I think you take the wrong things from romance novels if you take them as examples of what men need to be desireable partners.
A story like 365 Days isn’t just about the man being an asshole but about the woman being able to play the powerful female role where she has an effect on the guy to domesticate him.
If the guy starts out as a nice guy then there’s no part on the woman where she can use her female power to make him open up and show his nice side because the guy already showed that side from the beginning. If you want to understand the structure of the stories that romance novels tell Dangerous Men and Adventurous Women is a good book.
A lot of what being female is about in our society is to hold back female power. In romance novels you have a setting where the woman doesn’t need to hold back.
I think you take the wrong things from romance novels if you take them as examples of what men need to be desireable partners.
A story like 365 Days isn’t just about the man being an asshole but about the woman being able to play the powerful female role where she has an effect on the guy to domesticate him.
If the guy starts out as a nice guy then there’s no part on the woman where she can use her female power to make him open up and show his nice side because the guy already showed that side from the beginning. If you want to understand the structure of the stories that romance novels tell Dangerous Men and Adventurous Women is a good book.
A lot of what being female is about in our society is to hold back female power. In romance novels you have a setting where the woman doesn’t need to hold back.