /><br />The other (and possibly more coherent) reason I think the billionaire hero is more popular than the billionaire heroine is that the women reading these books are dreaming about how their own lives could be different, and they don't really want to change EVERYTHING. It's too much to go back to the start and say "what would be different if I'd born a billionaire" or "if I'd really liked computers and developed a software company" or whatever. Too much of a change - it might be an interesting book, but it wouldn't be a satisfying escape fantasy. But we can say "what would be different if I, as I am today (possibly minus my pesky husband/boyfriend) fell in love with a billionaire?" and keep all the good things in our lives (other than our current partners) and also have the freedom of unlimited money AND the glory of hot-man love.<br /><br />Hmmm... as I'm typing, I'm getting an idea for a story where the heroine wins the lottery. Huge money, freedom, etc., but no love. Not until... whatever. I guess it could go in a few different directions. Hey, maybe it could be a series, a bunch of different women winning the lottery AND finding love...<br /><br />But back to the topic at hand - I think a woman billionaire might be an interesting story (well, I just read A Gentleman in the Street and it WAS an interesting story, so I guess that "might" isn't needed). But it isn't a rescue fantasy, not in the same way a working-class woman and a billionaire man is.Kate Sherwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04004122981768351606noreply@blogger.com