I’m interested in a wholesome relationship dynamic where the girlfriend acts as a comforting source of warmth, protection, and abundant physical affection. She’s a cozy safe haven, wrapping her boyfriend in adoring hugs and showering him in doting kisses. He’s gentle and sensitive, relaxing in her care and taking it all in, responding in an endearing way that fuels her nurturing.
It seems like the Internet’s idea of a “strong” female presence in a hetero relationship is a dominant/submissive coercive femdom dynamic. That’s not what I want at all; I want to see a female character who is eager to lead out of a loving desire to snuggle and care for her boyfriend—she wants to protect him, not exploit him. There is also no power imbalance or one-sidedness; while the girlfriend’s doting affection is a defining feature, the boyfriend happily initiates and reciprocates affection as well. There are lots of open heartfelt exchanges, and it’s all so subversively tender that it feels taboo.
I have never seen a relationship like this depicted anywhere. It took months of introspection and creative writing to work out the essence of my preferred dynamic and understand that labels like “gentle femdom” or “gender role reversal” utterly fail to capture the nuances of what I truly want. The romance novel and adult video industries almost completely alienate me. It feels like there is nothing for me, or at least no way to easily find it in the vast cosmos of the Internet.
It would be wonderful to find something, a book, some kind of show or movie, an obscure Internet board… really anything to scratch this constant itch that I have. Despite my mediocre skills, my own writing vastly outstrips any media I’ve seen so far. I’d love to see something made by someone more professional.
And yeah, mayyyybe I’ve dodged a bullet by being immune to the endless piles of sex appeal industry slop and provocative ads that deactivate the frontal lobe, but sometimes I want in on the fun too.
You can definitely find this dynamic in anime, although a lot of the romance stories are about couples getting together rather than an established relationship. “Horimya” and “My Dress Up Darling” are both series which are recent and very popular. They might be close to what you want. Some less popular titles that are more precisely what you described are “An Archedemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride” and “Shikimori’s Not Just A Cutie”.