Do readers like the abusive female character trope?

Schwab

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I'm concerned by the amount of western fantas fiction featuring overly aggressive and just plain abusive female characters that are, for some reason, tolerated by the male protagonist. I won't claim to know why the author writes these things but why do consumers of such content continually read it?
 

Stratothrax

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I personally dislike it. It seems to come from shonen anime where the female character beats the living daylights out of the male character whenever they do something pervy or dumb.
 

K5Rakitan

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There's a big difference between being a "strong female character" who won't take shit from anyone and being abusive. Unfortunately, many people don't know it. Being strong is more about knowing when to walk away from a situation and having the means to do so:

Many of these stories may be from female authors who were abused, and this attracts female readers who were abused as some sort of revenge fantasy. I can understand the cathartic nature of such works, but catharsis is actually a myth. The more you dwell on something, the more control it has over you.
 

Sabruness

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There's also a line. A snarky, tsukkomi female character can be great (when written decently) but a straight up abusive female character sucks.
 

Maple-Leaf

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Those tropes are enjoyable when reasonable, but one of these days i want to see a sheltered tsundere character who beats up the MC after they do something dumb and cliched but instead, seriously injures them and the MC ends up crippled for life. Then the whole story is about the MC's revenge.
 

YuriDoggo

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Those tropes are enjoyable when reasonable, but one of these days i want to see a sheltered tsundere character who beats up the MC after they do something dumb and cliched but instead, seriously injures them and the MC ends up crippled for life. Then the whole story is about the MC's revenge.
This, but the MC dies.
 

Nahrenne

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I'm concerned by the amount of western fantas fiction featuring overly aggressive and just plain abusive female characters that are, for some reason, tolerated by the male protagonist. I won't claim to know why the author writes these things but why do consumers of such content continually read it?
There's a big difference between being a "strong female character" who won't take shit from anyone and being abusive. Unfortunately, many people don't know it. Being strong is more about knowing when to walk away from a situation and having the means to do so:

Many of these stories may be from female authors who were abused, and this attracts female readers who were abused as some sort of revenge fantasy. I can understand the cathartic nature of such works, but catharsis is actually a myth. The more you dwell on something, the more control it has over you.
I think it also stems from a lot of people having read numerous translated Chinese novels from Novel Updates that kind of has quite a lot of stories with this trope in it.
There's also the Japanese anime/manga that frequently show this but I think that's mostly used for comedic value rather than downright abusiveness. However, I do agree that it makes me uncomfortable/sad seeing it used as often as it is.

X
 

Discount_Blade

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I'm concerned by the amount of western fantas fiction featuring overly aggressive and just plain abusive female characters that are, for some reason, tolerated by the male protagonist. I won't claim to know why the author writes these things but why do consumers of such content continually read it?
Western? Bullshit. Try Eastern. It's called Tsundere. Hates those fucking types of females.
 

Ral

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It is not just a western thing. It is actually more common in Anime (and in turn writers who are inspired by Anime).

It is usually often only works for comedic works and is done with humorous intent. This is akin to Tom and Jerry with the slapstick. Outside of the comedic area, this trope doesn't really work.

Its main appeal is the character's unreachable nature. You know, something that is difficult to acquire felt more valuable than something that you acquire without effort. What easier way to show that this girl is not easy to conquer than to make her be angry at the (self-insert) protagonist? It makes it more satisfying at the climax when the protagonist finally gets her love.
 

Schwab

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Western? Bullshit. Try Eastern. It's called Tsundere. Hates those fucking types of females.
It's not BS at all. There are quite a few litRPGs written in the west featuring these types of characters.
Its main appeal is the character's unreachable nature. You know, something that is difficult to acquire felt more valuable than something that you acquire without effort. What easier way to show that this girl is not easy to conquer than to make her be angry at the (self-insert) protagonist? It makes it more satisfying at the climax when the protagonist finally gets her love.
That hasn't been what I've experienced at all. Perhaps in Eastern fiction but here, I was referencing work done by Western writers. The protagonist doesn't 'get her love' (I doubt there's any n that type of relationship anyway and to push such a message is dangerous) he just meets more girls that are mean to him just because.
 

