Hey Erastes If I had known there was another discussion going here I would have joined in earlier. *g* Here's one of my comments in response to a poster on the question of "cock whores."
Can heroes be promiscuous? When do readers stop forgiving them for being "cock whores?"
In response to this comment - "But once the h/h hook up, I prefer them to be exclusive if the book is billed as an erotic romance."
This is part of my response: This is really an issue if authors are not going to portray gay men somewhat realistically but through rose coloured glasses. Even women cheat in real life and in books and I don't understand why readers get so upset if one of the heroes cheats (but eventually at the end of the book there is an HEA.) Almost 6 years after it was written, Chris Owen's bestseller Bareback is still garnering admiration and criticism. If the writers don't give us flawed protags (cheating could be a real character flaw, creating major conflict in the relationship - check out Josh Lanyon's The Hell You Say, his most controversial book in the Adrien English Mysteries) wouldn't we, as readers, question their characterizations as being totally unrealistic?
I know that books are supposed to create fantasies to light up our dull lives, but don't we need a few dashes of reality in these books mixed in with the fantasy? Most gay men (they do read M/M romances) who criticize these books point out that the characterizations in most cases are unrealistic (hot looking men bedding equally hot looking men who have no body flaws). What I'm say is that gay relationships like het relationships have the same issues, which include cheating.
no subject
If I had known there was another discussion going here I would have joined in earlier. *g* Here's one of my comments in response to a poster on the question of "cock whores."
Can heroes be promiscuous? When do readers stop forgiving them for being "cock whores?"
In response to this comment - "But once the h/h hook up, I prefer them to be exclusive if the book is billed as an erotic romance."
This is part of my response:
This is really an issue if authors are not going to portray gay men somewhat realistically but through rose coloured glasses. Even women cheat in real life and in books and I don't understand why readers get so upset if one of the heroes cheats (but eventually at the end of the book there is an HEA.) Almost 6 years after it was written, Chris Owen's bestseller Bareback is still garnering admiration and criticism. If the writers don't give us flawed protags (cheating could be a real character flaw, creating major conflict in the relationship - check out Josh Lanyon's The Hell You Say, his most controversial book in the Adrien English Mysteries) wouldn't we, as readers, question their characterizations as being totally unrealistic?
I know that books are supposed to create fantasies to light up our dull lives, but don't we need a few dashes of reality in these books mixed in with the fantasy? Most gay men (they do read M/M romances) who criticize these books point out that the characterizations in most cases are unrealistic (hot looking men bedding equally hot looking men who have no body flaws). What I'm say is that gay relationships like het relationships have the same issues, which include cheating.
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