I want to talk about this issue specifically in relation to the Romantic genre, but this is a broader issue as a whole. Eurocentrism is more common in fantasy and science fiction than in any other genre, from the structure of fantasy governments to the appearance of characters. This issue has implications for the romance genre, both in terms of who portrays love stories and how they are exclusive to people of color, queer people, people with disabilities, etc. It continues to affect us.
These stereotypes about gendered characters don’t take into account how harmful it is to the young people who grow up reading these stories. Eurocentric beauty standards lead people to prefer people with small noses, straight hair, light colored eyes, and many other characteristics. Racist narratives that claim that a person’s hair, eyes, and skin color do not equate to that person’s intelligence or, in a fictional setting, their ability to save the world and find love, yet that is true. There is. Of course, this hurts the reader over time. People who read about these stereotypical characters often feel obligated to live up to them, especially when they learn how popular they are.
These beauty standards are harmful not only to people of color but also to people with disabilities. People who are in wheelchairs or who have prosthetic limbs don’t feel like they’re represented, and even when they are, it’s very sparingly expressed. It feels like it’s there just to tick a diversity box rather than because the author actually wants to tell that story.
