Plague of vegetarian heroines?

sunandshadow · Jun 9, 2009

Almost half the romance novels I have read recently have vegetarian heroines. Has anyone else noticed this strange trend? Even some of the heroes - in the book I was just reading the hero angsted for pages about accidentally killing a rabbit. I thought he was a little pathetic for being upset about it in the first place, but after he moaned on about it so long I really wanted to smack him. Then there are the whole future human or alien cultures which are vegetarian because raising meat for food isn't 'sustainable' - ugh. Not true, meat takes more land per person to produce but that shouldn't even be a problem in futuristic settings where people are jaunting around in spaceships and colonizing planets left and right. I won't even get into the stupidity of vampires who decide drinking blood is gross and unethical...

I hope this post didn't offend anyone, I just wanted to express my annoyance with the somewhat preachy cultural assumptions I've been seeing designed into romance heroines lately - as if it weren't already bad enough that they already seem to have a collective obsession with being skinny and a horror of unshaven legs.

Susan Gable · Jun 10, 2009

Really? I don't think I've come across a recent veggie heroine.

I think it can be an interesting character trait, and can give some conflict, but it shouldn't be used by the writer to "preach."

You shouldn't be able to tell what *I* believe based on what my characters do/say/eat, etc. Because my characters are NOT ME. <G> Nor should I use them to promote certain beliefs.

My characters' beliefs are their own. <G>

Susan G.

veinglory · Jun 10, 2009

Vegetarianism is becoming very common amongst young women, so it doesn't surprise me it is starting to show up in romance. For a while there fully half of my work mates were vege.

YAwriter72 · Jun 10, 2009

My heroines are always veggie, but that's only because I can relate. Writing a heroine who bites into a juicy burger squicks me out! LOL

AuburnAssassin · Jun 10, 2009

I can't recall reading one with a vegetarian heroine though I've seen a few dainty salads which could go either way.

The book Sunandshadow described would certainly irk me as would any that overly proselytized the why's of the MC's vegetarianism. Me, I like a juicy steak and don't mind if the MC's do as well but I don't hold it against any MC's that find my tastes barbaric and/or earth unfriendly so long as they don't beat me over the head with it.

job · Jun 10, 2009

Jayne Ann Krentz has been using vegetarian protagonists for ages.

I can't think of another Romance I've come across with a veggie heroine ... but then, I mostly read Historicals, so I wouldn't.

@SunandShadow
Any titles that come to mind? I think you could safely post titles and authors because you are not critting the writing or dissing the authors, just pointing out and discussing a trend.

SOT (Slightly off topic,) . . .the daughter pointed out recently that 'vegetarian' is used to describe vampyres who feed from animals instead of humans. From Twilight.

Who knew?

jennontheisland · Jun 10, 2009

In addition to the preachy side, there is also a character side to this:

An active choice to not eat meat is a control thing. It can be interpreted as a hint to who the character is if she's willing to make these kinds of decisions. It shows her firmly in control of not only her diet, but also her life.

sunandshadow · Jun 10, 2009

jennontheisland said:
In addition to the preachy side, there is also a character side to this:

An active choice to not eat meat is a control thing. It can be interpreted as a hint to who the character is if she's willing to make these kinds of decisions. It shows her firmly in control of not only her diet, but also her life.

That's an interesting point. Probably part of my annoyance is that I don't like characters who are overly self-disciplined, I'm generally in favor of embracing instincts and doing what feels good.

Specific examples:

The one I just finished reading is Winged Victory by L.F. Hampton. (The heroine does eat fish, and the 'vampires' eat blood which is harvested from livestock without killing the animals.)

One with a veggie eco-conscious race of aliens is the Fallon Mates series by Jory Strong. The third book has a meat-eating protagonist who takes the mostly-veggie aliens out for fried chicken, with mildly amusing results.

Bleh. I'm looking at my bookshelf and I know there are two other futuristics and one time travel historical with vegetarianism in them but darned if I can remember which ones.

justinai · Jun 10, 2009

Maybe vegetarians are the new half human half vamp/shapeshifter/fey/alien/French heroine?

It's funny, but I feel the same way about the women who obsess for pages about a pair of shoes in books. Which is why I don't read much chick lit.

Deb Kinnard · Jun 10, 2009

I'm against romance heroes/heroines who obsess about ANYTHING except each other. Sheesh. Spare me. Particularly from the politically correct.

However, let it be said I write Christian fic, and we do of course have an agenda. I'm told my stuff is not preachy, which is good, 'cause I don't try to be.

san_remo_ave · Jun 10, 2009

job said:
SOT (Slightly off topic,) . . .the daughter pointed out recently that 'vegetarian' is used to describe vampyres who feed from animals instead of humans. From Twilight.

Who knew?

That makes no sense to me. If they were subsisting on some soy-based bloodlike product, ok, I could see 'vegetarian'. If they are living off of animals wouldn't it be more correct to call them 'animalian'??

wannawrite · Jun 10, 2009

He whined about killing a rabbit? Really? I would have tossed the book against the wall and gone and cooked myself a big, juicy burger.

sunandshadow · Jun 10, 2009

wannawrite said:
He whined about killing a rabbit? Really? I would have tossed the book against the wall and gone and cooked myself a big, juicy burger.

