Tag Archives: internalized sexism

The Draw of the Alpha Hero: Cognitive Dissonance and the Modern Woman

Posted on February 2, 2015 by J. Sevick

I consider myself to be an independent, intelligent, feminist woman, and am proud to call myself these things. While not romantically inclined in my personal life, I find myself attracted to romantic fantasies in my reading habits—sometimes I struggle with … Continue reading →

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Exploring the Wish Fulfillment Romance: Writing One

Posted on October 31, 2014 by J. Sevick

Last time I discussed how the intrinsic elements of a wish fulfillment romance—the sexist gender hierarchy, the clichés and overused tropes—are pretty much guaranteed to be problematic. And I suppose that’s the core of my issue. If I’m honest about … Continue reading →

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Exploring the Wish Fulfillment Romance: Power Fantasies

Posted on October 29, 2014 by J. Sevick

In non-romance-centered stories, such as female-driven fantasy epics, the heroines gain their power through transformations and tragic backstories much like their male counterparts. But they very rarely begin as super-powered, famous, wealthy badasses like some male heroes (again, Iron Man, … Continue reading →

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Exploring the Wish Fulfillment Romance: The Ordinary Heroine

Posted on October 27, 2014 by J. Sevick

I’ve written at length about my relationship with the romance genre, as well as my perceptions of the relationship between feminism and the romance genre. The core of my fascination is the dichotomy I see within myself—on the one hand, … Continue reading →

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Romantic vs. Problematic Tropes

Posted on September 16, 2014 by J. Sevick

I’ve written in the past about my love/hate-to-love relationship with the romance genre. The problem is that romance novels can be so problematic—and it’s the problematic elements that are often the most fun! Take those away, and the story is … Continue reading →

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Sexism in Romance

Posted on June 25, 2014 by J. Sevick

I’ve written a few times about my relationship with romance and stories like Twilight… it’s complicated. But I saw this Tumblr thread the other day about John Green’s defense of Twilight and others who took issue with that defense, and it … Continue reading →

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When You Like Problematic Things–As a Creator

Posted on May 11, 2014 by J. Sevick

I wrote a while back about liking problematic things as a consumer—how we inevitably support problematic media because, well, we like it. Even being aware of how it’s problematic doesn’t cancel out the elements we do enjoy—and sometimes, due to … Continue reading →

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The Romance Question

Posted on April 13, 2014 by J. Sevick

[I wrote this a while ago, and I’ve been going back and forth on whether or not to post it. The post itself perfectly explains why I’ve been uncertain about sharing it, but ultimately it speaks a lot of my … Continue reading →

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