I agree with you on most parts, but wanted to add to this:
Romance writers presumably expect women and girl readers to identify with the female protagonist, so it must be her male love interest (m/m and f/f romance having different dynamics all together) who is inhuman and serves to introduce her into the magical world he inhabits, a world the reader gets to visit until the story is over, so it's very useful to have an othered male.
While I feel this is true, and as you said in the next paragraph, serves as a metaphor for entering the dating world, I feel that starting with the female protagonist as human and he male as supernatural is a good way to kill two birds with one stone.
One of the easiest ways to introduce a reader to a new world is through the eyes of a character who is being introduced to it themselves. Either they're young and growing up and learning the different society's rules, or they're being thrown from the normal (mundane) world into the supernatural, where the changes are immediate.
From what I've seen, urban fantasy usually trends to the second scenario. The boyfriend/love interest also shares a role as teacher/mentor figure, as they are the one introducing our main character to the world. This usually sets up the plot for many moral dilemmas, including whether or not it's right for them to be showing the MC the world at all.
Is this all inherently problematic? Eh, I think it could be, expectantly if put into hands that aren't deft in writing moral dilemmas. There's also the unspoken metaphor of a young girl being led down a path into womanhood by her ~~man, which is... not good. But! I think done in the right hands, it the inherent moral dilemmas could be delt with in an interesting, sexy, (and educational?) way.
There's no getting around the fact that it's an overused plot device because it works in introducing a character to the new world, AND the secondary character/love interest/mentor figure at the same time. It's damn economical.
Anyway, those are my thoughts, gleaned from reading waaaaay too much urban fantasy. :P
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2011-07-18 04:13 pm (UTC)I agree with you on most parts, but wanted to add to this:
Romance writers presumably expect women and girl readers to identify with the female protagonist, so it must be her male love interest (m/m and f/f romance having different dynamics all together) who is inhuman and serves to introduce her into the magical world he inhabits, a world the reader gets to visit until the story is over, so it's very useful to have an othered male.
While I feel this is true, and as you said in the next paragraph, serves as a metaphor for entering the dating world, I feel that starting with the female protagonist as human and he male as supernatural is a good way to kill two birds with one stone.
One of the easiest ways to introduce a reader to a new world is through the eyes of a character who is being introduced to it themselves. Either they're young and growing up and learning the different society's rules, or they're being thrown from the normal (mundane) world into the supernatural, where the changes are immediate.
From what I've seen, urban fantasy usually trends to the second scenario. The boyfriend/love interest also shares a role as teacher/mentor figure, as they are the one introducing our main character to the world. This usually sets up the plot for many moral dilemmas, including whether or not it's right for them to be showing the MC the world at all.
Is this all inherently problematic? Eh, I think it could be, expectantly if put into hands that aren't deft in writing moral dilemmas. There's also the unspoken metaphor of a young girl being led down a path into womanhood by her ~~man, which is... not good. But! I think done in the right hands, it the inherent moral dilemmas could be delt with in an interesting, sexy, (and educational?) way.
There's no getting around the fact that it's an overused plot device because it works in introducing a character to the new world, AND the secondary character/love interest/mentor figure at the same time. It's damn economical.
Anyway, those are my thoughts, gleaned from reading waaaaay too much urban fantasy. :P