The Modern Heroine
The Today show recently aired a segment called Trash the Dress where women were seen laying in spattered paint, laying on train tracks, playing on the beach in the sand, riding a water ski, washing a car, walking waist deep in a lake, and completely submerged in water (see left) …all in their wedding gowns.
Seeing this new ‘trashing the wedding dress’ trend, when my own wedding gown is hermetically sealed in a box with UV protection film (for your viewing pleasure), made me smile about how the modern women’s views concerning marriage and life in general have evolved. These women are wearing the white dress on their wedding day, and then afterward, they’re taking that dress and expressing themselves however they wish.
Which brings me around to books…it always comes back to books, right? When I think about the heroines in romance books I read when I was a teen and then compare those to the books being written today, with heroines who can physically kick ass and take names, but who also have a vulnerable side, I’m exited to see the change. Regardless if they’re a kick ass heroine or not, most heroines in today’s books usually aren’t afraid of sex, they actually enjoy it. Heroines in today’s books speak their minds and don’t back down from a heated argument with the hero, and my personal favorite, the heroines in modern stories save the heroes on occasion, usually more than once. 
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy going back and reading favorite stories that have stayed with me throughout the years. But I truly love the heroine in today’s novels, because she can be whatever she sets her mind to. Like the photo above, she can still fall in love and wear the white wedding dress, but she’s also allowed to get it dirty…and I think that’s a great message.
What about you? Do you like the heroines in the stories you’re reading today? Or do you miss the heroines from books past?
26 people have bellied up to “The Modern Heroine”
recalling the wedding on May 2009 (I was a maid of honour to my best friend) I can’t agree more… It says a lot I think that that wedding got me to realise how I DO NOT want to get married…. so yeah, I am with those women who do all those things in their wedding gowns and sure I love theose book heroines that speak their minds, do what they want and save the day… also those who apreeciate being saved by the dark (or blond), tall, and dangerous hero but do not expect to be saved all the time… Classic works I like, Harlequins on the other hand…. i never really appreciated…. (does that make sense?)
So, after about six months of planning it, 3 days of hard work to please your guests and family for one hour of ceremony and another 5 hours of ‘having a good time’ dancing and celebrating when you can’t really appreciate it…. I say… Express yourself and have the wedding day of your dreams even if that means scuba-diving in your wedding dress….
(I got a bit off topic, didn’t I?)
also those who apreeciate being saved by the dark (or blond), tall, and dangerous hero but do not expect to be saved all the time
Exactly!
LOL – well, if I were the one who had paid thousands for the dress (and was not the bride), I’d be pretty cheesed off about the dress being ruined. But then, I am ever the practical one and wouldn’t have bought a several thousand dollar dress.
As for heroines, I’m as comfortable with the kickass ladies as I am with the less than kickass. The only ones I never liked were the poor stuttering girls Cartland wrote (though I admit I read most of her books). What I like are strong alpha males anyway, and in the end, kickass or not, the woman always tames him.
Er, YES on the cost factor! I really thought about this with the whole “trash the dress” trend.
Also, trashing the dress eliminates the whole…passing the dress down concept as well.
Not that many people are ‘passing’ dresses down to their daughters any more. I can’t think of any my own personal family who had done that, and [I'm in the wedding industry] no customers who have done that either.
We’ve had one bride who took off down the paddock to see her horses and get some shots done down there.
And yes, we’ve also had a bride who was a bit…um…well, yes, kind of like that.
I’m also planning my own wedding, for 2012, and we’ve decided to have it spread out over two days. Day one: Ceremony and formal dinner. Guest list approx 40. Day two: BBQ Lunch free for all, guest list limitless. I’ve seen brides, they hardly have any time for their husbands what with all the friends and family around them. So, all non-essential personalell will be coming on day two.
I’m not having a white dress either. I’m thinking red. Deep red. Long sleved, low dipping back, A-line fall. We’ll see, but its not going to be white.
I strayed off topic there…um…Right, so, what’s the point of having a dress you paid how much for? And you only ever wear once? Meh, not my cup of tea.
I love the heroines of today’s fiction!
All the best,
RKCharron
xoxo
Me too!
I like the progress from Romance books from when I was growing up. My mother was an avid reader of romance books. I mean she had thousands of them. No kidding anyway so naturally that was the first books that I really read and I remember thinking WTF? I would get so mad because the woman always had to be rescued, was always shy and never stood of herself. It was always the same type of woman in each and every book. So when I read my first book with kick ass female lead I was awestruck and hooked.
As for the wedding gown.. I don’t know to each their own. I kinda of sneaked off to get married lol but that is another story for another time.
My mother was an avid reader of romance books. I mean she had thousands of them.
My neighbor he had an entire wall in an office filled with books. When I was a young teen in the summers I’d take my plastic grocery store bag over to her house, fill it up with books, read them all in two weeks and be back for more.
I’m not married, but since you wear the dress only once in your life.. and I see my g/f’s dress’s hanging in their closets, never to be set out in the light of day again, it would make sense to me to do whatever YOU wanted to your dress. Your day, you decide. or whatever.
As far as today’s heroines go, I love that the majority of them are portrayed as capable, intelligent, not waiting around to be rescued while wringing their hands helplessly. Women, imho, are just as capable as any man at getting themselves out of jams (and into them if I being totally honest) and I really appreciate the way their being written nowadays.
