If you’ve read my blog before (or have glanced at the posts), you’ll know that there are romantic tropes I love, plus some more, and there are some I dislike. Well, here are a few more that popped into my mind since I wrote that last post, especially after I talked about the topic with a friend (hi, N!).
In no particular order…
Billionaires. I get that this trope comes from the Cinderella one of the woman being financially saved by the man, and I get that inflation is a thing, but I don’t like the trope, especially when it’s illogical. Unless the man in question is already retired, he’ll spend most of his time working. Sure, he’ll whisk the woman off to an idyllic place (hi, private plane pollution), but then he’ll be in meetings all the time or on his phone. And how many “self-made” billionaires are there, really? Especially younger than 30.
A series I read once at least had referred to the billionaire empire being possible because the father had significantly contributed to the venture, and none of the men involved had much of a social life because they spent most of the time working (which also made sense within the context of how their relationships evolved).
And don’t get me started on jumping on a private plane on a whim being portrayed as something enticing—billionaires don’t care about the environment and I refuse to romanticize that. (Yes, I can be a lot of fun at parties. Also, John Oliver.)
Then there are the men who magically know what women are thinking or why they’re upset, when they barely know each other. Instead of trying to portray healthy communication, men are mind readers (Edward Cullen notwithstanding).
As for not knowing one’s mind, this next trope doesn’t have to do with the trop itself, but rather with how it’s written. Not everyone knows what they want to work as, we’ve all got different passions, interests, and professional goals, and we all grow and change and, obviously, can change our minds as we live our lives. What we’ve studied at college may not necessarily reflect the professional venue we want to follow.
What does annoy me about the trope is when the woman (because it’s very rarely the guy) has no idea what to do, is in a badly paying, disliked job that makes her miserable, with a horrible boss (whose treatment borders on abuse), and who takes no initiative for a change until the guy either suggests it (and her reaction is a surprise Pikachu face) or he sets her up on an interview without her knowledge.
Again, no problem with looking for new opportunities, but it kind of sucks that it’s only when the guy shows up (and sometimes pressures her) that she goes for it. A little nudge isn’t an issue—her never considering the idea until he brings it up, is.
These things come up when you talk to your friends, which brings me to…no friends whatsoever. Which can be especially puzzling when the characters are meant to be kind, funny, smart, capable of social interaction…I know that it can be tricky to have them be more than one-dimensional secondary characters, but unless the main character has just moved to a new city, I have an issue with this. (Okay, technically this isn’t a trope, but let me rant.)
Last but not least for today, there’s the “not like other girls” trope. You know her! She chugs beer with the guys, never eats a salad, doesn’t wear dresses, is a tomboy (but looks feminine and hot, obviously), is into sports, doesn’t care about fashion, and is…not like other girls.
Bonus point if the hero is between a feminine antagonist (because dresses are terrible?) and the bff he’s never really noticed…
There is a way of going around this: don’t bring other female characters down because of their interests or choices. It becomes an issue when the women are pitted against each other and the main character is depicted as being the “better” one because she’s different from the rest. (Something that’s also not really the case.)
In any case, thank you for reading my rant and drop me a comment if there are more romantic tropes you dislike.