Schwab

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There's a big difference between being a "strong female character" who won't take shit from anyone and being abusive. Unfortunately, many people don't know it. Being strong is more about knowing when to walk away from a situation and having the means to do so:

Many of these stories may be from female authors who were abused, and this attracts female readers who were abused as some sort of revenge fantasy. I can understand the cathartic nature of such works, but catharsis is actually a myth. The more you dwell on something, the more control it has over you.
Carthatsis literally means releasing intense emotions so I'm not quite sure what you mean it's a myth? I also don't know why you brought up strong female characters and work featuring them written by women, as a majority of the characters I was talking about are written by men :/
 

Ral

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That hasn't been what I've experienced at all. Perhaps in Eastern fiction but here, I was referencing work done by Western writers. The protagonist doesn't 'get her love' (I doubt there's any n that type of relationship anyway and to push such a message is dangerous) he just meets more girls that are mean to him just because.
The story haven't ended yet. It is in the end, the climax where the protagonist gets it.

And I don't really get what you mean with "Western writers" if you could be more specific at what do you mean by that. I mean, this is almost never seen in traditional Western publishing.

And it seems that you are missing my earlier points, This often only works in comedy. I compare it to Tom and Jerry. I mean, you don't watch Tom and Jerry and say "beating people is okay" or something like that is the take home message. The comedic nature makes it clear that this should not be taken seriously at all and it was just there for the laughs, or things are taken to extremes and has no semblance to reality.
 

Ral

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personally i hate it. they're only good if the mc beats the shit out of them in retaliation.
Yeah.

This trope is often poorly executed or done in extreme. In its early incarnation, this is only just the protagonist getting slaps and screams with actual justification/provocation. Now it is just torture and sadism that only a masochist can enjoy.
 
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Discount_Blade

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It's not BS at all. There are quite a few litRPGs written in the west featuring these types of characters.

That hasn't been what I've experienced at all. Perhaps in Eastern fiction but here, I was referencing work done by Western writers. The protagonist doesn't 'get her love' (I doubt there's any n that type of relationship anyway and to push such a message is dangerous) he just meets more girls that are mean to him just because.
It is bullshit. It is not even close to as common as Eastern with their Tsundere's. Tsundere's are in practically anything that features a romantic interest. And most definitely in all Shounen and anything with even the slightest hint of comedic undertones. Not so in Western.

And besides, it's a disgusting character anyway. I've never understood the appeal of them. They say it's a culture difference, and as far as I'm concerned, they can have it.
 

Schwab

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And I don't really get what you mean with "Western writers" if you could be more specific at what do you mean by that. I mean, this is almost never seen in traditional Western publishing.
I don't mean by traditional Western publishing I'm talking about stull like webnovels and stuff. There's a ton of it, in that sense.
It is bullshit. It is not even close to as common as Eastern with their Tsundere's. Tsundere's are in practically anything that features a romantic interest. And most definitely in all Shounen and anything with even the slightest hint of comedic undertones. Not so in Western.

And besides, it's a disgusting character anyway. I've never understood the appeal of them. They say it's a culture difference, and as far as I'm concerned, they can have it.
I know it's more present in Eastern media, that's why I didn't talk about them. I was talking about here with a far different culture compared to Japan and others
 

NiQuinn

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I personally dislike it. It seems to come from shonen anime where the female character beats the living daylights out of the male character whenever they do something pervy or dumb.
I literally blanked out and wondered what trope the OP was talking about and then I read your comment. Ah, yes. Used to be for comedic purpose but it's grown old.

Western? Bullshit. Try Eastern. It's called Tsundere. Hates those fucking types of females.
YES. Tsunderes are now my most hated trope in Japanese animes/mangas.

As a reply to the OP, I, as a reader, hate it in general. I, as a writer, would sooner cut off my pretty lil fingers before I write a character like it.
 

Moonpearl

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Carthatsis literally means releasing intense emotions so I'm not quite sure what you mean it's a myth? I also don't know why you brought up strong female characters and work featuring them written by women, as a majority of the characters I was talking about are written by men :/

They're quite possibly just bad at writing women. Some guys think we're like an alien species and they can never understand us, thus they can't write us well. (Or some think they do understand us and then demonstrate that they don't.)

Probably relying on the "women are over-emotional and always angry for no reason" myth, too.

It could be that they're inspired by tsunderes in anime too. A lot of people on SH are life-long anime fans, so they pick up tropes from them.
 
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