Okay, I love books told from guys’ POV as much as the next person. I even love mixed POVs too! We can all agree this type of writing gives us some valuable insight into the story that can make it something you just won’t stop reading.
I just despise certain things regarding male POVs. Especifically, over-the-top sexuality.
Over the Top Sexuality
I’m not blind, I know guys are no saints, (neither are girls but you get my drift) but there IS a healthy middle between a normal guy and one who is always horny. Seriously. Sometimes, the guy we’re reading about can be kind of a player and well, it happens. But even if that’s the case, I doubt watching girls’ hips, rears, and all the other curves is all they do, all the time, or all they think about.
There was a time when I read a lot of books that presented guys this way and I couldn’t help but start feeling a little grossed out. Call me naive, but I prefer my guys a little cleaner than that. But then recently, I read Finnikin of the Rock (:3) and guess what? He sounded even more of a guy to me whithout him always being a perv. Sure, from time to time he had his naughty thoughts, but that wasn’t all that was in his mind. He had priorities!
What I mean to say, is that it’d be nice if authors stopped relying so much in the sexual aspect to portray believable male characters. It can be fun to watch them squirm, but it gets old to read them lusting after the girl in EVERY. SINGLE. PAGE.
Other Problems
Guys that sound like Girls
I haven’t experienced this much in YA, but mainly because I don’t read a lot of YA but this same thing bugs me in adult stuff. Don’t get me wrong, I like sex scenes and sexy stuffs, it’s all great but I do NOT need to be reminded every other page that his junk works. I’m not going to name any names because I’m still reviewing the book BUT on the SECOND page of a new book that has come across my desk the guy gets a hard on watching a girl from a distance and thinking about her hair. The second page. I wish more authors understood that polite gentlemen can be sexy too!
Ella recently posted this awesome thing…Book Review: Remember Me Like This – Bret Anthony Johnston
Totally agree with you! The biggest offender of this, for me, was actually a zombie book that I read called Alive. I couldn’t believe how much of the guy’s POV focused on how parts of his anatomy responded to the girl he was with. Yeah – I get it – you’re horny! (And all of this while in the middle of running from zombies – they actually ended up engaging in an explicit sexual act while in a cage surrounded by zombies. I was like, “Really??”) Ugh!
Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction recently posted this awesome thing…Based on a True Story – Let’s Discuss
Good lord. Wild Monkey Lust. I’m afraid my experiences aren’t as hilarious as yours. XD The best examples I can give are Abbi Glines’ Sea Breeze series. They are awesome stories, but the ones told by the guys are each one the same. Even the guy that in the first book seems quite normal, in his book, he’s actually a perv. That’s when I realized the sexualizing was only used to make him seem more of a dude.
Over the top sexuality can be quite overwhelming. The best example in the past year was Grasshopper Jungle. I enjoyed most aspects of that novel, but the constant talk about sex was annoying. However, I am much older than the most YA characters so I often wonder if I’ve become a prude in my “old” age. And perhaps that is the way the youngins’ talk these days!
Terri M., the Director
Second Run Reviews
Terri M., the Director recently posted this awesome thing…Shelf Love Challenge: My Best Source for Free Books
Lol. Really, it isn’t the sex talk itself that is annoying but the constant presence of it in especially a guy’s head. Female leads normally don’t have that problem and in guys POV is even more of an issue when it’s told in 1st person.