… I’ve been catching up on some m/m reading in amongst all the YA *interesting mix I know* and have noticed a whole heap of ‘babes’ and ‘babys’ littered with gay (I crack me up!) abandon in the dialogue of a number of the stories.
Is this something anyone else has noticed? Or has it always happened and I’ve just clued in to it now??
Regardless, there’s only so many ‘babes’ and ‘babys’ I can take before my teeth start rotting away entirely.
Kris + Books = Good. *Sometimes*. 
Kris, the day you'll have nothing to bitch about, you'll start bitching about how you have nothing to bitch about.
lol Gotta love Matthew! 🙂
Actually Babe and Baby don't bother me as much as some but it might get annoying in YA. Don't ask me why I think that though cuz I'm not sure I could explain. 🙂
Matthew *smiling sweetly*, before that though I have a preprepared post about smart arse commentors.
Tracy: This is romance after all so I expect a certain number of babys and babes, but in nearly every friggin story?!
In one story in particular one the protags seemed to say it nearly every time he opened his gob to his partner. It was annoying not to mention nauseating. Couldn't he have used sweet cheeks or snookums every once in a while??
BTW, I with you on YA. Don't ask me why either.
This was the first thing I noticed when I started reading m/m. At first I thought it was a bit silly but I'm so used to it now that I don't even notice any more!
Btw, I love that bit in Tigers & Devils when Declan calls Simon 'babe' for the first time and Simon cracks up laughing about it. It's such a great wink by Sean to the fact that it's used in m/m a lot!
I shrugged it off initially, but now… well, it seems to be pissing me off. LOL.
Cool reference. I remember that too. It made me LMAO at the time. 🙂
Lol, I shrugged the babe/baby thing of as something typical american but apparantly it is not the case.
Same as going out for breakfast. People here will look at you if you are mad. True there are some who will pick up a sandwich on the way to work but not something as huge as fried eggs, pancakes or waffles
People go out for breakfast here in the UK. There are lots of greasy cafes selling traditional English breakfasts which are designed to clog your arteries: bacon, fried eggs, black pudding, sausages, baked beans, fried tomatoes and fried bread – all on one plate. It's yummy (if cooked well) but very, very fattening!
I only ever eat breakfasts like these if I'm on holiday at a bed and breakfast place or a hotel.
We don't go out an buy pastries, pancakes or doughnuts for breakfast though. These are seen as either a mid-morning treat or a pudding for after a meal (not American pancakes – we don't have them at all, our pancakes are like crepes).
Dutch breakfast is a sandwich (sliced bread) with cheese or jam.
It is ridculus to eat it outdoors.
OMG. I have a post/poll half written on this.
Because I find it incredibly sexy when a big strapping alpha slips in a 'baby' once or twice during the smex-or-in. Only then. Otherwise, not so much.
🙂
LB
Oh but wait. It gets better. Not only does one guy call another 'baby' all the time, it makes the other guy feel all warm and fuzzy and feminine and stuffs *urps*
Doesn't bother me. Maybe it is a North American thing more than others? No idea. I'd rather here babe than snookums. LOL
Breakfast in Canada is like US I guess although its not a huge deal. Although its something people do more on the weekend, go out for a huge breakfast at 11:00 so its more like lunch. During the week its usually a cup of coffee and a muffin/donut from Tim Horton's. There is one on ever corner nearly.
WTF? So now men can't have terms of endearment for each other? Or be moved by them?
I mean, yeah, if they never use each other's actual name and go overboard with the “powder butt” and “petal lips” and “twinkle toes” crap, that's pretty gag-worthy. But an occasional “baby”? (I don't understand the “babe” thing, thugh, which I thought was for women and talking piglets.)
My list of What I Dare Not Do is getting way too effing long.
KZ, that is, if you want to listen to our dear pink head of course.
As Matthew said in his first post…..
That list could become awfully longer still *g*
Ah, the little redhead freckled girl has something else on your cute mind..haha..too cute!