Yeah I was thinking, if I could catch the damn rabbit that keeps eating the vegtables in my garden I would have absolutely no qualms having it for dinner and keeping the fur as a souvenir. I had rabbit fricassee at a restaurant once and although it was a little stringy it tasted fine.

I haven't read much women's fiction. Do people seriously go on for pages about shoes? Even the coolest pair of shoes I have ever seen would still be good for at most a paragraph of description.

Vincent · Jun 11, 2009

Hitler was a vegetarian.

I don't know why I bring that up...

He didn't smoke, either.

poetinahat · Jun 11, 2009

Thread title of the year!

If I saw this title on a marquee, I'd park on the median, jaywalk to the theatre, and buy two tickets - one for me, and one for the popcorn.

Samantha's_Song · Jun 11, 2009

I love meat, and if I were reading a book that kept on about vegetarianism, I would stick the darn book into the bin! Maybe they think it makes the heroines look more feminine if they don't want to eat a nice little bouncing lamb or a cute little fluffy bunny. Yum!

veinglory · Jun 11, 2009

It seems to me that characters are people, and people have enthusiasms of all types otherwise they would be very boring. So long as it is a feature of the character not veiled preaching I don;t see the problem. If the hero is an assassin it doesn't mean I need to have bodies in the basement in order to identify with him.

Honestly I think people feel any mention of vegetarianism is 'judging' them when most people are doing what they feel best, just as they do on voting day, in the dress store, in maintaining a certain body weight or hair color etc. Vive la difference

raburrell · Jun 11, 2009

My FMC is veg, but she's got a crunchy liberal streak anyhow & doesn't take herself too seriously about it. Or on the rare occasions she does, the MMC takes the piss out of her for it.

Bottom line for me is that vegetarianism *is* common amongst young women, so I see no problem with it being common amongst romance heroines... but when it comes part and parcel with authorial intrusion on the subject, blech.

Margo_U · Jun 11, 2009

I can understand being upset over killing a rabbit. I used to get yelled at all the time in driver's ed. for swerving or slowing down to avoid hitting birds in the road. I would feel really bad if I killed anything driving. I have never met a man with this problem, though I'm sure they exist. Going on for more than a paragraph seems a bit much, even for the heroine.

I have a lot of vegetarian friends, and it makes sense that vegetarianism will become a more common aspect to romances. As long as I'm not getting preached to, I'm fine with it.

Great thread title. :ROFL:

Synonym · Jun 11, 2009

I wouldn't mind it if the vegetarianism is somehow central to the story and moves it along. If it seems stuck in there just to be PC or self-promoting, it's going to ruin the story for me.

However, if you're writing a cook-book or the next magic diet-book, go for it!

veinglory · Jun 11, 2009

I think it would be weirder if it was necessary to the plot (how would that happen?). Vegetarianism is just a demographic variable and it just happens, like religion and race. Just because veges are a minority doesn mean there needs to be a reason to have a character be a member of that group. I mean right new it is easier to find a heroine who is a vampire than one who is black. That is the kind of thing that strike me as weird and dubious.

Synonym · Jun 11, 2009

Let's see, I can surely think of something.

A young girl from a small community uses vegetarianism as a way to rebel against her family and gain approval from her big city cousin whom she wishes to emulate. The family is stunned, why is she rejecting their lifestyle? They are privately embarrassed at every social event when she turns up her nose at the "normal" food. They begin to wish she'd just gotten a tat like the rest of the kids who were going through this stage in life. Girl finds that emulating her cousin by taking a stand against her family and friends on this platform has alienated her from those she relies on for her social life. Big city cousin renounces vegetarianism and declares she has joined the Wiccan religion and will now worship trees. Girl has learned that the cousin is shallow. She decides to stick to vegetarianism because she feels healthier but cuts out the vocal criticism of those who aren't. By bending a little she is able to regain acceptance by friends and family while maintaining her chosen lifestyle.

Lame, yes. I'm tired and ready to call it a night. But, vegetarianism is necessary to the plot mostly, sort of.

raburrell · Jun 12, 2009

I wouldn't exactly say the vegetarianism is central to the plot in mine, but it does figure into it in a small way. My hero is a priest, and he and the heroine share one night together, after which he abandons her (she thinks).

When they get back together years later, she learns he gave up eating meat as part of his penance for breaking his vows. (a meatless existence was a common punishment for fallen clergymen dating back to the middle ages). It was a small gesture on his part, but to her, it represents more.

Deb Kinnard · Jun 12, 2009

LOL, Synonym. This called to mind the scene in "Notting Hill" where the Hugh Grant character attempts dating, and each one of his blind dates is a more restrictive vegetarian than the Julia Roberts character was.

"So this peach...?"
"Has been murdered. Yes."

Too fun!

brainstorm77 · Jun 12, 2009

I've honestly never thought about this or noticed it in any books I've read.
I don't eat meat very often and when I do its usually chicken.

Plague of vegetarian heroines?

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