My Least Favorite Family Tropes in Fiction/Media

Welcome back to Musings of an Arthritic Artist! Today I'm going to be talking about my least favorite family tropes in fiction. These aren't going to be in any particular order. I'll be giving an example for each one of these.

Let's get into the post!

King, Alexandria. Musings of an Arthritic Artist. 2021.

1. Incest

Why is this even a thing? This one needs a decent amount of explanation. I don't have a problem with books including incest. What I have a problem with is when books romanticize incest. Some cases of incest don't bother me. For example, the myth of Oedipus. That myth serves to ask and answer the question, 'can someone outrun a prophecy/their fate' which is a prevalent recurring theme in Greek mythology. 

However, when it's used as a plot device wherein it's romanticized and both the characters know what they're doing, it's problematic. It also bothers me when other characters aren't weirded out by any of it. All states in the U.S. have laws regarding incest. To romanticize something that is, in most states, completely illegal is wrong, especially when it comes to YA fiction. I have covered this in a book review here on my blog before. 

Literary Example: The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare

Movie Example: High School Musical 

2. Dysfunctional Families

I know that families like this exist in real life. My problem is when it's perceived as normal. Siblings constantly arguing and hitting each other, leaning more toward abuse than sibling rivalry? Not normal and not healthy. Constant hatred and disdain between siblings? Not healthy. Parents constantly berating their children in the name of 'tough love' that borders on abuse? Not healthy. I hate when behavior like this is normalized. 

Siblings won't get along all the time, but they won't argue all the time either. I should know. I have an older sister. I have also observed other siblings. My father has an older sister, and I've never seen them argue. My mom and her 5 siblings don't argue all the time either (being an adult doesn't matter, they're still siblings). My youngest cousins don't even argue 24/7, and they're young boys. 

When an entire family is dysfunctional and it's seen as normal, I despise it. It gets on my nerves. Families like that aren't great families to be in. They aren't healthy environments. However, some dysfunctional families just get on my nerves as a whole. You're going to tell me that all of the protagonist's/side character's nuclear family members are toxic people?

Literary Example: Switched by Amanda Hocking

3. Nonexistent Parents

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4. The Bratty Child/Overly Rebellious Teen

I hate this in almost all cases. Teens will naturally rebel a little when it comes to their parents. Children can be bratty, but children aren't always bratty. My problem comes when the child is bratty and their parents don't tell them anything to make them learn that they shouldn't be acting that way. My problem comes when teens are rebellious when they have pretty good, caring, and loving parents.

Literary Examples: Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park and Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

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So there you go! Those are my least favorite family tropes in fiction. I will do my favorite tropes for this next week.

That's it for this post! I hope you enjoyed it! 

Until next time, 

Lexi K🖌