Where are all the Male Targeted Romance Novels?

[DementedSheep]

There seems to be this idea that women only come into "guys spaces" for the sake of it instead actually liking shit like games and comics and wanting to be involved. Many just have issues with certain parts of it. If you actually wanted to read romance novels but had a problem with the way men were depicted in them and wanted to discus that or the problems faced by men getting into the romance novel industry, that would be fine. Of course even in romance the guys often end up being superior to whatever useless ***** was made the POV character anyway.

 

[The Wooster]

This topic was inspired by recent news, wherein a self described MRA group called Honey Badger Radio tried to stir the pot at a comic book convention. The Honey Badgers sat in the audience of a "Women in Comics" panel at the convention and managed to sidetrack the discussion with questions about how feminists revel in victimhood and should just go and make the comics they want...it was a bit of a poorly thought out accusation, considering the panel was made up of female comic book creators.

Anyway, the one interesting argument they did bring up was "where are all the male romance novels? Aren't men just as poorly represented in romance fiction as women in comics?" The panel basically said, "Why yes, yes that's true...but this isn't a romance novel convention." I don't know how interested the Honey Badgers really are in the lack of male romance novels, but since they mentioned it, I kind of am.

Isn't it weird there aren't more male romance novels?

Even the books that are centrally about romances and are aimed at men, like Lucky Jim, are defined more as comic novels, or some other genre seen as more accessible to blokes. The majority of novels bought in the US are a romance genre, but the only time men seem to particularly factor is in gay romance, which tends to also be skewered towards appealing to heterosexual women. Meanwhile, two of the most popular romance series aimed at women today, Twilight and 50 Shades, accidentally depict men as creepy, rapey stalkers.

I'm not surprised there aren't many novels marketed as romance for men, as society still has some stupid ideas about what men should and shouldn't be into (INB4 someone offers me a red pill), but wish-fulfillment romance is a staple in quite a few male-orientated genres. British Sci-fi comedy novels, for example, are notorious for their romance subplots in which the strong-willed, no-nonsense female lead ends up falling head over heels for the feeble male protagonist. Tom Holt's career consists pretty much entirely of that trope. It's a bit of a tradition leading all the way back to Arthur and Fenchurch from The Hitchiker's Guide.

 

[maninahat]

What on earth would be a male romance novel even be like? Society doesn't put a whole lot of weight in women instigating a relationship.

I suppose it would probably some overlap with all those manic pixie dream girl style movies; a boring, milquetoast male chased by some larger-than-life, unique snowflake of a babe. Interestingly, perhaps the greatest manic pixie dream girl romance, Breakfast at Tiffany's, doesn't actually feature a romance between Miss. Golightly and the protagonist in the original novel. He's gay.

But you're right, it seems to be perceived as inherently emasculating to have the woman be the proactive one, regardless of how this isn't at all the case in real life.

 

[Rebel_Raven]

What on earth would be a male romance novel even be like? Society doesn't put a whole lot of weight in women instigating a relationship.

I suppose it would probably some overlap with all those manic pixie dream girl style movies; a boring, milquetoast male chased by some larger-than-life, unique snowflake of a babe. Interestingly, perhaps the greatest manic pixie dream girl romance, Breakfast at Tiffany's, doesn't actually feature a romance between Miss. Golightly and the protagonist in the original novel. He's gay.

But you're right, it seems to be perceived as inherently emasculating to have the woman be the proactive one, regardless of how this isn't at all the case in real life.

Would be nice if society supported the woman as being the proactive one more often, though. Maybe we should have more romance like this? I mean society keeps slamming women for being the one seeking the relationship, and generally discourages it. Hardly fair to not just women but to the lonely guys that might have met with a successful relationship because of proactive women.

 

[SweetShark]

Ha,ha,ha,HA!
Oh man, you must one day to travel to Greece to see what kind of man romance novels sell our Market.

And after I look a little, there are romance novel written by men, which were made for the male demographic.

http://airshipdaily.com/blog/the-secret-lives-of-male-romance-novelists

Sadly it seems most of the writers pretend to be women so they have better sales...
So, it seems the reason again for this is because most people are sheeps. Sad, single-minded, controlled, must follow the herd, Sheeps.
But I digress. The same goes for most of us for other things which I won't say. So in other words, let just say at least we don't hurt a reals persons feelings for that. But other times in here I see "the" ugly part of us. I see everywhere WereSheeps!!!!!
BEEEE!!!! BBEEEEEEE!!! BBEEEEEEE!! BBEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!

Spoiler

Oh sh**p! Wrong picture!!!! Wait a moment

Spoiler

AAhh, much better

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

Japan has lots of those.

