Appalachian State University

Feminism in Romance:

A Literature Review

Talia Hoggan

RC 2001-1101

Vicki LeQuire

5 October 2020
Introductory Statements

Romance novels have received massive amounts of criticism over the years for

portraying women as weak and in need of men, and generally containing problematic

themes​.​ However, scholars have been exploring and defending the genre of modern

romance as a medium through which women can embrace their own sexuality and

empower themselves​.

Control over Sexuality

Throughout history society has stigmatized sex in relation to women, causing

many to feel unclean and shameful for having any desire whatsoever​.​ The academic

and romance writer Jenny Cruise writes how society and the media has used women as

sexual objects meant to satisfy men​.​ She remedies that romance novels allow women

to take control of this sexuality for their own purposes as opposed to anyone else's​.​ Ann

Oakley, famous sociologist, feminist, and writer emphasizes this point and refers to

sexuality as a human right that has been denied to females​.​ To this end, if romance

novels are accepted and encouraged as opposed to looked down upon, readers can

diminish these ideas that have been imposed upon women​.​ Author Linda

Christian-Smith goes as far to say that young adult romance-fiction should be

encouraged to teenage girls so that they can develop their own femininities and

understand/accept their own desires​.​ This way, girls can understand from a relatively

young age that what they are feeling is natural and acceptable, and nothing to be

ashamed about​.
Healthy and Consensual Relationships

In addition to romance fiction developing young girls’ femininities, this genre can

also explain sensitive subjects that young women unfortunately must be informed

about​.​ A novel that can particularly help girls comprehend what is going on and what to

look out for in relationships is ​Forever​ by Judy Bloom​.​ This novel deals with the topic of

sex amid high school girls, allowing readers to not only better understand themselves

and the hormonal/sexual changes they may be experiencing, but also the concept of

consent (Spiering & Kedley)​.​ Author Susan M. Moore explores this idea through sexual

script theory, which is defined as “the notion that sexual scripts are inherently

e​mbedded in a cultural context in which cultural norms provide guidelines for

appropriate behaviors, emotions, and cognitions for men and women in sexual

experiences (Simon and Gagnon 1986)​.

Sexism and Gender Roles

One of the first opponents to romance novels, Tania Modleski argues that the

main characters in traditional romance novels consistently find their happy ending

through ridding themselves of their pride and ambition, essentially sacrificing

themselves as individuals​.​ This behavior theoretically encourages the reader to follow

suit​.​ Gill and Hendereckioff, other scholarly authors, agree that romance novels are

problematic examples to the reader​. ​They claim that the majority of heroines in these

books have the same characteristics; thin, physically fit, clean shaven, etcetera​.​ These

authors claim that this archetype creates an unfair expectation for women and severely
limits the socially accepted idea of beauty and who will get their happily ever after​.

However, Janice Radway counters this point with the fact that these authors failed to

address the theories of why their audience reads and the reasons for their book

choices​.​ She also argues that Modleski, Gill, and Hendereckioff do not mention

anything of the modern romance books that challenge gender behavior stereotypes and

traditional sexual relationships​. ​Professor Barbara Seeber continues this counter

argument by stating that even in many of the older, traditional romances such as those

written by the Bronte sisters and Jane Austen, the authors still managed to subtly defy

“patriarchal literary standards”​.

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Though romance fiction is widely considered to be a “guilty pleasure” with no

merit to the reader, scholars have been arguing the importance of this genre in regards

to the empowerment of women and the standard set for healthy relationships​.
 Works Cited

Burnett, Ann, and Rhea Reinhardt Beto. "Reading romance novels: An application of

parasocial relationship theory." ​North Dakota Journal of Speech & Theatre​ 13

(2000).

Christian-Smith, Linda K. ​Becoming a woman through romance​. Routledge, 2019.

Gill, Rosalind, and Elena Herdieckerhoff. "Rewriting the romance: new femininities in

chick lit?." ​Feminist Media Studies​ 6.4 (2006): 487-504.

Moore, Susan M., and Doreen A. Rosenthal. ​Sexuality in adolescence: Current trends.​

Routledge, 2007.

Oakley, Ann, ed. ​The Ann Oakley reader: Gender, women and social science​. Policy

Press, 2005.

Radway, Janice A. ​Reading the Romance: Women, Patriarchy, and Popular Literature.​

Verso, 1987.

Regis, Pamela. ​A natural history of the romance novel.​ University of Pennsylvania

Press, 2013.

Rutagumirwa, S., & Bailey, A. (2018). "The Heart Desires but the Body Refuses":

Sexual Scripts, Older Men's Perceptions of Sexuality, and Implications for Their

Mental and Sexual Health. Retrieved from

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5897462/

Seeber, Barbara K. ​General Consent in Jane Austen: A Study of Dialogism​.

McGill-Queen's Press-MQUP, 2000.

s.e. smithView profile » s.e. smith is a writer. “How Romance Authors Became

Literature's Feminist Utopians.” ​Bitch Media​,

www.bitchmedia.org/article/the-case-for-romance-authors.

Spiering, Jenna, and Kate Kedley. "" You Can't Go Back to Holding Hands." Reading

Judy Blume's Forever in the# MeToo Era." ​Study and Scrutiny: Research in

Young Adult Literature​ 3.2 (2019): 1.