This, as we know it, is the era of Colleen Hoover’s domination over the literary world. Whether you love her, or love to hate her, if you read books I’m sure you’ve at least heard of her. There might be many things wrong with what she writes and chooses to publish, but something that bothers me the most is her being a bad woman - a worse woman than writer actually. Let me explain. As a woman, when another woman approaches you with their experience of sexual assault and confides in you that it was someone from your family, what would you do? A difficult decision, but a straightforward one. We all know what we would do. But Mrs. Hoover here decided, she would hide her son’s crime and in doing so happily become a perpetrator to it. It is true that a woman is a woman’s biggest enemy. I grew up in a household where men are taught to respect women, their choices and their boundaries, where men dont raise their eyes towards women. I wonder what she taught her son, and what she herself was taught growing up that led her to support a criminal through such disgusting claims. I am however, not surprised, considering an excerpt I read from one of her books romanticising a male character wanting to force himself on a woman.
Rarely do I judge someone over their choice of literature, but when I come across a Colleen Hoover fan, I just know they have deep rooted problems and have never read romance classics. Even calling her books literature would be an insult to the people that contributed to the world of romance with their beautiful words. Words that most of us still quote. Of course I don’t expect writers in today’s age to match the likes of Jane Austen, or the Bronte sisters, or to produce works like ‘The Great Gatsby’, but I do hold expectations of sorts from globally published authors. If you’re creating books out of your wildest Wattpad fantasies and calling yourself an author, I’m sorry I would like to have a talk with the publishing house that agreed to mass print your manuscript. If your books contain sentences like “when he was wiping cow shit on me, it was quite possibly the most turned on I have ever been” or “we both laughed at our sons big balls”, you ma’am, need professional help! I feel sorry for the men whose girlfriends hold them upto Colleen’s ‘book boyfriend' standards, and I recommend a good read of Shakespeare for the girls who aspire to become authors like her.
While we're on the subject I have to express my dislike for books that overly sexualise a love story- no, books that overly sexualise WOMEN. Of course sex, and sexual attraction is a big part of a relationship, but when the male protagonist is looking at the female lead, not as a dignified human, but as an object with curves that turn him on, it disgusts me. How can you present these ideas to young girls who read your books? How can you imply to them, that they are a piece of meat and made for the fulfilment of a man's sexual desires? If a man is meeting a woman for the FIRST time, and the only thing he can notice is her ass or how the way she walks and talks makes his blood rush to certain parts of the body, then I’m pretty sure your lead qualifies as a creep.
I grew up reading classic novels, and I vividly remember my first one. I was in the 3rd grade, standing in my principal’s office as she handed me a thick and beautifully embossed copy of ‘Black Beauty’ by Anna Sewell. She told me if I could complete it in two days, I could come to her office everyday to borrow any book I liked. I was immediately intimidated and thought there’s no way I could read the whole book in that time. It was a huge step up from Enid Blyton’s ‘Malory Towers’, yet, the next day, I stood outside her office with a grin on my face and a finished novel in my hand. The start of what I like to call, my love affair with books.
Tysm for writing this, she's not as innocent as people think she is ._.
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