 

[VanQ]

Males respond to visual media far more than they respond to written media. Romance novels tend to not interest guys for that reason. It's also for that reason that men tend to gravitate towards porn/doujin/etc. Guys like to see tits and ass, not imagine it, simple as that.

 

[Evil Smurf]

It's all online, have you heard of erotic fiction? It's all male power fantasy.

 

[Revnak_v1legacy]

Japan.

Really though, that's a fair point. I do think there should be more male targeted romance novels. I personally blame the heartless, cowardly bastards that are marketing executives, much like I do with most of these kinds of things. I mean, clearly, some men like romance. The strange mutations that allow Asians to read minds don't make their men more interested in romance.

 

[chadachada123]

Oh look! A meninist thread! Men aren?t being represented enough in romance genre novel! We need more male protagonists in romance novels! Meninists unite! You get a free fedora upon joining!

Their point isn't that there should be male romance novels. The point of the rhetorical question "where are all the male romance novels?" is really to question the idea that each and every cultural niche should appeal equally to each gender. If you look at gaming or comics and realize that they're primarily aimed at young men, on what basis would you think of this as either a problem or not? My own personal reaction to games aimed at men and romance novels aimed women is "so what." For me there is nothing wrong with media that slants towards one gender or another.

Even though it isn't my view, it is certainly possible to believe that all types of media should appeal equally to both genders. If such a hypothetical individual were being intellectually consistent, the question of males being under served by the romance novel market is just as deadly serious an issue as gaming tending towards a male audience. Now, try to imagine providing an explanation to there being relatively much fewer male romance novels. Most top-of-the-head explanations that feel quite comfortable in defense of romance novels, i.e. "perhaps on average men and women have different tastes", "publishers know their audience", would start to feel very uncomfortably un-PC if flipped over in defense of a male centered media like gaming or comics. And if you really wanted to dial things up to 11, shouldn't the burden be on romance novel publishers to work to change their industry?

There are, of course, more than just the two viewpoints that I have outlined above, but these two are the only ones that are relevant. If you care deeply about gender disparity in video games but not gender disparity in romance novels (or visa versa), well then that is just simple hypocrisy.

That was quite well-written; an excellent way to put what I've been feeling into words. ESPECIALLY the line on publishers and their burden/"responsibilities".

OT: As others have mentioned, visual mediums are bigger for guys, and, for me at least, the best romances I've seen, ones that have legitimately brought me to tears, have been in Visual Novels or anime adaptations of visual novels. Katawa Shoujo, F/SN, Clannad, Steins;Gate: All combined music, visuals, and dialogue to create some truly romantic (barring F/SN, which was emotional, but not quite romantic) art.

 

[bluerocker]

Snip

I thought that was what visual novels essentially were, except you have pictures of girls as well (with the exception of otome/BL and other genres). None the less, the means of projection that are inherit in such things like romance novels are still there, and some of them are cheesy as FUCK; so you should be able to find something to tickle your fancy that way.

 

[CaitSeith]

They exist, but not as "romance novels". They are visual novels and dating sims. Next!

 

[Lightknight]

Men are more visual where sexuality is concerned. You could say that dirty magazines are the equivalent if we're being honest here.

The internet even moreso nowadays.

 

[Silvanus]

OTOH, every male action hero gets a love/sex interest character. Take the explosions and gadgets out of a Bond movie, and you've almost got a romance.

I think you'd still get an action movie, just making a lot less sense. People would run and jump when there's no visible reason to, and Bond would just be humouring Q for about twenty minutes.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

I think most men cut the bullshit and go straight for the porn.

I was coming here to say just that. Go to a porn site. There, that's male romance.

 

[The Bucket]

I think most men cut the bullshit and go straight for the porn.

I was coming here to say just that. Go to a porn site. There, that's male romance.

But last I checked Pornhub hadn't instituted a hand holding category to satisfy my base needs

 

[Thaluikhain]

I think most men cut the bullshit and go straight for the porn.

I was coming here to say just that. Go to a porn site. There, that's male romance.

That's something men look at which is sexual, not to say it equates. Especially in that women also look at porn.

 

[AgedGrunt]

I'm not surprised there aren't many novels marketed as romance for men, as society still has some stupid ideas about what men should and shouldn't be into (INB4 someone offers me a red pill)

Not sure what you mean by that reference, but I'd just like to ask about society and "stupid ideas" about what women should and shouldn't be into- such as, I don't know, that women should be into romance plots. Soap operas, rom-coms, or even testosterone-laced action flicks that get a romance subplot thrown in to give the wives/girlfriends something to interest them.

Because apparently it's not a problem when society pegs women as soft-skinned, emotionally-invested creatures that feel nothing from stories until certain emotions are manipulated.