Comments on: What’s With All the Female Victims?

By: Laurie

Laurie — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 03:49:28 +0000

In RS SOMEONE has to be somehow related to a suspense element. It’s likely either going to be the hero or the heroine. Without the suspense element you don’t have a RS. I think having SOMEONE a victim of the crime is part of the makeup of the genre. If the heroine is investigating a crime that isn’t close and personal to her then you might have a mystery but not a suspense. Part of the makeup of a suspense is to have the hero or heroine or both in personal physical danger.

By: Laurie

Laurie — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 03:46:00 +0000

The Search by Nora Roberts is a great example. I very much enjoyed that one.

It seems to me most of the RS books I’ve read recently have the heroine doing quite a bit to save her own bacon…and sometimes the hero’s as well.

By: Laurie

Laurie — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 03:42:26 +0000

Black Velvet Seductions recently published ACCIDENTAL AFFAIR by debut author Leslie Wirtley. I don’t think anyone would think of Laine Wheeler, the heroine in the novel as a victim.

The hero is actually the victim. The heroine rescues him when he tumbles down an embankment into the path of her car after being shot. He’s an undercover ATF agent whose cover has been blown.

Jack and Laine take off across country in a bid to get incriminating evidence against the homeland terrorist group into the hands of the one man Jack trusts with his life. The bad guys do give chase, they do at one point kidnap Laine…but Laine doesn’t wait for Jack to rescue her. She rescues herself.

I don’t think anyone would call her a victim. There ARE books out there in the romantic suspense category which do not have heroines who are victims.

By: maryskl

maryskl — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 22:15:34 +0000

But our experiences CAN make us stronger, so I don’t really have a problem with a heroine overcoming weakness in the past to emerge stronger. Having said that…I just read Laura Griffin’s “Scorched.” The heroine was NOT a prior victim, but an expert in forensic anthropology/osteology. The hero is in the military and he does what he is trained in while she does what she is an expert in. Together they make a good team. I think part of the problem is the definition of weakness to begin with. We tend to associate weakness almost exclusively with physical limitations, but give people a pass on mental weakness. Most women ARE physically less capable than many men. To avoid this reality is to avoid reality altogether. I do not think it is a bad thing to acknowledge our strengths as well as our weaknesses and learn to compensate as best as we can.

By: AAR Lynn

AAR Lynn — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 12:13:41 +0000

I can definitely see that. In terms of whether the heroine is strong or not, I think I see a mix. However, it does seem like I read a lot of books where, if the heroine is strong, it’s because she has been a victim at some point in her life. I think that can be powerful when it’s done well because it is one of those things that is such a common fear. I haven’t read the Lily Bard books, but I do think JD Robb/Nora Roberts explores the theme in the In Death books. I do wish that victimization wasn’t the explanation for so many strong women in fiction, though.

By: pop tart

pop tart — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 23:23:47 +0000

I think there’s another factor at work here with the fem-in-jep books. I think for many woman the fear of being victimized in a physical way (assault, rape, worse) is a pretty common thing. Many of us imagine that worst case scenario and I think many of us (or at least I do) wonder how we would handle it. Would we come out of it as someone who manages to be a survivor, not a victim? Would we fight to have the perp prosecuted, etc.

It may be that some authors want to explore the theme in that way and not just in a way to cause titillation. I know as a reader I read this type of book with that thought in mind. One series that I loved for this very reason is Charlaine Harris’ mystery series featuring Lily Bard – first book is SHAKESPEARE’S LANDLORD. In that series Lily comes onto the scene already having survived an incredibly horrific assault. She now lives quietly by herself, cleans houses, and studies the martial arts. As part of her self-created recovery process she roams the streets of Shakespeare, AR at night. Her whole existence is one of re-creating herself as a survivor. And as the series progresses you can see her succeed.

In Charlaine’s case I know that her own past informs her writing. And that is something I appreciate.

By: erika

erika — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 07:49:59 +0000

I’m not interested in Xena Warrior heroines but rarely do I see damsel in distress heroines even in historicals.

By: chris booklover

chris booklover — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 01:49:29 +0000

I agree with this. There is no shortage of kickass heroines in either romantic suspense or paranormal romance. If anything, some plotlines strain credulity because their heroines are implausibly super-competent heroines (see, for example, Monette Michaels’s Eye of the Storm). In these genres at least I don’t read too many recent novels featuring damsels in distress.

By: maryskl

maryskl — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 18:44:52 +0000

I think the distinction in the SEAL type books is the men are TRAINED to serve and protect. If we had a m/m RS book in which one is a SEAL and the other man a civilian, would we look at it as a “dam in distress?” I am a 5’2″ female. If some psycho was after me, I would try by myself to keep from harm, but if I had a SEAL boyfriend I would certainly welcome the help. I think it depends on the characterization. If the heroine is depicted as competent in the ability to defend herself, then a partnership would be more plausible. But if she is just your average person with no weapons, stealth or tactical training, then it would be unrealistic for her to suddenly become super woman. Sometimes damsels ARE in distress and most of the time in RS, I think they rise to the occasions beyond what they are equipped to handle. I thought about Linda Howard’s romantic suspense books and while the heroes are definitely alphas, the heroines are also plucky. In Dream Man, the hero is a police detective. He actually puts her in danger so she has to protect herself and she is the one who ends up killing her stalker. I believe there are similar endings in Now You See Her and Mr. Perfect. They save themselves. I don’t see most of the heroines in RS as “poor pitiful me’s” wringing their hands while the hero saves them. I see the heroines as pushing themselves past their normal mental and physical levels in a partnership against the threat against both the hero and the heroine.

By: mb

mb — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 18:39:13 +0000

One exception that comes to mind is Linda Howard’s ‘Cover of Night’. In that one the heroine (with the hero) rescues the town due to her skill and courage.