I wrote my stories with these heroines for a specific reason -- I'm writing what I want to read. Real women - no I'm not saying fat is 'real', just that a sz 14 is more realistic for the average woman than a size 4 or 6 - meeting real men who fall in love with them just as they are. Outside of Chicklit - where, face it, they usually get 'skinny' to get their ideal guy - it's damn hard to find women of size battling the bad guys, solving the crimes and saving the day. I like to write stories about women doing exactly that. (Well, saving the day maybe, suspense and crime drama storylines seem to be eluding me at the moment).
Why am I rambling on about heroines with more to love? The ladies over at Smart Bitches, of course! They had an interesting topic up over the weekend: The Plus Size Heroine - the one who's well adjusted. A topic near and dear to my heart.
Frankly, no woman is ever happy about her shape. If there's not too much, there's not enough. If the weight is right, the proportions are not. It webbles, it wobbles, and horror of all horrors... it all falls down! It's universal - fat, thin or in between. Seriously.
As a plus sized woman I don't want to read the 'I'm so fat, and he's my gorgeous gym instructor and he will only love me when I'm thin' story line. I also don't want to read the story that is 'my life is so bad because I'm fat' or the 'I'm fat so I don't deserve any better' either.
I want to read stories with kickarse heroines who save the day, who worry about all the same things every woman worries about and finds a lover who thinks a bit of junk in the trunk (or hood in my case) is just what he needs keeping him warm on a cold winters night. NOT A STORY ABOUT A FAT WOMAN.
There is a difference. A really fricking huge one (no pun intended). Confidence.
People don't like to read about size 4 Mary Sue whining her little head off about not being pretty enough, and they sure don't like reading about Mary Sue's size 18 sister Debbie Sue whining about not being skinny enough. But they do love reading stories about women who have confidence, who get on with doing what they have to to succeed/live to fight another day/beat the bad guy/save the world -- so why not have that woman be a size 18, or 16, or 20? Make your heroines as diverse as the world live in, embrace all the different sizes and colors of women the world over. Variety is the spice of life!
Romance novels are a fantasy, an escape, it's said. Well my fantasy includes a size 18/20 woman, in some kick arse, sexy as hell 3 inch heels beating the fuck out of a bad guys goolies (with the aforesaid heels), before reapplying her lipstick and making out with the hunky geek neighbour who's in absolute awe of the beautiful Amazon next door - not one of the Olsen twins on a 'fat day'.
What do you all think about Heroines - and Heroes for that matter - that don't meet the societal norms of what everyone should look like? Love em, hate em, don't really care?
PS... how much do I love Loose Id that they have a separate Full Figured Heroine Category!!
8 comments:
I'm a plus size woman and love to read about other plus size women finding true love. I have a soft spot for them and am so happy that there are more books to read in this category.
When I was younger, it was hard to find good love stories with a woman "of size". The heroines all seemed to be tiny, blonde, waifs who got any man they wanted. I got so fed up with them that I started reading horror stories. I was so tickled when I discovered books with heroines I could relate to.
Keep those terrific stories coming!!!
"No One Else On Earth", my first contemporary paranormal story for Loose Id, focused on not one but four plus-sized women. Each faces the perception of weight differently, though, at the beginning of the story, Julie, my heroine is the most comfortable with her size. By the end, the BBGs, as they called themselves in H.S., learn that when it comes to love, size doesn't matter.
Each of the four represents facets of my personality and of course, my plus-size shape.
On the backburner is a sequel with another plus-sized heroine
I'm with you, Anne--I want to read about women I can relate to (which means women with junk in their trunk and under their hood and even in the front and back seats, too). Heavenly Bodies (in Going Up, Going Down) features a very well-adjusted plus-size heroine. Under my "other name," I write romance/women's fiction, and the book I'm currently shopping to agents features a plus-size heroine who doesn't have to lose weight to find happiness, but who does have some major self-esteem issues that stem more from being abused as a child and teen (which helped to cause her weight).
I'm very passionate about plus-size acceptance, and I think one of the best ways to help "spread the word" is through our writing. The average woman is a size 14, and women read romance. It's a natural connection in my mind, IMO. *g*
Renae Johnson
One of the hardest things about reading Plus sized stories, as someone who is plus-sized, is that they don't always reflect how a heroine really is. I know I've got weight to lose because of my health and I've already lost a lot, but there's more to be done. Yet, the psychology of how a plus sized woman often thinks is neglected.
It's not a constant "Poor me." But there is some doubt caused by the whole society pressure thing. Yet I've read many LI books, and I found that the stories are done with the right touch of "I kick ass and take names" along with "Am I good enough?" without a lot of the fat issues melded in. For me, the idea of being enough is something common to every woman and man, so it's viable-- not just a bigger woman's dilemma.
This is a great topic for today. Especially when I was feeling down on myself physically. Thanks!
I am not only a plus-sized female, but at times I lack what some people might refer to as feminine grace. In my latest book, (how opportune), my main character is not only a big female, but she is a bounty hunter whose only lament is taping down her breasts in a fight. She's not frilly, definitely not thin and she uses her weight and power in a physical way. No speed demon at all.
Personally, I would love to see more Valkyries and Buff Amazons in erotic, bullying men, having their curves worshiped, and carrying heavy artillary (my next female heroine will be able to carry a Gatling Gun) yet still be able to sigh in orgasm.
I'm not on a tirade or a soap box, and I am sure that books about thin heroines rock, but as a BBW I like to write about the larger goddesses.
Echoing with a great big "woot!" for the fluffy chick writers. I'm in Going Up, Going Down with Renae and was overjoyed to find out that the antho would feature TWO stories of plus-sized lovin'.
I also make a concious decision to write only plus-sized heroines. There's not enough BBW fiction out there. :D
I love reading about Plus sized heroines. I'm plus sized myself. Yet I haven't written one yet. I'm not sure why. But it is on my to do list.
I'm fairly ambivalent on the plus-size vs. thin heroine; mostly I just prefer that it not be an issue in the storyline. Weight issues aren't why I buy romance/erotica books.
However, that doesn't mean I don't buy stories with +sized ladies, or men for that matter ... it just means I'm careful about it. It annoys me to buy a book that half (or more) of the plot is eaten up (ha!) by weight-related issues and insecurities.
I've been fat, I've been thin, I've been in-between. Yes, there are societal biases, self-esteem issues, etc. that come with all weights, but if I wanted to read about it I'd buy a self-help book.
A little bit of angst on the topic is fine for realism in romance/erotica, but too much and I start to feel like growling "eat the damn cookie already, you ninny!" I don't think there's a female alive who hasn't hoped, the first time she's been naked with someone, that he (she?) won't notice the extra roll under her left butt-cheek. That's life. (And maybe a strong endorsement for bondage ... ladies in BDSM stories seem to have to keep their arms up a lot which helps alleviate gravity's cruelty.) But, please, don't make it the focus of the book.
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