Is it bad because it’s a bad book or because a woman likes it? Graphic by Anna Gritzenbach and Tessa Specchio.

ANNA GRITZENBACH | OPINION EDITOR | agritzenbach@butler.edu  

TESSA SPECCHIO | OPINION COLUMNIST | tspecchio@butler.edu 

Content warning: Discussions of harmful relationship dynamics, emotional and physical abuse and problematic portrayals of relationships in media. 

In the literary world, no genre is as widely consumed — and frequently mocked — as romance novels. Despite making up the majority of book sales, romance novels are often dismissed as a genre, described as frivolous, poorly written or embarrassing. Because women form the majority of the readership, the stigma for reading romance novels extends past the genre itself; it becomes yet another way to criticize women’s interests. 

Often, the writing is seen as not profound or worthwhile, so women who read romance novels or actively like them are often looked down upon. Whether it’s the flowery writing, the cliché endings or even the steamy scenes, the romance genre is seen as not worthy of the same respect as other fiction. Despite the range of this genre — some are well-written and some are not; some reinforce toxicity and some challenge it — the issue isn’t inherently with the reading of the genre itself, but the way it is perceived and marketed. 

Romance novels aren’t inherently bad because their main audience is women, the issue stems from the problematic themes and behaviors that they promote. 

Women — specifically young women — drive the market. In the United States, they decide what is and is not profitable. Despite being the most voracious consumers, they are always the most mocked. The same individuals who dictate what is profitable — dark romance, billionaire fantasies and enemies-to-lovers — turn around and laugh at the women consuming them. 

For example, “Fifty Shades of Grey” — a “Twilight” fanfiction turned book series turned movie series — was arguably the first piece of erotic fiction to be both widely available and publicly marketed toward women. Even when romance novels make billions — “Fifty Shades of Grey” made billions with a capital B —  that success is still not taken seriously. E. L. James is not known as one of the most successful authors of our generation, despite selling five million copies in 2013.

Women’s sexuality has never been a priority, so it is significant that a mainstream piece of media about a woman’s sexual experiences was celebrated. 

Elle Rotter, a sophomore strategic communication and journalism double major, finds the accessibility of the romance genre to be an important step in feminism.  

“It’s a book written by a woman for women about female sexuality and about decreasing that stigmatization around the topic,” Rotter said. 

Women should never be questioned or criticized for reading a book that openly allows them to explore their sexuality and intimacy. However, it is the industry’s responsibility to discuss those topics in constructive ways, especially when many of the readers are young and impressionable. 

There are real problems with the content of “Fifty Shades of Grey,” many of which are overshadowed by the mockery of her readers. 

With books like “Fifty Shades of Grey” and other popular romance novels such as “Credence” and “It Ends With Us”, harmful relationship dynamics are normalized and even romanticized. These works do not provide any commentary on the dangers of the content. 

For example, BookTok sensation “Credence” is a book that markets itself as any other romance novel — while being a taboo erotica story. The book itself is about a high-school aged girl who is grieving the death of her parents and going to live with her uncle and two step-cousins in Colorado. She ultimately has a sexual relationship with all three of them. Though technically, nothing sexual happens until she is 18, but she is in high school the entire time. The self-insert main character experiences emotional and physical abuse throughout its 560 pages at the hands of her supposed “main love-interest,” meanwhile providing no comment on how toxic and/or predatory these relationships are.

The problem is not that this book is taboo porn; the issue is that it excuses abusive behaviors and provides no insight on these types of dynamics. 

Books do not have to be about healthy relationship dynamics for them to be considered a worthwhile read. However, when marketed to a ravenous population of young women, they need to provide commentary on the types of behaviors shown in the text.. Books containing dangerous dynamics should not be sitting on a shelf in a romance section. 

A lot of books like these also rely on stereotypes and clichés, often promoting recycled and ultimately harmful storylines that reinforce abusive behavior.

Senior strategic communication major Andie Kalemba isn’t bothered by that repetition but does notice it when she interacts with the genre. 

“[The romance genre] has a lot of basic clichés,” Kalemba said. “The hockey guy and the ice skater or the basketball player and the ballet dancer … I still read them, but I believe there’s so many out there, and they have pretty much the same storyline.”

Women don’t read romance novels to enrich their vocabulary, think philosophically or gain new perspectives on politics. They read them to relax, to fall into a new world or explore themselves on a deeper level. That doesn’t mean that these books are worse than others, but it does not excuse the fact that many of these stories are harmful perpetuations of the patriarchy. 

Novels such as these are bad because they are poorly written and have problematic narratives, not because they were written for a female audience. The fact that women are interested in romance content is not a problem; it’s just important to engage ethically. 

Junior elementary education major Morgan Preston sees an opportunity for romance readers to actively participate in removing harmful cliches.

“I think that consumers need to be aware of the content that they’re consuming and aware of all of the things surrounding it that can impact their experience as a consumer,” Preston said. 

There are legitimate issues within the romance genre; however, that does not mean it is inherently problematic, silly or somehow “worse” than other genres.

Women’s media, from boy bands to “chick flicks” to reality TV, has been criticized for being unserious, no matter how large the fanbase may be. Meanwhile, male-dominated media — hyper-violent, athletic or dark and gritty — are rarely subjected to the same level of scrutiny. When something is popular with women, it’s mocked. 

The truth is that reading is important. With BookTok’s popularity, romance novels have sparked women’s interest in engaging in literature. There was a time when women weren’t allowed to read or engage in academia; let us read whatever the hell we want. 

At the end of the day, there are much bigger problems in the world than a cliché romance novel — at least women know how to read.