Colleen Hoover is a bestselling author known for her romantic novels. However, many readers including me have criticized Hoover for her problematic and harmful portrayal of female characters in her books. Colleen Hoover is best known for her heartwarming and emotional stories. However, upon closer examination, her portrayal of female characters is problematic and offensive.
One of the biggest issues with Hoover’s writing is her tendency to portray women as weak and overly dependent on men.
The female characters come off as weak. They seem to have no drive for ambition and the things they like. They make the wrong decisions even when it is screaming right at them that it is a wrong decision and they tend to need the guys in their lives, they need a guy to save them or give them validation. I am a lady and I wouldn’t make most of the decisions that these ladies make.
In many of her novels, the female protagonist is a damsel in distress who relies on a man to rescue her and make her whole. This reinforces damaging stereotypes about women and suggests that they are incapable of standing on their own.
We ladies think, we do. We just do not do things because we should. Why is Collen Hover writing ladies as such weak characters who make wrong decisions and have little drive for ambition, I think this might be as a result of her exposure and lifestyle I am probably wrong.
Hoover’s female characters are often one-dimensional, lacking depth and substance. They are often defined solely by their relationships with men, and their actions and decisions are often driven by their desire to please or impress the men in their lives. This perpetuates harmful stereotypes and reinforces the idea that a woman’s worth is tied to her relationship status and ability to attract a man.
This trend of portraying women as dependent on men for their happiness and validation is damaging and reinforces harmful stereotypes about women. It sends the message that women are not capable of being independent or finding fulfilment outside of a romantic relationship.
Furthermore, Hoover’s depiction of romantic relationships is often toxic and manipulative. Her male characters often exhibit controlling and possessive behaviour, while her female characters are portrayed as weak and submissive. This sends a harmful message to readers, especially young women, that this type of behaviour is acceptable and even desirable in a relationship.
In November 9 Ben is controlling and often Manipulative. Pushed Fallon to do things she was not ready for. While this might seem romantic or encouraging in context it isn’t considering that they had just met in some of these instances and he was also the one responsible for her predicament. Fallon’s character was barely developed she was the same person we met on page one and on the last page.
Spoiler– Also she was too quick to forgive Ben for burning down her house and leaving parts of her body burned a secret he kept from her for 7 years.
I wouldn’t have been able to let that go. And sometimes he was written to be romantic or some sort but he just came off as pushy. For someone with so much guilt, he wasn’t as remorseful as he should be to be very honest.
Hoover’s consistency in portraying her female characters as overly emotional and dependent on men is evident in her novel “It Ends With Us,” the main female character, Lily, is in an emotionally abusive relationship and relies on a man to save her.
Again, Hoover often romanticizes abusive relationships in her writing. In “It Ends with Us,” Lily’s abusive partner – Ryle is portrayed as a “tortured soul” who is redeemed by his love for Lily. A lot of her readers support Ryle and even feel compassion for him disregarding all that he put Lilly through and a quite shocking number of people especially women sympathize with him and claim Lilly probably deserved it.
This romanticization of abuse not only minimizes the severity of domestic violence, but it also sends the dangerous message that abusive behaviour is acceptable if it is done out of love.
In addition to this, Hoover’s female characters often lack agency and are defined by their relationships with men. Instead of being well-rounded and independent, they are often defined by their love interests and are unable to exist without them. This not only belittles the importance of female characters but also reinforces the harmful idea that a woman’s worth is tied to her relationship status.
In “Maybe Now,” the main character, Scarlett, is constantly seeking the approval and attention of the male love interest, even going so far as to change her appearance and personality to please him. This perpetuates the damaging notion that a woman’s worth is based on the opinions and actions of men.
Additionally, Hoover’s female characters are often sexualized and objectified. In “Ugly Love,” the main character, Tate, is constantly described in terms of her physical appearance and her sexual attractiveness to the male love interest. This objectification reduces women to objects for male pleasure and reinforces harmful societal norms about women’s worth being based on their appearance.
In Ugly Love, Tate is said to be pursuing her master’s degree and is also a nurse, which wasn’t even focused on there wasn’t any success parameter, she studied but that was it. We didn’t get to read about her work in saving lives or acing her exams. However, we are celebrating Mile’s achievement at 24 and her brother and all the other male pilots are successful.
Furthermore, Hoover’s books often feature abusive relationships and romanticize unhealthy behaviours. In some of her novels, the female protagonist is in a relationship with a man who is emotionally abusive and controlling, or emotionally unavailable and just uses her for his own pleasure, but she continues to stay with him because she believes she loves him. This sends a dangerous message to readers and suggests that abusive behaviour is acceptable in a relationship.
Overall, Colleen Hoover’s portrayal of female characters is deeply problematic and reinforces damaging stereotypes about women and relationships – stereotypes like “He will change for you”, “Love will fix things”, and “He did it out of love”
As a reader and a woman, I have always been drawn to strong, complex female characters in literature. Unfortunately, Colleen Hoover’s portrayal of women in her books has consistently fallen short of this standard. Overall, Colleen Hoover’s portrayal of female characters is problematic and reinforces harmful stereotypes and societal norms.
In addition to these problematic portrayals of women and relationships, Hoover has also faced accusations of plagiarism. In 2016, she was accused of copying passages from other authors in her book “Maybe Now.” While she later apologized and claimed it was an unintentional mistake, it raises concerns about her integrity as a writer.
After considering these issues, I have decided to no longer support Colleen Hoover as an author. I believe it is important to hold writers accountable for the messages they send through their work, and Hoover’s problematic portrayals of women and relationships do not align with my values. I encourage others to also consider the harmful impact of her writing and choose to support authors who uplift and empower women in their work.
Colleen Hoover Is Canceled over here.
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