What to Do with A Trope as Both the Writer and the Consumer?
The Alpha. You've seen him everywhere. On Wattpad and Inkitt with the werewolf books. In romance novels, both traditionally published and self-published. He's bringing in the views, the clicks, the votes, the comments, and the coins. A popular cash-grab and clickbait with his shirtless six-pack abs. A possibly polarizing trope; you could either love him or hate him.
As both a writer and a consumer, what do you do with this trope? That would be up to you, but I'll give you some advice. I'll talk about my experience with this trope, what I did with it, and my overall opinion on it.
Romantic Werewolves
Years ago, a friend on Wattpad introduced me to the werewolf genre on Wattpad. I don't remember the exact details on how that happened, but it did. I was fascinated with it, especially reading about these alpha males who were very possessive of their lunas.
Over time, I became drained of the genre and the trope. It made me question, "Why can't a girl be the alpha and the guy be the 'luna'?" It didn't make sense to me, so I walked away from that genre. I haven't read a werewolf story since then.
Then a few years later, as I was building my presence on Instagram as an author and content creator, I would follow these independent authors. Most of them were romance writers, having adults as their characters. I'll admit I did feel out of place as my series has a mixture of romance and drama. My characters were teenagers who would later age into their twenties.
I noticed two things: One, the alpha male was prevalent in those books, and two, the concept of "book boyfriends." The latter was new to me as I never really thought about having a male character I like as my "book boyfriend." If he's a favourite of mine, then cool. If he isn't, then I move on.
As for the alpha male, they were all human. No superpowers of any kind, but they still exhibited the same traits and behaviours like the ones in those werewolf stories on Wattpad. I got a lot of those contemporary romance indie ebooks for free; some I did pay for. I'll read them, but only from time to time or else, I'll get angry. I still ask the same question as I did a few years before I came across these authors.
"Why can't the girl be the alpha for a change?"
Bending the Alpha
There's a saying that's heard all over: "If you don't see the story you want, write it yourself." It is easier said than done, and luckily for me, I was able to do that. My first attempt at this was with a Young Adult Sci-fi, Drama, and Romance story called The Hunters. One of the main girls had exhibited traits of the alpha male trope, though she was from a race of genetically modified humans. A werewolf without the wolf part.
The second attempt was my current series, The One Series. One of my main characters, Alyson, was already a relatively strong character before I was introduced to the alpha trope. After being exposed to this, and seeing its existence in romance indie novels, I decided to enhance Alyson's character. She now exhibits most traits of an alpha male.
Alyson is there for her friends and her boyfriend. She'll even go as far as trying to protect him. She was the one who formed her band, UTurn, and co-led with her boyfriend to its greatness. She was the Queen of Mean at her school. Although I do have two main male characters who have very strong personalities, they're nothing compared to Alyson.
What to Do
As a writer, it is up to you what to do with the alpha trope. If you hate it, walk away from it. If you have a love-hate relationship with it, do something with it to make it unique, as I did.
If you love it, then write it. Just be careful to not make him problematic. One example of this is 365 Days where the guy was extremely problematic. The book, which became a movie, glorified and romanticized triggering things such as kidnapping and Stockholm Syndrome. It was a polarizing work and it was rightfully criticized. If you want to avoid that, make sure he's not this horrible person.
As a consumer, you also have options. If you like it, buy those books. If you don't, find something you prefer instead. If you want to read about girls and women who do not need alpha males to save them, you most likely won't find that in romance novels. Your best bet would be to venture into fantasy and sci-fi works.
Overall Opinion
For me, I have a love-hate relationship with this trope. I think it's overused, but it's what brings in the clicks and the coins. I don't mind reading romance novels with this trope, but I can't read too much of them or else I'll get angry. I have to space them out.
At the same time, I would love to see romance stories that have women who don't need these types of men in their lives. Yes, they can have their man, but he doesn't need to "save them." Also, a man doesn't have to be the leader if he doesn't want to. If he wants to stand by and let his partner do what they want, then let them. Maybe even see a non-binary character who possesses these alpha male traits.
In Conclusion
The alpha male trope is something that was brought to my attention years ago. First in werewolf stories on Wattpad, then in romance novels a few years later. I took that trope and put it into my main female characters that have romance as one of the genres. As both a writer and a consumer, you can do whatever you want with this trope. I also have a love-hate relationship with this.
It's a trope that's not going away anytime soon. The only thing we can hope for is that no one tries to become this jerk of a person. Also, having a strong personality is not strictly a male trait. It's in everyone.
We can all be strong people but remember it's okay to feel vulnerable. It's important to think of your mental health first. Prioritize this, and you can be that strong person who, at least, tries to lead their life. Try is all we can do.