Now and then I hear someone point out that romance novels typically have male characters that are fundamentally unrealistic -- sometimes to the point of absurdity.
I once had nothing better to do for a few weeks than to take a friend's challenge to read a stack a yard high of romance novels. I couldn't stand them -- because the males were just so impossible! -- and I ended up merely skimming the books.
I've heard again and again that romance novels create in women unrealistic expectations about men. For instance, a heavy reader might be likely to think men are more romantically inclined than they typically are. She might even form the strong opinion that male and female sexuality is absolutely perfectly compatible! (By the way, if men and women had perfectly compatible sexualities, why would there be a demand for romance novels? Why would anyone want what is, essentially, escapist literature?)
I myself scoff at that! I mean, I think the average experienced, adult woman is realistic enough to know BS when she reads it. Some women might not (especially, perhaps, younger women and girls) but I have faith that most women do call BS when they read it.
What do you think, though? Am I just as right about this as I almost always am right about everything else?
Or, are most women suckers for the BS about men found in many -- maybe even most -- romance novels?