 Romance/Love: September 03, 2014 Issue [#6523] |
  Romance/Love
This week: Role Reversals and Spinning Stereotypes Edited by: Crys-not really here  
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Role Reversals and Spinning Stereotypes
Many of us have seen the memes on Facebook: "What if your favorite Disney princess was a prince?" followed by cartoon illustrations of what everyone from Belle to Ariel would look like as a male. But how many of us have actually thought about twisting our stories around so that typical roles were reversed? Take Beauty and the Beast, for example. What if the male protagonist is the beauty and the female love interest is the beast?
I find the idea of a role reversal intriguing for several reasons. First of all, we've all heard that there are only so many original story lines to work with. So how do we make our romances unique and something our readers want to pick up? One way of doing that is to change our protagonist. Most romance novels I've read are from the point of view of a woman. What would happen if it were a man looking for love? How would that change the story? Personally, I'd love to see fewer "females in distress until Mr. Right comes along" stories.
Secondly, male/female role reversals challenge what we as a society have come to see as typical gender roles and gender stereotypes. We have all probably read a story about a single mother trying to balance raising a child and working. But how many of us have read that same story about a single dad? Some readers find that idea unsettling or unusual; that's probably why we don't see very many novels of that type. That's also why we should be writing more of them! Those who have followed my Romance/Love Newsletters know that I don't read traditional romance novels or those of the Harlequin nature. I find that those I have read were fairly predictable and formulaic, even stereotypical at times. Therefore, I'm all for spinning the genre on its head!
Now, imagine if we took it one step further. What if the princess was looking for another princess, or the prince was looking for another prince? How awesome would that be? LGBT relationships are becoming more common in young adult literature, and hopefully romances for adults will follow suit as well. We need more same-gender relationships that are portrayed as loving and normal in literature in order for it to become a part of the mainstream.
I hope these ideas have helped you see how you can create unique, intriguing romantic fiction. What other ideas do you have for breaking boundaries in the romance genre? I'd love to hear them in the comment section below. 
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Thank you to everyone who commented on my last newsletter!
Hi Crys! Thank you so much for highlighting my poem. What a privilege! I agree with your sentiments about love -- there truly is no defining it, and it's a different monster for each person. Thanks again! ~ Mandy
Defining love can be quite illusive, I agree. I think the answer might be found in common with those things capable of Love, meaning similarities of animals and humans, as I believe animals are indeed capable of love. Perhaps love is the ability to drool at what one desires even when what is desired is not present? What I am suggesting is that love is capable of changing meaning as one applies it to different life forms. -Jimminycritic |
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