Love, Trauma and "Hating" Men with Holly Bourne
In this episode, Hannah is joined by Holly Bourne, an award-winning and critically acclaimed author of both YA and adult fiction. Holly discusses her second adult novel, Pretending, releasing 2 April, and her work on the frontlines of a youth charity. She and Hannah talk about approaching writing about sexual violence in a respectful and accessible way, as well as the Cool Girl trope and how this influenced Holly’s writing. Finally, Hannah and Holly discuss unpacking learned behaviours and how there’s nothing wrong with actually wanting love.
Content warning for sexual abuse and sexual trauma.
Read the episode transcript here!
SHOW NOTES
What we chat about…
Holly wanting to explore what she saw during her time working on the frontline services for a youth charity
#metoo
Writing about sexual violence in an accessible and respectful way
How often questions about rape came up when working at the charity
The existence of template responses to questions about sexual assault
Fourth wave feminism
Unpacking learned behaviours
Is it possible to date a man if he isn’t a feminist?
How did the Cool Girl trope influence Holly’s writing in Pretending?
What does a Cool Girl look like post #metoo?
How healing healthy relationships and love can be
Would women be more like the Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope without the patriarchy?
How there’s nothing wrong with actually wanting love
How society sometimes punishes people for wanting a relationship
What stability looks like in healthy relationships
Mistaking attachment trauma with chemistry
How does Holly write sex scenes differently for YA books and adult books?
Female anger
Figuring out which parts of yourself to put into books and which parts to keep back
How Holly balances needing to talk about bad men while keeping men in her personal life
Holly crowdsourcing what people hate about men
Holly having to ask herself whether she believes in men
How Holly writes about social behaviour
Your thoughts not being who you are as a person
Are Holly’s thoughts an actual voice or more abstract?
What was the final straw that made Holly have to write this book?
USEFUL LINKS
Useful resources:
Rape Crisis: https://rapecrisis.org.uk/
Women’s Aid: https://www.womensaid.org.uk/
Mentioned in the episode:
Pretending by Holly Bourne*: https://amzn.to/3audOvP
Vaginismus: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaginismus/
The Mix: https://www.themix.org.uk/
Article: was it rape?: https://www.themix.org.uk/crime-and-safety/victims-of-crime/was-it-rape-9143.html
Jennifer’s Body: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1131734/
The Cool Girl trope: https://nofilmschool.com/cool-girl-character-tropes
The Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ManicPixieDreamGirl
Internal voice vs abstract thoughts: https://twitter.com/KylePlantEmoji/status/1221713792913965061
MORE ABOUT HOLLY BOURNE
Holly Bourne is an award-winning and critically acclaimed author of both YA and adult novels. She is a passionate mental health advocate and proud feminist. Pretending is her second adult novel.
Find out more about Holly on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook and on her website.
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*affiliate links