Why the *beep* does the female protag keep returning to her abuser?

[Shyberu]

I actively avoid Chinese novels. There are barely a handful (and I mean it literally) that I actually enjoy. You can say I hold prejudice, but after being failed too many times with little to no novel that meets my taste, I had to cut my investment.

Its fine, it happens! But if the one that you are referencing is not made in China... then damn, that's kinda fucked...

50 shades. Shows what women really want.

aint no way you are using a fictional book to find what real women want ?.

 

[RepresentingCaution]

Keep in mind that writers often write to process their own trauma.

Take the setting into account. Are women allowed to own land? What are her other options? Does she need physical protection from beasts?

 

[CheertheSecond]

The first example is from
I want to escape from Princess education

The second is from
On the Emperor's Lap

Its fine, it happens! But if the one that you are referencing is not made in China... then damn, that's kinda fucked...

 

[CubicleHermit]

Different cultures like different things, but judging from what you've read, its probably made in East/Southeast Asia. (Most likely China & Co), but alot of people in China loves this kind of story. Take a walk down any random street in Chinese cities and you'll see how the men there think of women, hence how their views affect the kind of stuff being made (See: Mass produced Cultivation stories). At the very least, if your going to read Chinese Shoujo, read the ones made by women authors or well known guy authors with highly reviewed books (by western reviewers), since their views aren't as fucked. Best of luck to you!

It's hardly just the Shojo stuff; I've only very occasionally read Chinese manhua and fell into one where the title is sometimes translated as either "Very Pure" or "So Pure" and reading 200+ chapters of it was like watching a trainwreck. Delinquent gets superpowers, becomes an honor student [initially HS, later college]! Runs his own organized crime gang! Giant harem of women who MC actually sleeps with (unlike most manga)! Except for his high school girl friend, who he totally keeps on a pedestal and does about as much as the average Japanese shonen MC and their love interest.

It was creepy, but oddly compelling.

 

[BearlyAlive]

Wait, so the whole "rape is bad and people don't want to be raped" thing is feminist and simp propaganda to reduce our chances of procreation?! /s

So here's the thing: Women want to be treated like they're starring in a rapey ntr doujin, they want to be abused and they want to be treated like they're a useless piece of furniture! /s

 

[Bartun]

I was about to reply but I'll keep my answer short since I'll probably be chewed up by The Eldrich God again.

Basically, most women (not all but most) are attracted to men with power, and abuse and physical violence are the ultimate show of power. That's also why SOME women are attracted to criminals, and I mean actual criminals, not just the typical "bad boy". I don't know how is it in the first world, but here in the third world being the "capo mafioso" that evades the law and has all the cops under his thumb is the ultimate show of power.

Money is another way to show power but it is ultimately beaten by violence. Most women will prefer men with money rather than actual criminals because that's what is accepted by society.

That's all.

 

[CheertheSecond]

Wait, so the whole "rape is bad and people don't want to be raped" thing is feminist and simp propaganda to reduce our chances of procreation?! /s

So here's the thing: Women want to be treated like they're starring in a rapey ntr doujin, they want to be abused and they want to be treated like they're a useless piece of furniture! /s

Who am I to comment on people's fetishes? :)

 

[CubicleHermit]

Basically, most women (not all but most) are attracted to men with power, and abuse and physical violence are the ultimate show of power. That's also why SOME women are attracted to criminals, and I mean actual criminals, not just the typical "bad boy". I don't know how is it in the first world, but here in the third world being the "capo mafioso" that evades the law and has all the cops under his thumb is the ultimate show of power.

It's not clear to me that this is universal vs. cultural, but whether it's universal or not, a lot of women (many? most? likely varies by time and place) are attracted to men with social status. Social status is definitely cultural/contextual; what qualifies varies by place and time and who you're around. If you're in a context where the rule of law is weak (whether in general, or say, living in a bad part of town where the cops don't bother), having power through physical force is a big deal. If you're well-off, not so much.

Money is another way to show power but it is ultimately beaten by violence. Most women will prefer men with money rather than actual criminals because that's what is accepted by society.

If physical power/violence beat money (and other purely social markers of status), you'd see a lot more professional women in the US marrying policemen/soldiers, or even the likely-more-built guys in the trades. They often have a stable job, and may well make as much as plenty of people with degrees. Instead, you get a lot of articles about how women aren't "marrying down," and worrying about the "education gap," because in urban, middle-class US culture (which is what most of the people writing the articles come out of, or have assimilated to) higher education is the first big marker of status, more than money.

 

[CheertheSecond]

So here's the thing: Women want to be treated like they're starring in a rapey ntr doujin, they want to be abused and they want to be treated like they're a useless piece of furniture! /s

I suppose… some women love to be put into her place… or love to have a place to be put into…

Example: Horimiya

 

[Bartun]

It's not clear to me that this is universal vs. cultural, but whether it's universal or not, a lot of women (many? most? likely varies by time and place) are attracted to men with social status. Social status is definitely cultural/contextual; what qualifies varies by place and time and who you're around. If you're in a context where the rule of law is weak (whether in general, or say, living in a bad part of town where the cops don't bother), having power through physical force is a big deal. If you're well-off, not so much.



If physical power/violence beat money (and other purely social markers of status), you'd see a lot more professional women in the US marrying policemen/soldiers, or even the likely-more-built guys in the trades. They often have a stable job, and may well make as much as plenty of people with degrees. Instead, you get a lot of articles about how women aren't "marrying down," and worrying about the "education gap," because in urban, middle-class US culture (which is what most of the people writing the articles come out of, or have assimilated to) higher education is the first big marker of status, more than money.

Oh yeah, definitely. I was speaking about the experience in the third world. I understand the higher the education the less likely to be influenced at the instinctual level.