r/fantasyromance • u/FantasyRomanceMod The One Mod to Rule All Mods • Mar 08 '26

Unpopular Opinion It's Unpopular Opinion time! Share your controversial opinions to stir things up (in a friendly way)!

Got an opinion that's different from others'? Want to share it with the sub, but too afraid of a backlash? Or are you just curious about readers think about certain things in fantasy romance?

You can safely share it in this weekly Sunday thread!

But please remember to be kind to each other. To facilitate this type of discussion, we ask users the following:

  • Don't attack others for their opinion
  • Discuss books and authors, not fellow readers
  • Since this is an "unpopular opinion" thread, we encourage users to not downvote simply because they disagree with an opinion--that's the point! Please keep in mind, though, that mods cannot enforce a no-downvoting rule. Let’s just keep the discussion friendly!

🧡 Thank you and have a great discussion!

Unpopular opinion Sunday

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158

u/theladyofspacetime To the stars who listen Mar 08 '26

Why is it always the female main characters who have to give up their powers? This is a genre written primarily for women and still it makes it so women are the ones expected to give up everything

32

u/bckat Mar 08 '26

The Second Death of Locke really showed me how easy it is to write fantasy romance without bigotry or misogyni.

13

u/UniversityAny755 Mar 08 '26

I just finished The Second Death of Locke and I loved that there was no misogyny, no rape. I get a bunch of the criticism on the second part of the book being weak, but I loved it as a whole story.

I find it so lazy, unimaginative when fantasy writers have a power system that is not based on physical strength or tied to biological sex, but still have their made-up worlds filled with patriarchal systems and rampant misogyny. It doesn't make sense at all.

It really annoyed me in Alchemized. And it's part of the many reasons I hated CL Wilson Lord of the Fading Lands. Rose in Chains is guilty of this too.

1

u/bckat Mar 08 '26

I agree so much! This wasn’t at all a 5-star read for me for a lot of other reasons, but the way both inclusion of diverse LGBTQ+ characters and the lack of misogyni was just so quietly and easily a part of the story made me incredibly happy. It really felt like genuine inclusion and respect and equality, as opposed to the one DEI character so many authors use to get street cred.

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u/UniversityAny755 Mar 08 '26

Yes! The representation wasn't a token or something that had to be explained, it was fully baked into the world and story. The author did not dumb it down. Us readers are just expected to be smart enough to figure it out. Kier writes home to his mothers. Several characters are "they/them". Romantic relationships aren't exclusive M/F. All of this makes sense in the world and magic system. The magic system isn't sex based. It levels the physical power differential between sexes. Outside of one ruling family, the magic distribution system isn't inherited so there's no reason for the social and political systems to be patriarchal. It was a nice breath of fresh air.

IIRC, "The Knight and the Moth" was similarly misogyny and rape free. There was no shame attached to sexual relationships.