/lit/ - Literature

I avoid female romance novels the same reason why I avoid isekai/harem anime. But I want to specifically talk about my frustration with female YA romance books. Aside from them being cheesy and lacking in imagination/insight, it seems the audience for 90% of female "erotica" or romance novels is aimed at 14 year old girls or teenage girls with adult bodies.
These stories are centered around good-for-nothing female protagonists who are swept by capable, domineering and (most importantly) good looking men. Much like an isekai protagonist with his busty, Tomboy gf.

I believe most YA romances are written by housewives who have nothing to do, and they tend to know nothing outside highschool social life. I have personally met women like this, they were popular in highschool and remain the same person for the rest of thier lives. They whine over trivial things and inter personal drama that should know how to deal with as an adult. They don't realize how much of thier success was based on thier looks. These "erotic" romance novels are aimed at this sort of infantile woman.

To some degree I understand why many young females gravitate towards BL. Many seek to escape this dynamic of the bland, passive female and the active, aggressive hot man. I also sincerely believe most yaoi fans are just really into pegging, or atleast they want to take an active role in the story (hence why BL leads both tend to be feminine).
Females also gravitate towards gay shipping because "male characters are more appealing", and I completely agree.

Even when it comes to my writing, it seems female characters are still locked into specific roles of passivity if I'm writing for women. I didn't encounter such an issue writing femdom stories for men.
I have, like many others (pic related) took BL as an inspiration to write appealing couples with a more domineering woman, for a matured female audience. It seems to be working in the case of fem Dom stories like S Flower, Sadistic beauty and Hands on exposition.

I think the older you get, the more realistic your expectations of the "other" become. I think Moxxie and Millie from Helluva Boss have the best couple dynamic.