Many romance authors pursue diversity in their stories. Usually they do so in regard to ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and/or sexual orientation. But there’s one area that I’ve been wondering about lately: Intelligence.
How much diversity is there in romance regarding intelligence? If marketing departments are to be believed, romance characters across the board are amazingly brilliant. But is that really the case? And of the heroes and heroines who are intellectually gifted—the scientists, the scholars, the inventors—do they inadvertently receive the lion’s share of the attention, both in terms of marketing and reader interest?
It's easy to understand the appeal of intelligent characters. Smart heroes and heroines are probably correlated with fantasies of high social status, money, and power. Genius characters would be unusual and therefore exotic. However, that fantasy may not be for everyone.
Of course, intelligence is a complex issue and can’t be reduced to just a particular type or IQ number (because that can be a dangerous way of thinking). Even the experts don’t always agree about the definition. Still, if one goes by general intelligence quotient tests, it's a safe bet that many heroes and heroines are of “average intelligence,” meaning they’ve got plenty of smarts but not at the level of, say, a physicist. Casting an eye toward the other end of the bell curve, they don’t have any moderate-severe cognitive impairments, either.
The phrase “average intelligence” implies something negative when in fact the opposite is true. Across the genre, “average” intelligence heroes and heroines come equipped with a wide variety of skill sets that compensate for any so-called intellectual deficits. Examples of those talents include artistic ability, leadership skills, networking savvy, and mechanical know-how. Heh—and also unique bedroom skills. I’d also propose that plenty of heroes and heroines have a high emotional IQ, an ability that comes in very handy when one is navigating the treacherous slopes of a new relationship.
That said, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty of intelligence and romance characters. What about those with developmental disabilities, learning disabilities, or other types of mental impairments that impact their ability to learn? Don’t they deserve love just as much as the brilliant types? Can those types of characters and the associated fantasies provide readers with a satisfying story? The answer to both is a resounding yes. But why don’t we encounter them as often?
The answer is a complicated one, ranging from author interest to reader interest to the ability of marketing departments to effectively promote such characters. That particular fantasy is admittedly a more challenging one to sell. Still, I like to think there’s plenty room in this subgenre for below-average intelligence heroes and heroines of various types.
Now here’s a thought: are any of the so-called “Too Stupid To Live” heroines actually characters with below-average intelligence or cognitive deficits? As long as a character is acting consistently within a story, can we assume a certain level of intelligence?
One reviewer called my heroine Sarah from The Blacksmith’s Lover something along the lines of “not the sharpest tool in the shed” and she was exactly right. I specifically wrote Sarah as a heroine with below-average intelligence because it made her more interesting to write and also raised the stakes. Would her occupation—a servant in the 1800s—have been more plausible if I’d infused her with Albert Einstein-level abilities or even just above-average intelligence? If a servant in a historical romance is intellectually gifted, then that would demand a different type of story.
What’s your take on intelligence and romance characters? Do romance books abound with gifted heroes and heroines or are they just marketed that way? Would you be interested in reading stories that push the boundaries of intelligence? Please share any title recommendations featuring intelligence diversity!
Heather Massey is a lifelong fan of science fiction romance. She searches for sci-fi romance adventures aboard her blog, The Galaxy Express.
She’s also an author in the subgenre. To learn more about her published work, visit www.heathermassey.com.