A Defense of Romance Novels

Mercury went into retrograde today, but despite this unfortunate circumstance, tonight I will be offering you a little glimpse into one of my most important personal crusades: making sure that romance novels get the respect (dare I say, reverence) they deserve. I just finished my most recent Georgette Heyer novel, The Corinthian, so it felt apropos. Said novel was an unsurprisingly lovely read, featuring a strong and fearless, although a little naive, protagonist by the name of Penelope Creed. Starring alongside her we have dreamy, tall, imposing yet sensitive Richard Wyndham. Pen is escaping from her imposing family (and the marriage they are trying to impose on her), and after climbing through her bedroom window in the middle of the night, quite literally drops into Richards arms. He is looking for an escape himself, and so, off the pair go on a fantastic adventure. Joyous and sweet.

I have already written at length about my reasons for loving Georgette, so I decided to widen the scope tonight. When I first started reading romance novels, almost three years ago, I was met with a good deal of confusion from friends and family alike: “isn’t there, like, a lot of sex in those?” to which I exuberantly replied that there was. Cue the giggles and the “you’re reading soft-core porn!!!!”’s. I was largely unfazed by these prudish exclamations, and I’ve come to realize that amusement is the predominant emotion felt by those around me when I read or talk about my love for romance (regency romance being my preferred sub-genre). At the time I did not find that amusement particularly offensive (and I still don’t), but the more I read, the clearer it becomes that the general population’s derisive attitude towards romance novels is at best, a massive injustice. Admittedly, since my introduction to the genre, I have noticed at least a slight shift in the general public’s perception of the romance novels. It’s not enough for me, as you’ll soon find out, but ground gained is ground gained. I attribute this shift in perception to two factors: TikTok and Bridgerton (the Netflix series).

To begin with, on TikTok, or rather BookTok as the youths call it, I have noticed a fair number of creators (influencers?) who proudly advertise their love for “smutty novels.” Why they must refer to said novels in a way that implies shame and/or embarrassment, I do not know. I suppose they’re reclaiming “smut,” but it’s hard to keep track of what’s being reclaimed these days, and calling novels with sex in them smutty or trashy reeks of an attempt to make both the novels and the creators’ love for them more palatable. Bleh. Additionally, I have noticed that (at least on my TikTok) the majority of these claimed novels are fantasy novels. There’s nothing wrong with fantasy novels, and I won’t claim that romance has some higher claim to sex, BUT - unlike fantasy, romance is designated not only as genre fiction, but also as women’s fiction. This double downgrade from legitimacy means that romance authors and readers have to work doubly hard to get the respect they deserve, but more on that later.

Now, for the Bridgerton effect…I must admit that I have only seen the first episode of the first season. I was right in the middle of blowing through the eight book series by Julia Quinn (a genius who does NOT get enough recognition), and after watching the first episode, I was unimpressed. Now that some time has passed since I was reading about the Bridgertons, I think I could probably enjoy the series (having forgotten enough to make the incongruities between book and show less heinous). Anyway - that’s not the point. What I really want to say is that it was shocking to watch the public reaction to the show, knowing that so many of the same people who were falling all over themselves about it would have laughed at the idea of actually READING romance novels. The irony was too thick for me. Not to mention the fact that, in a time where it feels like half of the movies and TV series being put out are based on books, the Hollywood machine seems to be practically ignoring the potential of the romance genre - a BILLION dollar industry.

Yes, you read that right - billion with a B. You see, in 2015, sales of romance novels accounted for a whopping 29% of all fiction sales. That means that, on average, out of every three people buying a book, one of them is buying a romance novel. Why is it then, that the romance industry is treated with so little respect? Well, the answer seems to be two-fold. First, as mentioned above, romance novels are considered “genre fiction” instead of “literary fiction.” The distinction between the two is becoming more and more hazy, if there really ever was a clear delineation, but it boils down to the fact that genre fiction is considered low-brow and escapist, whereas literary fiction is ‘serious’ and intended to reveal salient truths about the world through writing. Ugh - the notion that romance novels cannot make intelligent and legitimate commentary on the state of the world is ridiculous. The second reason romance novels are scorned is even less legitimate and even more sexist: they fall under the umbrella of what is known as “women’s fiction.” The existence of a sub-category of women’s fiction is a problem in and of itself, as it excludes male writers and readers from a corner of the literary market that they should not be excluded from. This is particularly true in regard to romance novels.

And so, what are the effects of this double relegation - genre fiction and women’s fiction? Well, they are quite clear when you consider the other sub-genres generally included within the genre fiction heading: mystery, thriller, horror, fantasy and science fiction. Take for example, a particular 2014 article in the Huffington Post about the difference between genre fiction and literary fiction. The author, Steven Petite, provides a half-hearted defense of genre fiction, deeming genre authors as “different writers” instead of worse writers (eye roll). He even includes a little list of genre writers who he seems to believe deserve higher praise than their low-down, less talented contemporaries: “The works of Stephen King, Thomas Harris, Michael Crichton, Neil Gaiman, George R.R. Martin, and many others are written with great prose that shows a sound grasp on the written word.” Tragically, it comes as no surprise that all of the authors singled out as a cut above the rest, not one is a woman. These men write horror, mystery, fantasy and science fiction books, which count as genre fiction, and which are churned out at an equally rapid rate as romance novels. I have read novels by more than one of the men listed above, and I can attest that almost every criticism leveled at romance novels could be applied to their mystery/horror/fantasy counterparts. All but one.

What it really comes down to is the fact that romance novels present strong female characters who are in control of their own lives and their own sexuality. They can be cheesy at times and the plots, characters and tropes can be repetitive at best and unoriginal at worst. But people who ridicule romance novels don’t do so for those reasons, they do so because of the sex. It is the sex that makes people uncomfortable because the women always have the power. Their suitors and lovers ask them for consent. The women say yes or no, they set the pace, they ask for what they want, and they orgasm (!!!!) - shocking, I know. In the novels, this confidence and control is apparent in every aspect of the heroines’ lives, and many times is bolstered by their sexuality.

If you’re reading this and you’re thinking, “I know all of this, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with reading about sexually satisfied women, but romance is stupid” fine - you’re missing out. No one will force you to read it, and you can go on your merry way. If, however your argument against romance novels follows the narrative that they are vacuous texts that either fill the reader’s mind with nothing or with something worse than nothing, then I regret to inform you that you are dead wrong. You are not afraid that romance readers, who are, for the most part, women, are filling their minds with drivel, you are perhaps afraid that they will realize they can ask for what they want and get it. What’s scarier than a world full of women who have power and know how to wield it? Instead of laughing and judging, why don’t you join in the party?! I promise you won’t be disappointed.