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Originally Posted by hobnail
Meh. It's just as bad with romances written by women authors (not that there are many written by men). The men find women attractive because of their beautiful hair, or eyes. In one book the guy was attracted to a woman because she smelled like tamarind. And it happens almost in every book that's not a light romance.
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I see I was unclear: I didn't mean that it's unrealistic for characters to be attracted to other people's bodies, including breasts
I'm talking about the situations where a male writer writes a female character reflecting on her breasts in situations where that's unnatural. Most of the time, I don't think about my breasts any more than I think about my elbows, in other words I'll only consciously notice them if I'm in discomfort or pain. I'll certainly
not have an inner monologue about how my elbows -- or any other body parts -- rub against my clothes while walking, to paraphrase one example of the writing I'm thinking of. I'm pretty sure I'm not unusual in that regard.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hobnail
But the books are written for women and if the authors knew and wrote about what the guys are really interested in/thinking about the books wouldn't sell.
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I see we're reading different books
Glancing at the most recent handful of romances I've read, I find both male and female characters (written by both male and female authors) who are first attracted to bodies, and other male and female characters who are first attracted to mind/personality. (No nonbinary characters or (to my knowledge) authors among that last handful.)