HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO
Rememberthat song HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO by Bonnie Tyler?
“Wherehave all the good men gone?” … “I need a hero. He’s gotta’be strong and he’s gotta’ be fast and he’s gotta’ be freshfrom the fight.”
Watchthe official lyric video on YouTube. It so perfectly fits a romancereader’s vision of a hero. The background is western scenery, andthe shadowy figure of the man in the video reminds me of Jake. I lovethe lyrics and the great music that go with them. It seems whenevermost women think of a hero, they end up envisioning the rough andtumble cowboy. That is what is depicted in the lyric video. Even intoday’s times, we loved the modern cowboys in YELLOWSTONE,especially Rip and Kayce. Both were always so ready to protect anddefend, yet so understanding and loving toward the women in theirlives.
Ofcourse, when I think of my own heroes, I think of John Hawkins fromTEXAS EMBRACE, Zeke Monroe from my SAVAGE DESTINY series, Colt Travisfrom THUNDER ON THE PLAINS, and so many more … 76 to be exact …and hero of heroes, Jake Harkner from my OUTLAW series.
Itseems like today we need heroes more than ever. I see heroism andmasculinity watered down today in TV ads, books and movies, andespecially in today’s sitcoms. Why is the man in so many sitcomsthe goofy, blundering dunce and the wife (if they are even married)the smart, strong one in the relationship who is always rolling hereyes at the man’s ridiculous stupidity and weakness? Raymond’swife is always calling him an idiot, and he behaves like one. That’sjust one of many examples.
Yes,I admire strong women, and few women today are as strong and brave asthe pioneer women of the past. How they managed to handle the thingsthey had to put up with and work as hard as they did while havingbabies alone on the prairie and making all their own and the family’sclothes and baking all their own bread and doing all the cooking andcleaning while raising a large family and scrubbing clothes on awashboard and carrying buckets of water and all the other endlesschores required of them – I will never understand.
Writingabout such women is an endless challenge, because with today’sconveniences, it is difficult to imagine what their lives must havebeen like. At the same time, when I write strong women, I make themstrong because they are living with very strong and brave men. Myheroes needed women who could match their bravery and needs. Yes,sometimes women had to put the man in his place and had ways ofhandling the man so cleverly that he didn’t even realize he wasbeing secretly manipulated … much like we women still do today.LOL! But the fact remains that a woman had to be strong and brave andfeisty in my books to tame her determined, hard-living husband. Thebest part is, although my heroes are “take no sh—” men who walkright into danger without hesitation, they are good to their women.They are true heroes in so many ways. They love their wives andfamilies and are willing to lay their lives on the line for them.They are men who fit my basic male character, which is a “bad manwith a good heart.” Of course, my heroes aren’t always bad …just tough and willing to stand up for what they believe is right.
Iknow all of you have your favorite Bittner heroes, and the majorityof you still pick Zeke or Jake over all the others, but I hope youwill comment on my Street Team page or comment on this blog as to whosome of your other Bittner favorites are. The media and entertainmentindustry need to stop robbing today’s men of their masculinity. Areyou like me and wish the men in today’s TV shows were more manlyand heroic? I am so tired of the male character always being stupidand silly. Meantime,if you want to read about “real men,” keep reading historicalromance. I always tell men today that if they really want to knowwhat women want, they should read a romance!
newest »
By Raymond, I'm assuming you mean the show 'Everybody Loves Raymond', which isn't exactly new. (The last episodes were produced in 2005.) However, I agree about shows, commercials, etc. that portray men as weak and incapable (and far too often, childish). These portrayals are annoying and unrealistic, especially when they show this as a common character trait (and sometimes the only defining character trait). I know this is supposed to be funny, but I've seen plenty of male characters that are both intelligent and funny, rather than chronically stupid.
I have to agree. I'm tired of these men being watered down and turning in their balls for the women in their lives. It doesn't just happen on TV or in movies, but it occurs in real life too. I'm married to an alpha male and we raised two alpha sons, my youngest being a borderline alphahole. I've been the only female in the house for years and these men all respect me and are my advocates in so many ways. I have never tried to emasculate them and I've never tried to change my husband nor have I raised my sons to be anything but masculine. If anyone dares to utter the words "toxic masculinity" in my presence, especially about my three favorite guys, I will have something to say.As for my alphahole son, he just got married a few weeks ago and his wife adores him and has no issues with his attitude. She's got an attitude of her own, one part of which makes me laugh a little. She thinks she doesn't have to know how to fix anything because she has her dad and her husband. I hope that works out for her.
Onto the heroes. I just got through binge-reading the Outlaw Hearts series (I got them all in paperback), so I'm still on a Jake Harkner high, but in a review for one of the books, I mentioned that Jake was in danger of being usurped by his own son, Lloyd. I thought Lloyd was a fantastic character and I can't wait to read his story. The whole series was excellent.
