Presenters
Mary K Chelton
Abstract
Military men (and their subcontractor counterparts) have emerged as a major sub genre in contemporary American romance fiction. Behind their “bad ass” tough guy personas, these heroes exemplify strength, honor, idealism, tenderness, an attraction to and for strong women, sexual competence, and a penchant for protecting those they love which makes them irresistible to many romance readers. This paper examines these characteristics as a combination of the traditional romance alpha male protagonist, historic views of the military hero and the current context of the post-Vietnam public attitude change toward the military.