Beyond Heaving Bosoms by Sarah Wendell

Author:Sarah Wendell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Touchstone
Published: 2009-04-13T16:00:00+00:00

THE IRRESISTIBLE WOMAN’S MAGIC HOO HOO TAMES THE UNTAMABLE MIGHTY WANG

Romance-novel rape in Old Skool romances, like popular conceptions of rape at the time, depend in many ways on the myth of the irresistible woman and the then-prevalent view that sexual violation stemmed from sexual desire, as opposed to a sexualized way to exercise anger and power. The focus was on the woman’s sexuality and the uncontrolled responses it elicited, instead of on the responsibility the perpetrator had in securing consent and restraining his behavior.

In some ways, the myth of the irresistible women is appealing: even though it exonerates the man of the responsibility (He couldn’t help himself! Her blazing beauty addled him! Her Magic Hoo Hoo could not be resisted!), having the ability to drive men mad with desire gives the heroine considerable power, even if it’s not a power that can ultimately be wielded for her own ends.* Significantly, the Old Skool hero is unfailingly portrayed as being completely in control of all his responses—jaded and cynical, in fact—except when it comes to the heroine, which in turn infuriates him. After all, he’s the premier cocksman in all the land, and here comes this insignificant little chit who’s making him spooge prematurely, even though all she does is move her body with shy, clumsy inexperience during the dance as old as time. Even worse, after getting a sample of the heroine, he finds that no other hoo hoo in the land will do, because lo, she is in sole possession of the Magic Hoo Hoo. Women he formerly found luscious are now overblown and undesirable. This leads to more anger and even more highly charged interactions, until he’s forced to acknowledge his feelings for the heroine and eventually gentles his treatment of her. The heroine, in being raped and having her will overborne, gains power because the hero himself is no longer in full control of his actions. The fact that the hero Loses His Shit every time he’s around the heroine is an indicator of True Lurve instead of a True Need for a Restraining Order.

And because the rape is portrayed either as the heroine resisting destiny or the hero’s inability to control his desire for the heroine, two other aspects of romance-novel rape make it more palatable.

First, the rape is rendered more palatable as long as the violator is somebody the reader would find attractive. Therefore, the rape is okay as long as the rapist is sexy, beautiful, and has pots of money—not as okay if the violator is old, ugly, or (and this is harped on as being synonymous with moral turpitude in older romance novels) fat.

Second, the fictional rapist, unlike a real-life rapist, is completely reformed by the lovesauce emanating from the heroine’s Magic Hoo Hoo, which is the fount of all healing, happiness, and contentment. Whether or not he ever actually apologizes or acknowledges the wrongness of his acts during the course of the book, the ending holds the promise of future behavior

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.