November 2, 2006

• A while back, I had this conversation with my boyfriend about the differences between heroines in the novels I read. As most of you must know, I work for a publishing company ... I get to read a lot of the books being printed for free ... before they even hit the shelves in stores. Have had the misfortune of coming across a lot of trashy novels on the Free Pile, but I guess that really speaks for itself.

  In the past 2 months that I've lived in NYC and had time to read the books I've had piling on my desk by authors I get to pay [hehehehe], I've noticed a blaring contrast between the romance novels I have read. Two of the books screamed of every woman's fantasy: the perfect lover, the really tough guy who is really a softy at heart ... you know, that mushy stuff. Which was fine. I too am a sucker for a good romance.

  But then I turned to two books that were also supposed to be romances ... and they turned out to be pretty devastating. There were characters that were raped, and by really crappy guys ... and then they couldn't really be with the one guy that treated them like princesses.

  And the only difference between the main characters of these 4 books were their ethnicities.

  Book #1 had a British Duchess as the lead

  Book #2 had an Irish writer

  Book #3 was an Indian princess [and I dare you to guess what book that is out now is about an Indian princess]

  and Book #4 is about an 11 yr old Chinese girl

   

  Why is it that it's okay to publish a book where a White protagonist gets the best sex of her life, and in the same breathe publish and celebrate the "exotic-ness" of a book where the Asian protagonist is constantly raped?

  • 1:46 pm
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