This is a good thread. I have similar feelings when I see some of the stuff about billionaire romance that goes around, declaring it dead or shallow or inappropriate for our current political climate.
I totally get not wanting to read rich, white, alphole billionaire heroes. But I have a real issue with the idea that poor and working-class women aren't supposed to fantasize about having a lot of money because *ideological purity*.
We see a lot of people in various privileged positions declaring a trope dead while not thinking past their own experiences on the subject. A black author or reader wants a book about black billionaires in a genre dominated by whiteness? There has to be room.
And again, totally cool if someone doesn't want to read or write a certain genre or if current events turn them off to it. I'm not trying to police what anyone wants to read or write here (although I will with deeply, deeply problematic shit).
But when I sit down and I write about a bisexual woman who likes older men and who marries a billionaire and uses his money to spoil the shit out of/buy better medical treatments for family and friends?
Yeah, that's self-insert as hell. No, I don't feel bad about it.
Yeah, that's self-insert as hell. No, I don't feel bad about it.
And I think there's a big difference between looking at books that feel incredibly tone-deaf in the real world and feeling put off by them and declaring a trope "over" or problematic at its core.
I've seen a lot of marginalized people on Twitter talk about vampire romance and how it was declared "over" and problematic because Edward was creepy in Twilight and Bella always needed saving, without thinking that the "needs saving" trope doesn't get applied evenly.
And we see it a lot with the "be generals, not princesses" thing. Not everyone gets to be a princess in popular culture. Some of us get to fantasize about being rescued or saved by prince charming whenever we want, but we deny that to other people.
