I'll admit that I love seeing a man in uniform. The first time I saw my husband in his BDUs (the Army's camo of choice at the time), he took my breath away. He still does, only now I know firsthand the good, bad and ugly that comes with being married to a man who wears combat boots. For me, the good more than outweighs the bad, but that's not to say that the bad isn't weighty at times.
In the aftermath of the flawless take-down of Osama Bin Laden, it seems that women everywhere are swooning over Navy SEALs. The romance novel industry is responding to the demand. Out with vampires and vikings and in with SEALs:
Ever since an elite unit of Navy SEALs stormed a fortresslike compound near Islamabad, Pakistan, and killed Osama bin Laden, people can’t get enough of the SEALs. There are some who want to know what it’s like to be one, and others who want to know what it takes to become one.Then, there are those who want to know what it might be like to, well, “be” with one.
The serious-minded can sift through countless articles and hours of documentaries. The more prurient can mine an entire universe of Navy SEAL romance novels. There’s the “Tall, Dark and Dangerous” series by Suzanne Brockmann or the “Tempting Seals” books by Lora Leigh.
The appeal of a clean-cut Navy SEAL in the land of “lace-wristed dukes” and longhaired Fabios is simple.
“For readers, Navy SEALs are superheroes without the spandex,” said Pamela White, a journalist and romance novelist whose pen name is Pamela Clare.
Publishers are already bracing for a flurry of Navy SEAL-themed pitches and manuscripts in the coming weeks.
“When something like this happens, it is going to be huge,” said Gail Chasan, senior editor at Harlequin Enterprises Special Edition, the Ontario-based publisher synonymous with the romance genre.
Next comes an article which lists five reasons women would like to date a SEAL. It's graphic enough in places that SpouseBUZZ would be in jeopardy of losing its PG rating if I used an excerpt or two, so you'll just have to hit the link to see for yourself.
Did you laugh, roll your eyes, both, neither?
Don't get me wrong, I'm proud to be married to a man who could protect me better with his bare hands than most men could with a weapon and I definitely find that comforting, but to reduce the hard-acquired skills of a SEAL to sexual gratification?
One commenter on the Shine post claimed to be a SEAL and had this to say:
My wife thought it was cool that I am a SEAL when we met and married a few years later. She thought she would love the intrigue and my ability to keep a secret as you say. However she has learned to hate the fact that I am here today and gone at a moments notice, sometimes so quickly that I have no time to tell her that I am going. I just don't show up for dinner tonight or for days or weeks. Because of the necessary secrecy I am not able to tell her about my work so she feels alienated and neglected. It is very difficult. My hat is off to her for staying the course over these many years. It sounds romantic but is in reality much less so.
A little gravity (and realism) on a rather shallow posting.
Yeah, I get that the post was salacious entertainment value. I also get that the SEALs are justifiably being celebrated for their heroic actions. But when you live the very exclusive military lifestyle and have been at war going on ten years, catch me on a bad day and things like this can rub me the wrong way.
I won't argue the lure of men in uniform. They do look incredible and strong and brave. I understand the mystique surrounding the men involved in what may go down as the operation of the decade. But I think all of our troops are special and priceless, for a host of reasons unrelated to their ability to enhance my sex life. When you drill past the layers of muscle and myths, what's really sexy about all of these men is their willingness to go to unimaginable lengths to protect and serve our country.
