A number of M/M romances produce villainous family members--those family members who turn against the protagonist when he announces to the family that he is gay.In some cases, the villains are just that--villains. But in some cases, the family members are presented as misguided or even, in the case of Keira Andrews's The Christmas Deal, self-righteously opposed with no accompanying cult-like villainous behavior; their sin is cruel neglect, not aggressive abuse.
In other cases, writers will try to find a middle ground with the family members: forgiveness, increased understanding, or simply a desire to let things go while everyone remains civil.
And then there are those books where the villains are forced into reconciliation, then condemned for the slightest hint of hesitance, uncertainty, personal belief, or disagreement.
Reading the latter type of books gets downright discomforting since, like so much so-called progressivism, the effect is wholly flattening. Nobody is allowed to disagree with the protagonist at all about anything. The reviewer of one such book pointed out that the secondary protagonist was not allowed to have ANY preferences. If he didn't like pink, it wasn't because he dislikes pink (hey, I don't like pink), it was because he was a bullying misogynist who shames people with his cultural assumptions, i.e. toxic masculinity.Oh, please.
Real life is full of encounters with people who have different opinions and perspectives, voting habits, attitudes, preferences, views, etc. etc. Consequently, the protagonists of the flattening books strike the reader (me) not as misunderstood or brave--they strike me as junior high bullies who mock all the "weird" people, i.e. everybody not like their supremely advanced selves.
Thankfully, most romance books avoid this type of flattening. They strive instead to bring resolution between the M/M protagonists and their uncertain family members. Interestingly enough, many of these positive books come from writers from or about the American Midwest.Although often quite progressive in their personal views, these writers often also have a strong belief in harmony, family, acceptance (even) of people of differing views. They remind me of why I started my M/M Romance/Yaoi reading with Japanese yaoi: the themes of cultural harmony and understanding (as opposed to enraged individualism--How dare you not accept me exactly as I want!) are given priority.
M/M Romances by/about Midwesterners who strive for family harmony:
- B.A. Tortuga: Cowboy in the Crosshairs has a great scene where the tough ladies of the community--from conservative churchgoers to liberal Bohemians--band together to protect one of their own.
- Kim Fielding: The Little Library includes a good example of a family coming to terms with their out son: realistic without being angry or maudlin.
- Eli Easton: Although the author lives on the East coast, a number of her books have a Midwest/Western setting. Those books--the Howl at the Moon series comes to mind--bring flawed but loving family members together as they tackle a number of issues.
It is harder to "cliche" people when one knows them.
