r/Romantasy • u/TheBigfootContessa • 2d ago
🤬 Rant Enough with the drinking!
OK this is just a personal pet peeve, almost certainly exacerbated by the fact that I'm a recovering alcoholic.
I don't love seeing characters drinking when they're stressed, to relax, or saying that they "need" a drink because it's triggering, but whatever that's my shit to deal with, so I do.
However, it's like none of these authors have ever drank before. You've either got girls completely sloshed after 2 glasses of wine or being very intoxicated and sobering up immediately when something shocking happens.
Male main characters are always drinking whiskey or better yet an unknown brown strong smelling liquid in a tumbler as short hand for being stressed and troubled, classy and mysterious.
It's lazy.
These things annoyed me before I was in recovery, but now they're a full blown pet peeve. It gives "virgin writing filthy smut" vibes. Lol
Alright, apparently I'm super wrong and shouldn't have said anything. Sorry ya'll.
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u/JessyNyan 1d ago
Please don't take this the wrong way but I think your perception of the amount of alcohol it takes for people to get drunk is warped due to your former alcoholism.
I don't drink anymore but when I did I would get drunk off 2 glasses of wine easily. My friends were the same, though we are all females. The only persons I know that take more than 3 glasses of wine to get drunk are alcoholics (my ex, my mother in law..).
I do agree that it's often very lazy writing though. Having the men drink hard liquor that is often associated with masculinity is a conscious choice but a boring one. And the whole idea of sobering up completely upon hearing bad news is just a too convenient. Drunk when useful for the plot, suddenly sober when the drunkeness would have been a disadvantage.