A Deep Dive into the Alphahole
Alphaholes—asshole “alpha males”—are a guilty pleasure for many romance readers. They’re tough, gruff, handsome, assertive and/or aggressive “dominant” leaders who waste no time trying to understand women or feelings or any of the other important stuff that prevents us all from spontaneously knifing each other. They are the bane of many a fictional woman’s existence and the thing that keeps her up all night for *ahem* other reasons.
Despite alphaholes’ popularity, I think most, if not all of us recognize that alphaholes don’t make good long-term partners in real life. They’re controlling know-it-alls prejudiced against their own love interests who display little drive to better understand these women. In books where female main characters are thrust into contact with alphaholes, these domineering dicks eventually loosen their white-knuckled grasp on assholery. But in real life, their behaviour would peg them as pillars of toxic masculinity—incompatible with a happily ever after.
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