Romance books generate 1.44 billion dollars in sales every year. So, surely romance is just as respected a genre as crime fiction, literary fiction, and fantasy, right? Unfortunately, we all know how society talks about romance— it is seen as “fluff,” “formulaic,” and “trash.” The reason why is simple: misogyny.
Women reading about other women in search of personal, emotional, and physical fulfillment are what terrifies and disgusts society. Women who know what they want threaten everything the patriarchy is built upon. And so, we are shamed for indulging in a genre that presents female protagonists doing precisely that. Romance books deserve to be respected and enjoyed freely and without shame.
Women—clearly intelligent and accomplished—are advocating for and demanding respect for this genre on all levels. In her paper “The Romance Publishing Industry and Its Reputation,” Dr. Lauren Cameron explores why women love romance, why society shames women who love romance, and why women should be treated with respect for reading romance regardless of the negative stigma surrounding it. The conclusion of her thesis is poignant and encapsulates the defense of a genre for women who often feel ashamed to love, love stories. Cameron states that “no explanation or justification is needed for reading romance because readers should be able to enjoy a genre they love. Romance readers are smart, diverse, often educated women who just want to be able to read without societal commentary on their intelligence. A book does not need to be on a short list for a literary award to be worthwhile. The idea that only books with that potential should be read is harmful to the readers and authors who truly love the genre.”
I love romance! And I think it is more than okay to want to be wanted and respected and to learn to love myself and life through novels like Emily Henry’s and Abby Jime Jimenez’s. I want to end my argument here: It’s not preposterous for women to enjoy stories written by women, for women, and about women’s desires. Men have been writing about men and women both, vulgarly, I might add, for centuries. Why shouldn’t we enjoy that same freedom in the present day? The short answer is that we should…and I certainly will!