Read more on the Alpha male: http://alphadominance.com

I remember this one book where the girl was pregnant and didn’t feel like eating breakfast, so the guy grabbed her and was forcibly mashing scrambled eggs against her gritted teeth because she “should” be eating “for the baby.” [eyeroll] Sorry, not at all my image of a desirable partner. I mean, I get that there are times when a woman (or a man) might not be acting in their own best interests, but someone who claims to love them romantically should respect them enough as an adult to let them make their own choices, even if they’re not the best ones. (Especially, like in the case of the book where he’s trying to force-feed her, where it’s just a matter of opinion, ’cause seriously, I don’t care how pregnant you are, skipping one meal isn’t going to hurt anything.)

I just can’t see relationships like that working in any kind of a healthy way. If one partner thinks he (or she) has an absolute veto or override on the other’s behavior, and is willing to use force? Umm, no. :/

Angie

Another favourite alpha hero is Roarke (in Death series, JD Robb) (although, as much as I love these books and characters, the things revealed about his past in Vengeance in Death (hoping not to provide spoilers here)icked me out a bit; not so much that he had taken lives, but the manner of it. I thought it was more villain (serial killer) than hero and I still don’t quite know how Eve reconciled that – perhaps, like me, she just doesn’t think about it!).

I have to say, I love these books, but I’m always a bit squicked out when Roarke physically forces a painkiller down his wife’s throat or drugs her drink to get her to sleep when she’s overtired. I get that she will destroy herself to “stand for the dead,” I get that he protects her from enemies without and within, but … ew.

Am I the only one? Nobody I’ve discussed the books with before is bothered by this. (And sorry to revive a dead thread, I hope that’s not verboten here.)

For some reason, many women believe that in order for them to be strong, men have to be weak, and that strong men must be jerks. In the US, I see more & more effeminate men. Or the portrayal of men as not being masculine. It is kind of disturbing. I want a REAL MAN … and it isn’t a threat to me at all. Because I’m a REAL WOMAN.

A true Alpha doesn’t need to be a bully craphead. He leads because it would never occur to anyone not to follow. It’s a given. He’s head of the pack because he SHOULD be and doesn’t need to intimidate anyone because his superiority is THERE.

And I’m ridiculously tired of the response “it’s FICTION.” I have this niggling suspicion that people who defend bad fiction with no basis in reality whatsoever live lives of fiction. Good fiction doesn’t need to be defended. The willing suspension of disbelief comes naturally because it FEELS natural to the story.

And frankly, the fact that some adult women have dismissed criticisms of the Twilight series because they’re “fiction,” in spite of the fact that they send TERRIBLE messages to young readers sickens me.

As for the height of the hero, for me personally I like ‘em tall. That’s b/c I’m 6′1″ and like the idea of looking up at someone. However, I do have issues with the super-sized man who is 6′8″ and built like a tank. I do not find brawny men sexy at all. I like long, lean muscle with that lovely v-taper. But again, that’s me. :)

I like the term gamma male, because it encompasses the good aspects of both an alpha and a beta male. Can make for very interesting men. :)

And as for the paranormal that I’m working on? He’s an Alpha (because he’s a wolf), but he’s also a good man. *sigh* My favorite.

Way too many of the supposedly “alpha males” in romance these days are more like bull walruses, who intimidate the females and juveniles as well as the other bulls. That’s not how alpha wolves, male or female, roll.

Me too. I think competence is a good thing, even if it’s only in one area of their lives that they’re that secure (hi Scott Summers). And a guy who is so insecure that he has to manage the heroine (and everyone else) isn’t really an alpha anyway.

When did ‘alpha’ = obnoxiously domineering and creepy?

So… the average Italian Billionaire is as tall as an average American woman in heels.

RfP, you had me laugh out loud at that.

And in a semi-related confession, I am glad I’ve never learned exactly what Alpha and Beta heroes are. So I just write whatever I want.

A true Alpha Male is capable of both good loving and good fathering of the resulting offspring.

The rest are nothing but a bunch of jackasses who should never be allowed the opportunity to procreate, in Real Life or Fiction. They are villains, not heroes.

Faith Baldwin was actually pretty good: most of her books would stand up well in today’s marketplace with just a tiny bit of editing for workplace changes.

As a reader, I do get tired of SO SO LARGE penises and men who are overly possessive or controlling. I tend not to read the SEALS or COPS type of books, but that’s more personal preference over assuming the heroes are typical alphas.

I wanted to like this book because the set up and initial meeting of the H and H were interesting, but then it devolved into the domineering hero, complete with a TSTL heroine at one point – so the hero could save her, of course – when she’d been smart and rather capable before, 2-dimensionally evil characters (plus the whole sexually active female must mean they’re whores and evil characterization) and a weird, tacked-on ending that doesn’t really resolve any of the issues, except for that the H/H are together, of course.

And that’s why I hate the typical alpha hero.

Honestly, he can be pretty overbearing IF the heroine is capable of kicking him in the butt and taking him down a peg or five. I’m all about equality of power in a relationship. All too often, though, the hero is this magnificently larger-than-life creation and the heroine is really just part of the audience, a sort of mirror to reflect how awesome he is when he rescues her from bad guys or ignores other women to pursue her or amazes her with the size of his attributes.