Why are Romance Books so Popular (with Women)?
some thoughts and inquiries
I think women love romance books because the majority of the genre is focused on (heterosexual) women’s pleasure. The romantic partners treat them with kindness, respect, and devotion. Honestly, many (heterosexual) men could probably learn about what women are looking for in relationships by reading more romance books.
I also think that many women may not have experienced a fan-fiction phase, and now as adults they’re reading romance instead. Romance books and fanfiction both are usually heavily invested in characters relationships. Additionally, the adults that did have fan-fiction phases as teens and tweens are desensitized to the more salacious materials, and are thus more open to reading more explicit books now.
Another potential aspect of the romance genre’s appeal is it’s simplistic escapism. For romance stories, unlike other areas of genre fiction, fans thoroughly enjoy the formulaic nature of the narratives. Current audiences look for specific tropes that they know they will like, and they sit back and relax while the story unfolds to their expectations. The predictability is soothing, in an increasingly unpredictable world. Conflicts are simple and easily resolved (mostly), which is in direct contrast to the real-world conflicts we’re exposed to every single day. Romance books almost always have a happy ending, one wherein the main couple remain together in a happy, healthy, stable, and loving relationship. The relationship is usually borne of mutual respect and admiration. The bad actors in the books always get their comeuppance, and the happy couple can ride off into the sunset.
I do think that the popularity of this genre right now has a fascinating correlation with the rise in threats against women and women’s rights. Pride and Prejudice — the book many would point to as the first popular romance novel — was published in 1813, and in 1848 the first conference on women’s rights in the US was held. Obviously those years are decades apart, and yet this correlation nags at me.
The final aspect of the appeal that I want to talk about today is it’s casual diversity. This level of diversity isn’t often seen in many other kinds of genre fiction. Of the romance books I’ve read, there has been a plethora of representation for different races, ethnicities, disabilities, mental health disorders, and sexualities etc. I think that it’s a really beautiful aspect of the genre because it actively shows people that anyone can find love. While most of the romance genre is focused on straight couples, I have read a handful of queer romances and it seems to me that more and more are getting published and gaining popularity every year.
This isn’t to say that the romance genre is perfect, far from it actually. My point in writing this today was to examine my own thoughts on why romance books seem to be having such a moment right now. I think it boils down to the escapism; simple stories with easily solvable conflicts, and relationships built upon mutual respect and adoration.
Do you read romance? Why do you think romance books are flourishing in popularity? I’d love to know your thoughts.
XXXX