Alpha males, part 2

[oyceter]

Original post

I'm a little behind on comments, though I am thoroughly enjoying the discussion. I also wanted to clarify some points that I realized in comments and throw out further thoughts. I note that much of what I reference in terms of social constructs of femininity is a white, middle-to-upper-class social construct, and that I'm using that particular construct because the majority of romance authors and heroines tend to fall into that category (slooowly changing.... also, I do not have stats on reader demographics, argh!) and because I haven't read enough romances by and about POC to note how things are the same and different with women of color.

1. My definition of "alpha male" is as follows:
   
   • High status. This status can be in terms of wealth, occupation (particularly for contemporaries; see the popularity of Navy SEALs and billionaires), or physical prowess. If it's a paranormal romance, the status is often conveyed by some genetic handwavy thing, frequently modeled on canine pack dynamics. The alpha male is almost always of higher status than the heroine in at least one aspect, and the higher status will be focused on, even if the heroine is more powerful in another way (if she has more money, is of a higher class, etc.).
   • Physically domineering. This usually is marked by broad shoulders, height, lots of muscles, and stubble. The alpha male will frequently tower over the heroine.
   • Violent. In contemporaries, the violence may be held in check or sublimated into corporate takeovers, or it may be channeled into more socially acceptable forms via occupation (Navy SEALs, FBI, police, etc.). In historicals, the violence may be held in check by social status (if he's a duke or whatnot). In paranormals, the violence is often given free range and justified via genetic handwavy things and animal comparisons (literal and figurative).
   • Aggressive. The aggressiveness usually shows itself in his pursuit of the heroine; the alpha male is frequently undeterred by obstacles, and there's usually prose about how he must have her.
   • Possessive. In paranormals, this is often conveyed by animal comparisons (literal or figurative). In almost all romances, there will be prose about how his instinct is to yank her away from any other man, to mark her as his own (figuratively or literally, though thankfully usually not in terms of possessive urinating!).
   
   I feel like I am defining the alpha male in terms of "things that I don't like," but these are the traits that I keep seeing in romances and in writing about romances.
   
   For further context, here's some stuff I googled (I think the links are mostly by romance authors for romance authors/readers):
   - Alpha Males Versus Beta Males in Romance Novels
   - Alpha Amours
   - The Care and Writing of Alpha Males
   - Eight Hero Archetypes (note "The Chief")
   - Stephanie Laurens on The Hero as Pursuer
   - Suzanne Brockmann on Alpha Heroes
   
   For kdramas and shoujo manga, I have fewer examples and definitions. For kdramas, I think it is because I self-select what I watch, though the heroes are almost always of higher status, especially in terms of class. For shoujo, I handwavily generalize and note that stereotypically feminine behavior in the men is more often rewarded than it is in romances, but I think much of this is because of shoujo's frequent emphasis on rewarding stereotypically feminine behavior overall (I have problems with this, but that is another post). The men usually aren't quite as physically domineering, thanks to willowy shoujo art, but they tend to be of higher class, be more physically attractive, and if it's high school shoujo, be the most popular/best student/etc.
2. coffeeandink notes problems with the term "alpha" (and "gamma" and etc.) and the equation of (fantasy) canine pack dynamics with socially constructed human behavior. Or, er, worldbuilding, if it's a paranormal. I have the same problems with coding social animal behavior with social human behavior, for the obvious reasons (I am NOT A DOG!), and I have similar problems with paranormals that genetically encode socially gendered behavior as a means of justifying the hero's alpha male characteristics. I would have fewer problems with the genetic encoding if it were balanced in terms of gender, but there are either very few female werewolves/shapeshifters/whatever OR their capacity for violence and domination is toned down.
   
   To whit: Faith vs. Judd in Nalini Singh's Psy series. Both are Psy and supposed to be emotionally cold, both their romantic interests are shapeshifters who are more sexually aggressive. However, Vaughn (Faith's shapeshifter) is domineering, rips people to pieces on screen, and Faith basically faints when she has sex. Brenna (Judd's shapeshifter) is a survivor of sexual violence, is supposedly violent but we never see evidence of it on screen, and Judd doesn't black out and lose control with physical contact; he just gets deadly nosebleeds. Also, he's a super-secret agent killer guy, whereas Faith is not.
   
