Broken Bird Bingo! Because I can.
My relationship with Broken Birds is, shall we say, complicated. On the one hand, they appeal to me on some deep, fundamental level that’s impossible to counteract. Show me a tortured protagonist rising above a history of emotional trauma to excel at the job for which they live, rising up bloodied and beaten while everything they’ve come to love explodes around them, leather coat billowing stoically in the smoke of their own demise, and I will show you a character who owns me, body and soul.
And yet. And yet.
The trope is so narrow, it’s literally just this one thing, but because it packs such a powerful punch, it gets used over. and. over. and. over. The sheer number of iterations means that, as often as not, they’re written badly - and by badly, I mean textbook. The archetypal urban fantasy heroine is a Broken Bird, as is her PNR counterpart. Show me a book with a hot woman wearing leather, boots and carrying weapons on the cover, possibly with visible tattoo involvement, and I will show you a Broken Bird.
Which is where we run into problems. Because as much as I love that sort of thing, I also really hate it. I hate the subconscious masochism of identical protagonists who, pretty much by definition, must suffer hideous, painful injuries in order to reach that single moment of emotional honesty wherein they either lean on or are rescued by their Sexy Antagonist counterpart. I hate how predictably they’ll be betrayed by their allies and the ease with which they’ll fall into love triangles, even though - paradox! - I love both betrayal and love triangles. Broken Birds are niche characters: they exist to do a thing that I love, but they’re everywhere doing it constantly, and they wear themselves thin with overkill. Of course their mentor is dead! Of course they’ve survived horrors untold! Oh look, and now they’ve nearly killed themselves by going off for a final confrontation with the bad guy just when we thought everything was safe except for the fact that there’s still another 15 minutes left of this episode and oh my dog seriously, SERIOUSLY, this happens EVERY TIME, WHY DO I KEEP FALLING FOR IT AND WHERE IS THE NEXT INSTALMENT?
Internets, I am not making this up: I love Broken Birds. And I hate them. For exactly the same reasons. You think I’m kidding? Here is how much I’m not kidding: I have written a whole entire novel - finished to third draft level, at most a week’s work away from being submission-worthy - which I have sat on now for a year, because the heroine is a Broken Bird, and I love her, but I hate that I wrote her that way, because I’m reinforcing the stereotype and can’t decide whether that means I’m writing a thing I love or being tricked into writing something I hate. CUE ANGST.
Mainly this is because, while Broken Birds can be any gender, the vast majority are female, and so I stress endlessly about how to interpret them through feminism. On the one hand: powerful, independent ladies who kick ass and save the day! Strong women overcoming abuse and adversity, owning their sexuality and living how they want! Feminist victory! But on the other hand: damaged women whose damage is used to sell their sexiness! Women who reach emotional catharsis through injury and get then rescued by men they’re too repressed to love openly! Unhappiness, detachment and overwork falsely romanticised as career success and independence! No femininity allowed! Feminist fail!
AUGH FLAIL WHINE, etc.
Internets, I implore thee: what do you think of Broken Birds? Are they love or hate or in between? Are they feminist or unfeminist? GIVE ME YOUR ANSWERS THAT I MIGHT CONSUME THEM.
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kogiopsis reblogged this from fozmeadows and added:
Ugh, I agree with everything in this post and it makes me really frustrated with myself because I LOVE BROKEN BIRD...
annachronism liked this
dukenarrativium reblogged this from fozmeadows and added:
Hmm. I think I’m a bit torn. I think I’d have a stronger opinion on the trope as a whole if I read more urban fantasy...
fozmeadows posted this