Hello. I was hoping to ask your opinion about a segment of the recent slash defense post, knowing full well that you weren't the one who wrote it. The writer mentions that everyone on Teen Wolf is good looking as if that was a coincidence. Likewise, in you

Hey there,


So glad you enjoyed the books. Let’s talk  hotness!


I don’t think the author of the original post treated the attractiveness of the Teen Wolf cast (male and female) as a coincidence, but as the result of being a television show on MTV. Generally, you’re going to find that most romantic leads (hell, most leads) are cast with conventionally attractive people. That said, you’ll also find a much greater range of faces and body types among male leads and sex symbols.


Consider Martin Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch: Cumberbatch has glorious cheekbones, but he’s not say, Henry Cavill. Freeman isn’t unattractive but he isn’t some gloriously ripped specimen of youth and beauty. So, yes, there are lots of attractive guys out there in mainstream media, but there are plenty of guys who don’t fit the typical standard of Hollywood hotness and who fans slash with gusto.


As for the men and boys of YA, I feel obliged to point out that not all of the guys of this genre fit the hotchacha mold. Consider Levi (receding hairline) from Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell or Beast (horribly scarred) from Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers. David from Shadow and Bone is pursued by the most beautiful girl in the series and he’s no Robb Stark. That said, hotness is definitely the norm for guys in YA and I readily admit that this is one of the wish fulfillment aspects of the genre.


But is that wish fulfillment damaging? One of the arguments often used to attack YA and Romance is that these genres give their readers unrealistic expectations when it comes to guys. But I think women and girls can handle the transition from fantasy to reality just fine. Are Jack Reacher and Han Solo somehow more realistic than Jace Wayland and Dimitri Belikov? No, they’re just presented through the lens of male desire as opposed to female desire.


Also, the hotness of YA isn’t reductive in the way of porngraphy. Yes, a lot of heroes and love interest are gorgeous, but they’re many other things as well—tough, kind, wounded, loyal, brave, intelligent, difficult, dangerous. It depends on the story because they’re characters with identities that exist beyond looking good and wanting to bang.

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Published on September 24, 2013 20:09
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