cliterature

I realise (after much badgering) that most woman like the alpha-male, if not in real life than certainly in romance fiction. This probably accounts for the fact that 99% of heterosexual romance (completely made up statistic, but you get the point) has a power imbalance in favor of the male.  Some commentators assert that beta heroes are on the rise, but I have yet to see a great deal of evidence for this.

Mainstream romance beta’s still come in limited flavors: the nerd, the high fantasy (e.g. Taming the Forest King–Claudia Edwards), the gorgeous geek (e.g. Gone with the Nerd–Vicki Thompson) or the rich boy (e.g. A Lick and a Promise–Jo Leigh). And some of these stories still end with the heroine all overwrought that she has been too bossy. And if, like me, you shop in the AA shelves (that’s African American fiction), well, just be prepared to spend more time liking for beta male romance than actually reading it.

 However there has been a slight increase in beta-male romance (from basically none to just very little) and an increase in alphas with vulnerabilities.  For example the trope of the ‘wounded hero’ has become more popular–alphas rendered vulnerable by amnesia, magical curse or something less subtle like a gunshot wound.  And, in fact, wonder of wonders,  there might be some more books in the middle ground (like Joey Hill who writes beta men for readers who like alpha men).

My only hope is that somehow, the beta-hero and the flawed alpha will meet somewhere in the middle.  Some weird fantasy world where men and women have relationships that where who’s on top is just a matter of sexual positioning, not some kind of sociological statement (patriarchal or feminist).  Until then, I’ll keep hunting for the elussive beta and spend the rest of the time reading gay romance (where one can normally stop gender politics getting the way of a good love story).

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