Uhh that makes sense. I'm not a bl reader. But I really like the concept of guide-esper system. Unfortunately I have yet to find a good guide-verse . As for the patriarchy.... I don't mind it in historical settings. But it does bother me in modern settings. I know demography loves this that's why it's gonna stay prevalent. Heck even I love dark twisted yandere male lead. And that requires a little sprinkel of patriarchy.
I kinda agree, its more of an issue with het omegaverse because that's misogyny x2, but I think there's a lot of potential in guideverse with a woman esper x male guide. But talking about the nurturer role, its the same reason why I stopped reading guideverse stuff as a whole; the esper is nearly always this huge buff man and the guide is a tiny frail guy; it's definitely just a way to make the guide effeminate. There is only one guideverse I can think of where the top/larger guy is the guide and the bottom is the esper.
Actually, to add onto this; I think guideverse can be a good liberation thing for us women? I mean, I'm not great with words right now, but it's quite a good tool to set a story of the fatigue of women's nurturing role in society, it could be done really well in that sense; a story following a woman guide who is forced into that nurturing role. But in that sense it doesnt have to be a het story, it would actually be a great wlw story, might have already even been written, but yeah; I don't think guideverse is necessarily bad for het couples, or at least now in the same sense omegaverse is. Rather, both genres often force one of the men in the relationship (the guide/omega) to live through many of the societal struggles a woman might face, albeit exageratted most of the time for today's standards?
I just realised why I couldn't read past 2-3 chapters.
The guideverse began as a fulfillment genre for gay couples that we strongly support.
We see similar parallels in the creation of soulmate genre for cis hetero couples.
Both are romance genres for female audiences but have different fulfillment goals.
The hetero combo in a guideverse is deeply unsatisfying for me a reader. Females like this who play the role of "nurterers" once again is just conforming to the patriarchal expectation.
I genuinely think that authors should either make the woman a powerful esper & the male partner a guide. This the only way this combination can work in guideverse! Otherwise this is another manga where woman use patriarchal tools acceptable for the female gender like coaxing, manipulating, nurturing etc.
I literally feel a nausea in my body from this unending patriarchal expectation of the female body :(