See that’s the thing. You spend THOUSANDS on a dress you only wear ONCE. I can understand these women wanted to go a little wild and do something expressive with them…and snap a picture for a memory down the road.
Women, imho, are just as capable as any man at getting themselves out of jams (and into them if I being totally honest)
LOL! Yes, the women in today’s books are NOT perfect. I love that!
I love modern heroines. I can’t finish a book if the heroine is a simpering mess.
A simpering miss really gets a frustrated rise out of the Scorpio in me.
I really, really love that heroines in contemps and paranormals have so many more flaws now. They can have tempers, even if they aren’t redheads. They can swear and drink, and some of them put on more than a touch of lipstick. Many of them seem like real women to me, and not just paragons, which I appreciate SO much.
So I’m in total agreement with you. I love the heroine who can fall in love, but doesn’t mind getting her hands (or dress) dirty in the process.
…I do question the brains of anyone ruining a thousand dollar dress, though
FLAWS! Oh those lovely flaws. To me when woman make mistakes and aren’t perfect it makes them normal, like the kind of girl you’d hang out with.
I do question the brains of anyone ruining a thousand dollar dress, though
You’re talking to the woman who’s very first job was…guess? Yep, working in a bridal shop. I’ve seen the other side…which is the near hysteria brides have been known to make over their wedding gowns.
My grandads youngest sister, whos about 55 just got married. Shes the most lovely, practical woman ive ever met.She went on holiday with her man and got married on a beach in New Zealand.She had about 4 guests(all very good friends)and she had an awesome time. she wore a sweet little blue dress and flip flops(i just saw the pictures) anyway, it seemed so nice-relaxed, fun and different to the big white dress weddings.Id like to have a wedding that – quiet but genuine.
then i could muck about in the dress!
I like when heroines take control of their own destinies. I dont mind if they cant all be black belts, it makes them more realistic, but they should have a mind of their own.
Getting married on a beach in New Zealand would be a fairy tale wedding, imo!
Yes to having a mind of their own and making their own conscious choices!
great question…
i like it when there is no perfection. nobody is perfect. the heroine gets to screw up? awesome. we all screw up sometimes, that’s life. it’s what you do with the knowledge you gain through it, that counts.
I like when a woman in a book can fight for herself, can live her own life but then CHOOSES to share it with someone. not out of necessity or the pressure of society, but of her own volition.
strong women with backbone and heart. *nods*
and my wedding gown will probably get one of those uv-proof-cover-thingies
an fight for herself, can live her own life but then CHOOSES to share it with someone. not out of necessity or the pressure of society, but of her own volition.
You nailed it right there. It’s all about having a choice!
Hehe, on the UV film. Don’t forget the hermetic sealing.
I am torn. I like a missish, shy heroine in historicals (I am ever so fond of the hero saving the heroine type scenarios) but I think I have to agree with Meljean when she says modern heroines can have FLAWS. So I like the old fashioned heroine with a new twist to freshen things up. Is that allowed?
Well, to be fair, in historicals, you can only go so far in making the woman “modern” minded without totally breaking every societal issues/restrictions of the day and time…and then where would all the confict be? *g* So when I talk about rereading my old favorites from time to time, I’m talking about historicals. Those are the books (and I’m talking hundreds and hundreds), I cut my teenage reading teeth on.
I’ll just add my voice to the choir…strong, modern heroines rock! Sometimes even the nostalgia of an old favorite can’t stop me from rolling my eyes when the heroine is too much of a weenie. I just want to grab her by that ripped bodice and give her a shake.
And yeah, my wedding dress is sealed up like a museum artifact and stored on the top shelf of my closet. Not sure why. I guess because that’s what Mom did with hers. In hindsight, I wish I’d skipped the hassle of the big white dress wedding and took an extended honeymoon somewhere exotic.
I just want to grab her by that ripped bodice and give her a shake.
Hehe, yes, I so agree with this!
In hindsight, I wish I’d skipped the hassle of the big white dress wedding and took an extended honeymoon somewhere exotic.
You know that saying, “If I only knew then what I know now”…that’s how I feel.
I would’ve done the same as you, taken a trip. Instead it took me ten years to get to Ireland.
Aside from the heroines in the SF/F and UF genres who are awesome(tough, capable, but vulnerable) I enjoy the heroines in the contemporary books of authors such as Jennifer Crusie. The strength of her women is that they have real flaws: weight, age, crazy family members, kids from a previous marriage. But they are smart and they take on their adversaries by using their brains. Then their heroes fall in love with them often because of their flaws; it is the thing that makes them unique and special.
I’m 4 out 4 in the above categories and I love reading about someone who could be me! I have to admit I love reading about the fantasy me also, the kick-ass heroine who has long lean muscles, magic, and an alpha hero who turns to mush when he looks into my eyes.
A second marriage for both of us, my husband and I went the Las Vegas route. It was way easier. The truth is, I don’t think my family missed the big wedding ceremony.
My oldest brother and his wife did the Vegas wedding 10 years ago. It was the first for each of them and everyone had a good time. Although my other brother missed it because they only gave us 2 weeks notice they were getting married and he already had plans. There is definitely something to be said about weddings like that.
I’m definitely with you. I like the modern heroine much more. They’re much more independent and seem to have more of an identity without the hero. In some of the older romances I read when I was younger, it seemed that the heroine was really defined by the hero and couldn’t have stood alone if she’d had to.