(no subject)

[shadowkat]

What is it about writers and their weird fetish for extremely young female characters? I've notice that a lot of genre writers, specifically in the romance field, but also comic books, superheros (see Marvel Agents of Shield, Arrow, Flash..etc), and urban fantasy - feel the need to have heroines who are no older than 26. Which is sometimes a bit on the creepy side, not to mention incredibly sexist and emphasizing the male gaze or male fantasy. (Which I can sort of understand in a comic book directed towards a teen male audience, but in a romance novel directed towards women?? Historical Romance novels it sort of makes sense, although oddly I've found some of the women characters older in those than in the contemporaries and urban fantasy/suspense thrillers, not to mention more mature, which is notably odd.)

Just read a book review of a contemporary suspense thriller about a pair of spies..which has various trigger warnings, but the only one that gave me pause is the heroine starts out as a spy (in a contemporary romance) at the age of 16, and has a hot romance with a man who is 13 years older, in her early 20s...and then is tortured, again in her early 20s, and decides in early retirement. She's 26 when the book starts. The torture, romance, etc take place in flashbacks - when she was a lot younger. Uhm...ewww. I'm sorry, the writer screwed up there. This would have worked a whole lot better if the heroine was 36.

I don't get this. Why the focus on the 20 something? I've noticed it in urban fantasy as well - and it has a tendency to thrust me out of a story. The Illona Andrews stories have the heroine at 26-28, with all this background as a trained bad-ass warrior. Apparently she was killing people at 13. (Which being urban fantasy with a cruel ass world, was somewhat believable. Think Katniss Everdeen as an adult.) Kim Harrison's Rachel Morgan books - also had a heroine who was in her early 20s and acted like it. But...why not have her be older? Harry gets to start out older. Male heroes are older. Even in these contemporary romantic thrillers and urban fantasy novels they are older, but the women are younger. Heck Gaberial Allon in Daniel Silva's popular spy series is in his 40s or 50s. And so is Jack Reacher - 50s. But the women are all young 20s and having sex at 16? What's up with that.

That is except for a sparse few.

Is it that they are afraid the 20 something demographic won't read anything about characters older than 20? Odd, I always did. Actually preferred them. Odder still? Most readers of the genre are over the age of 30 or 35. Why would these older women prefer to read about 20 somethings?

I don't know it feels extreemly sexist to me.

Comments

[flake-sake.livejournal.com]

I think it's the fixation of society in general with young women?

Even people, who do not want to write for men, cater to the male gaze, by making their hero (aside from everything that makes them interesting) young and sexually attractive.

I also find it so weird that girls always just are superpowerful in these novels. The men usually have a history, where they started as noobs and then became the great hero. The girls always like 12 and already at their best. The men's standard is as usual much more healthy since it ingrains the pattern that you get better through training instead of the female pattern that says, if you are not just naturally gifted you can leave it altogether.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

True, the only genre that doesn't do it is the literary genre as far as I can tell. Also the better written television series, books, and movies don't do it either. You can sort of tell how pulpy a book is by the ages of the characters and their characterization.

But the better written novels or more literary ones, tend to handle it differently and less with the male gaze.

The pretty or attractive male is really the "female gaze". Which I have less issues with, mainly because it was repressed for so long. But it's really less prevalent in genre, believe it or not, than the young pretty little girl.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Was this spy story the one reviewed by smartbitches? I saw something on there about a female spy who was retired after being tortured

And don't forget that in GRRm's novels, Dany was 13 when she married Drogo and Sansa was only 11 in book One. That's downright creeptastic.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Yep. It was that one.

At least GRRM could justify his novels - they took place in the Medieval Age, where people, especially women seldom lived past the age of 26 (as his books demonstrate quite effectively) and historically that's what they did back then - you married once you menstruated or your voice changed.

But this novel is a contemporary spy novel....taking place in the 21st Century. There's no rational that I can think of, nor is it realistic - agencies do not hire women as spies at the age of 16 - the Child Welfare and Social Services would be all over them. And while she does just manage to get past statutory rape, they do it at 20, I think...still.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

I saw that one reviewed but was reluctant because of the torture. However learning that she's 16 at the start makes me very reluctant since it now seems like a pitch for the CW. Something to follow the Vampire Diaries

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

However learning that she's 16 at the start makes me very reluctant since it now seems like a pitch for the CW. Something to follow the Vampire Diaries

LOL!!

It does, doesn't it?

Yep, had exactly that same reaction...

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

I think it's because of older women going so unnoticed in our society, with a lot of tv and films too it's always assumed that we only want to follow women who are in their 20's at the most, never mind all of the male protagonists that can be in their 30's or 40's

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

True. I've noticed women go for the botux more than men in tv and movies.
It has gotten better - writers such as Shondra Rhimes and Michelle King are writing series for older women. And the tv series that feature older women are actually much better written and more critically acclaimed than the others - helped by the fact that we can actually tell the women apart. (20 something television actresses tend to all look alike for some reason.)

Also, more and more films have older women.

I think to a degree what has helped is that the Baby Boomer Generation has more people in it than the two generations after...however, the millenials have more than Generation X, which means...we have more stories about younger people. So it may well be majority rule - marketing folks tend to go towards the big demographics.