Okay, so I think we are all familiar with the “men writing women” trope and how male authors can often oversexualize their female characters and focus undue attention on their physical appearance. I generally avoid those kinds of authors/books, but over the last few years I’ve been noticing female authors doing the same thing, and I am so over it. Maybe part of it is that my most-read genre is mystery/thriller, and it feels really rampant with some of those authors?
One that comes to mind is Jennifer Hillier. I have read most of her backlist and she comes across, to me, as weirdly obsessed with some her female characters’ looks, and specifically that they are HOT. And she will really go into detail about their looks. It’s like some of these authors genuinely don’t think that ‘average’ looking or moderately attractive women can believably be getting male attention, so they make a point of describing how HOT and GORGEOUS the female characters are. It sometimes comes across to me as weird wish fulfillment on the part of these authors.
I’m getting to a point where I’m so over this trope, and extremely disappointed when it’s coming from women especially. Why can’t characters be ‘normal’ looking? Unless a female character’s supposed hotness is somehow integral to the plot (say, the character is a model) or to her character development/story arc, I don’t need to hear objectifying descriptions of her stunningly gorgeous face and body!
by notoriousLPG