Back to the subject at hand, I was rereading the post bc I couldnt tell if you were being annoyed by all of the babys or babes or what not. I will say that speaking as a gay man, gay men used a LOT of terms of endearments more than you think. I know an ex of mine would call me babe. Now he didnt call me that a lot but whenever he did it stuns me bc he was the epitome of an alpha.
For as writers are concerned, I dont see anything wrong it bc gay men do use terms of endearment plus it should be germaine to the character. Personally I like reading a story where the characters give each other nicknames or pet names. Its makes it seem like you are eavesdropping on a real life couple.
Ozakie, I read too somewhere that giving each other pet names is a good thing.
Ingrid: *ponders* I think babe is used here more than baby. I see LB is doing a poll maybe that will be about what endearments people use??
A big brekkie tends to be more of a brunchie or weekend thing here in Aussieland, otherwise it's a slice of toast with vegemite. *mmm, vegemite*
LB: Hey there. 🙂 Welcome back to RL. I hope you are all re-enthused and stuff ready for the creativity to begin. 🙂
You're doing a poll about this?? How weird. That's the second time something spooky has happened to me in the last 12 hours or so. O_O
I don't mind 'baby' once in a while, especially when an alpha guy uses it cos yanno it's cute, but all the time??? Umm, NO.
Emmy: Yeah, thinking about it a bit more, I reckon the one particular story with the multiple babys read a bit like chicks with dicks to me. Not so good.
Tam: LOL. But snookums is sooo good.
KZ: “I don't understand the “babe” thing, though, which I thought was for women and talking piglets.”
See my comment to Emmy. I'm thinking that one book that had so many was more CWD than anything else.
It's romance so I expect endearments. I also really like it when the guy is confident enough to show his affection for his partner. Just. Not. All. The. Friggin. Time. Me – being nasty and all – I would be turning around and saying 'what? you've forgotten my name already??'
Pls, write that down.
Ingrid: Kris, the all seeing and knowing Book Oracle. I like it is as a title, although, sure, what the hell do I know. LOL.
Ozakie: Great point about endearments making the reader feel like that a getting a glimpse into the RL of the protags. It does make the emotions between the two characters, the realtionship, more convincing.
My problem is when it's used in lieu of names all the time in a story and then there was the fact that I read a succession of stories where only the terms babe and baby were used. It was very strange.
I think you should write “Ozakie's Guide to Endearments: When To & Not To Use Them”. That could be fun. 🙂
I haven't seen the use of “babe” or “baby” very often, but the few times I have, I really liked it, because the user was a big Alpha male, and it seemed to show a different side to him.
But I can see how over use would drive you mad. It's like when a character uses the other character's name all the time. In RL, in a conversation between two people, we tend not to do that, and it ruins a story for me when I see that over and over.
From Gaycrow, who's too lazy to log in.
Hey Gaycrow, the Lazy
It seems there are a few of us who like our Alpha men to be openly affectionate at times. I'm calling it the 'awww' factor. 🙂
I once read an excellent post by editor Angie James of Samhain (I think it was at LB's??) in which she talked about some of the things to look out for when you're writing. I'm pretty sure she mentioned dialogue and the overuse of names and things like 'he said' this and that. It was very interesting and my annoyance at babys and babes reminded me of it.
I go through phases of a particular word or phrase that really annoys me…usually because it usddenly becomes an 'in' word and is used everywhere.
And while I like my alphas to be tender, it has to fit in with their character, otherwise I have a WTF moment 🙂
Are you thinking that babe or baby could be the new 'in' word for m/m fiction, Orannia? Hmm, could be.
I agree; the random endearment from a character, especially from an Alpha male, can be very WTFish.
I don't have a problem with Baby/Babe especially when it's the Alpha being awww so sweet. I also like Honey and Sweetheart. *I must be a bit of a romantic but keep it hush hush please. I don't want to ruin my bad girl rep, lol.*
As for breakfast, judging by how packed the Ihops and Dennys and such get in the morning it's a very popular meal. I prefer coffee and a granola bar unless it's closer to lunch then I can do the big breakfast thing.
Lily
Lily's all lovey dovey and stuffs. What a cutie. 🙂
I'm still holding out for a story that has snookums in it… or honey muffin. Just think of the connotations of that one. LOL.