   Despite my problems with the terminology, I'm still using it without scarequotes because a) I am lazy, b) it is standard in the romance industry, and c) I note here that every time I write "alpha male," it's with all these caveats.
3. Alpha females: despite seeing mentions of them in some of the above links, I disagree with the term and with the application. Much of this is because "alpha female" doesn't have the same connotations as "alpha male." There's less of the possessiveness, the violence, the aggressiveness, and the status, or if there is, it tends to be underplayed or the hero will still be stronger. See: Shana Abe's drakon books, Anne Stuart's Ice Storm, Joanna Bourne's The Spymaster's Lady. I think they can exist and the entire dynamic of alpha male-heroine can be turned around, but I have only a handful of examples (Lily in Fall From Grace, possibly Melisande in For My Lady's Heart, and I'm not even including Shadowheart in this, because of Allegretto's assassin-ness).
4. I also forgot to note my problems with violence in romances and violence and alpha males in the original post. So: I have a problem with how often physical violence dealt out by the hero is portrayed as a turn on, particularly when it is done on the heroine's behalf, when the heroine does not have the power to do so herself, and when there's the "beast held in check" undertone. I get the fantasy, I really do. It's just that the texts themselves frequently don't seem to find this a problem when it is done in the name of protection, particularly when it is set in a fairly realistic time/place.
5. ... which leads me to intent, or why I don't think it matters. In Gleason's original piece, there's a paragraph on how we know the hero is on the Side of Good, because he's the hero and we're reading a romance. And because he is on the Side of Good, morally shady actions performed in the name of Good are therefore less morally shady. I have problems with this, the most notable being that morally shady actions performed for whatever reasons are still morally shady. Also, everyone thinks they are on the Side of Good. As a corollary to this, as nojojojo notes, getting into the hero's POV and generating sympathy and understanding for his actions does not equate validating those actions in terms of morality or approving those actions. Yes, I sympathize with and understand why abused children frequently grow up to be abusive adults, but that still doesn't excuse their abuse, mitigate the harm they cause, or somehow make everything fine for the victim. As noted in my original post, I have a particular problem with this because of how frequently these very arguments about intent are used to justify domestic violence, abuse, stalking, and sexual assault and how they put the onus of control onto the woman.
6. All this probably gives the impression that I disapprove of "politically incorrect" fantasies and wish fulfillment, or that I think romance readers are brainwashed by romances into accepting abusive situations. So I wanted to say that I don't, that I think fantasies, particularly female sexual fantasies, can be empowering, and that fiction != real life. But again, as Mely notes, Gleason is drawing parallels between fictional and real life sitautions without looking at the power dynamics involved. There's some discussion here on personal fantasy vs. social atmosphere and how romances fit in that space. There's also the reader as hero and heroine and Laura Kinsale's essay on the androgynous reader and how the hero's POV worked its way into romance. And I think these are important issues, that there needs to be a safe space where the (usually female) reader can identify with the powerful person in the couple and feel desired at the same time, where the reader does not have to assume responsibility for sexual desire, where the reader can be the Special Person who tames the beast and keeps all that power on a leash.
   
   But. My issues with the alpha male and with the romance genre as feminist lie in the prevalence of the alpha male and the lack of other types of fantasy. So while the fantasy of the alpha male can be empowering, when it vastly dominates other types of fantasies, when romances that break out of the mold are frequently condemned by the community of romance readers (ex. the reactions to Shadowheart and My Surrender), when the dominant fantasy just so happens to correlate with current gender imbalances (and look! I am not even touching how the fantasies reinforce classism, racism, ageism, sizeism, heterosexism, and ablism), I have a problem.
   
   My other problem is how the text signals the fantasy. In discussion in the original post, I noticed that I don't have as much of a problem with alpha males if they aren't taken seriously by the text (ex. Loretta Chase's Lord of the Scoundrels) or if the text is deliberately going for "dark and disturbing and wrong but really hot" (All of Yuki Kaori!). I also have different levels of tolerance according to the level of fantasy in the society depicted -- historical romances can get away with slightly more bullying than contemporaries, but on the same level, I want more nuanced looks at power in historical romances and at the limitations on women's lives.
7. All this makes it sound like I hate the genre, which is partially true. I have a love-hate relationship with romances. I love that they are primarily created and consumed by women; I will roll my eyes at the denigration of romance as a genre when non-female coded genres get away with better reputations; and I love the focus on female sexuality and the female gaze. On the other hand, I hate that a female-oriented genre so frequently is not giving me feminist works; I hate how the heroines still don't have power in almost all the books; and I hate how the industry frequently limits female fantasy to what is socially acceptable.
   
   On the other hand, it's been interesting watching the genre change. I haven't read many romances in the past two years or so (aside from keeping up with releases from my favorite authors), and I've only now started to dip a toe into the field again, largely thanks to the explosion in paranormal romances. It's not changing fast enough for me, but at least it is changing. There's much less focus on the heroine's virginity, the age gap between the hero and the heroine is getting smaller, and there are more older heroines (as in, over 30, ha!) and heroes who are younger than the heroine. There's also less of a requirement for the heroine to be sexually devoted to a single man; part of this is because the older heroine usually means a heroine with past romantic and sexual experiences, part of this seems to be the influence of Laurel K. Hamilton on paranormal series (? a guess on my part). The heroines are getting more powerful, though the hero still tends to dominate. There's also the entire field of African-American romances and growth there (albeit still limited by how often the mainstream white reader will walk right past that entire section), which I have yet to talk about because I need to read more. And I am also ignoring category romances and erotic romances, which I also need to read more of.
   
   Sooo... I have no set conclusions, except that someone needs to write me a romance with an actual alpha female and a hero in distress, in which all the codings of a traditional alpha male romance are followed, only gender-reversed.