Snark Week Book Blogger Challenge: Day 3

Day 3: You Say Snarknado - I say STFU

Cheesy Tropes, Eye-Roll Inspiring Actions, Words & Phrases that you just wish would stop being used in novels.

Unhealthy relationships and weak heroines

I'm tired of whiny, weak, and annoying heroines. Nothing annoys me more than a female character who cannot function without a guy in her life. It's almost as if some authors are promoting an unhealthy dependence on men and are encouraging women to not have a personality outside of the relationship. This is completely different from a shy or timid woman. You can have a character who is shy or slightly submissive without making her seem spineless and whiney. 

Unless it's a romance or an erotic novel about dominance and submission, I don't really want to see a heroine who is willing to be led around by the nose. Even in novels with dominance and submission, the ones that I have read that were well written still had strong heroines who could function outside of their relationship and away from their boyfriends. They are still people in their own right and do not need a man to make them whole.

The one big series that I think of when I think of whiney and overdependent female characters is the Twilight saga. Bella was completely dependent on Edward and pretty much had a mental and emotional breakdown when he left. It was not a healthy relationship in any respect and promoted the thought that you need to be in a relationship to be happy. Bella never did anything without Edward and didn't really have a personality outside of the relationship. In my opinion, that is not how a relationship should be.

I think there is a big difference between wanting a relationship and needing one in order to function. I don't think a woman, real or fictional, should be in a position where she needs a man in order to be or feel complete.

What's something you wished would stop being used in novels?