Alpha's vs. Alphaholes
Hey Guys and Dolls, so...everyone has heard of the mass appeal of the Alpha male versus the Beta male in romances, right? If you haven't, here's a little refresher course:
Alpha Males: Usually are leaders, passionate about what they want in life, failure to achieve what they want whether a person or a goal isn't an option, dominant, physically fit, overprotective, and uber-sexual.
Example: Damon Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries
Beta Males: Usually are emotionally communicative, sensitive, aware of others feelings, passive, and followers, rather than leaders with a more sensual side, less sexually in your face.
Example: Oz from Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Here's another helpful post from Dear Author going a little more in-depth using romance books for examples.
Alpha males are some of the most popular troupes in erotic romance and erotica including all of the heroes from The Black Dagger Brotherhood, anything BDSM-like after Fifty Shades, and a lot of heroes in 80's bodice rippers. I remember one of the first romances I read was about an Alpha male who was seducing the female heroine who was somehow trying to get back to her family in wartime in the 1800's...and somehow, the hero wound up captured by British soldiers and stuck in a thieves hole where his leg got gangrene...then it had to be amputated. It was very strange. That's one of the only things that stick out to me, other than a lot of rape-y undertones. But, that's to be expected when it's a huge genre trend at that time. Anywho, that was a tangent and a half.
So, there's Alpha males, we've established that--and then there's a whole other sub-genre of Alpha fondly referred to as: the Alphahole. Or a male who is so absurdly Alpha that he turns into a total dick and he crosses the line between dominant to overbearing, controlling, and an asshole. Some fun traits of an Alphahole:
Alphahole: An aggressive, cocky male who's a bad communicator, can be chauvinist as well as selfish down to his core. Think caveman--on a good day. Often combined with a manwhore aspect and a pinch of tortured angst for good measure.
Most erotica and erotic romance readers LOVE the Alphahole, myself included, and for the life of me I can't figure out the appeal! Maybe it's because they're often redeemed in the end? They don't necessarily change, per se, but their dickish traits can be explained away by his troubled past or other dysfunctions. Which goes hand in hand with the Beauty and the Beast troupe where the heroine saves the hero with her never-ending support and love.
A man who can be fixed by only me? *gasps* It's like Kindle crack.
I guess at the end of the day, who cares what we like or why we like it, as long as we do, right?
I think this post was supposed to have a more definitive conclusion, but mostly, I just want to go back and re-read all my Alpha books now. Whoops.
See ya later alligators,
Elise Hepner
Alpha Males: Usually are leaders, passionate about what they want in life, failure to achieve what they want whether a person or a goal isn't an option, dominant, physically fit, overprotective, and uber-sexual.
Example: Damon Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries
Beta Males: Usually are emotionally communicative, sensitive, aware of others feelings, passive, and followers, rather than leaders with a more sensual side, less sexually in your face.
Example: Oz from Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Here's another helpful post from Dear Author going a little more in-depth using romance books for examples.
Alpha males are some of the most popular troupes in erotic romance and erotica including all of the heroes from The Black Dagger Brotherhood, anything BDSM-like after Fifty Shades, and a lot of heroes in 80's bodice rippers. I remember one of the first romances I read was about an Alpha male who was seducing the female heroine who was somehow trying to get back to her family in wartime in the 1800's...and somehow, the hero wound up captured by British soldiers and stuck in a thieves hole where his leg got gangrene...then it had to be amputated. It was very strange. That's one of the only things that stick out to me, other than a lot of rape-y undertones. But, that's to be expected when it's a huge genre trend at that time. Anywho, that was a tangent and a half.
So, there's Alpha males, we've established that--and then there's a whole other sub-genre of Alpha fondly referred to as: the Alphahole. Or a male who is so absurdly Alpha that he turns into a total dick and he crosses the line between dominant to overbearing, controlling, and an asshole. Some fun traits of an Alphahole:
Alphahole: An aggressive, cocky male who's a bad communicator, can be chauvinist as well as selfish down to his core. Think caveman--on a good day. Often combined with a manwhore aspect and a pinch of tortured angst for good measure.
Most erotica and erotic romance readers LOVE the Alphahole, myself included, and for the life of me I can't figure out the appeal! Maybe it's because they're often redeemed in the end? They don't necessarily change, per se, but their dickish traits can be explained away by his troubled past or other dysfunctions. Which goes hand in hand with the Beauty and the Beast troupe where the heroine saves the hero with her never-ending support and love.
A man who can be fixed by only me? *gasps* It's like Kindle crack.
I guess at the end of the day, who cares what we like or why we like it, as long as we do, right?
I think this post was supposed to have a more definitive conclusion, but mostly, I just want to go back and re-read all my Alpha books now. Whoops.
See ya later alligators,
Elise Hepner
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