Despite its huge mass-market appeal, the romance genre continues to be the most maligned of the pulp and mainstream fiction forms. While academic critics, whatever their degree of sympathy with readers, claim that romance serves to reinforce traditional patriarchal structures and values, other researchers claim that beneath the obvious patriarchal influences are elements that women find valuable in their lives. By studying the shift that occurred in the 1980s, and though interviewing feminists who read romance, my research seeks to understand not only the influence that the second-wave women's movement has had on the genre, but also the value that feminists place on the reading of romance fiction. If it turns out that academic critics have not kept up with the changes in romance fiction, the image of the contemporary romance reader will require significant change.
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I intend to investigate the relationship between feminism and romance novels, paying special attention to the impact that the second waveofthe women's movement has had on the form starting in the mid-1980s. I hope to confirm my suspicion that changes I have noticedasa reader are in response to, and influenced by the second wave offeminism. In order to corroborate these ideas, I conducted semi-structured interviews with eight romance readers who self-identifiedasfeminists. [...]
It is not my intention to interrogate the textofvarious romantic novels in order to provethem feministorintellectual.Rather, I want to examine that "uneasyspace" occupied by feminist readersofthese novels and expose the nuances that make romance reading a compelling pleasure. I hopetodetermine how readers who identifyasfeminist engage with the text. Do they find contradictions between the natureofthe text and their feminism?Ifso, how do they reconcile those contradictions? Do they believe that romantic novels have become more feminist? The answers to these and other questions will help me to deconstruct the stereotypeofthe readerofthese novels, to validate the pleasure readers experience in romantic novels, and to come to a better understanding of the value they see in the popular romantic fiction genre. (8)
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In my own reading, what I have experiencedas"feministchanges"to the romance genre began appearing in the mid-1980s [...] In my experience, in all but the subgenreofhistorical romance, gender stereotypes were beginning to change. Male characters were no longer portrayed strictlyasbrooding, dark, and macho; heroines were given more independence and depth. There were also thematic changes: for example, writers were beginning to pay attention to contemporary social issues, suchassingle parenting, substance abuse, and child abuse. (14)
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While there is a burgeoning bodyofscholarship on romantic fiction, mostofit addresses the consumptionofromance novels by a general female readership. There is no major studyofromantic fiction's feminist readership, although a few scholars do address the subject in passing. (15)
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The therapeutic valueof romance novels (this approach is referred toasbiblio-therapy) is just oneofmany themes that arose in my research, themes which seemed to go far beyond notions of"escapeand entertainment." (41)
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When discussing both reading and writing, the authors among my participants spoke in termsofthe binary oppositionof"literary"and"commercial"(or"genre") writing. Thus I needed more clarity about what the distinction meant to them. What differences do they perceive between literary and commercial/genre writing? I explored this topic with Lesley, who believes that"literary"writers are not as interested in plot. (51)
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The issueofanonymity was a concern for mostofmy participants, but especially crucial for two.These women, both professionals with graduate degrees, expressed very strongly their fears about their intellect being questioned and their credibility compromisediftheir closely guarded secret were exposed.Well-known professional women believe they have the most tolose-their professional reputations and the respect oftheir colleagues. (57)
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Given all the negative stereotypingofboth writers and readersofromance, it is ironic that writersofromances sometimes createcharacters-readersor writersof romance-whoare denigrated by other characters. (63)
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What my study reveals is that the qualities that characterize romance heroines and romantic fiction's validationoffeeling are paramount pleasures that cut across both reading and writing activities.Ifmy participants occasionally have lives that mirror characters' lives in romances, they do not want to acknowledge it.As Lesley states, the characters often suffer horrible experiences that would be very uncomfortable to live.But neither are these romance readers"lonely" women with minimal lives whose sole reason for choosing romances is escape and vicarious adventure.Most are in relationships that they claim to enjoy.I thus needed to examine how the heroesofromantic fiction measure up to my participants' "significant others." (70)
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While allofmy research subjects read romance because they enjoy the romantic attraction and excitement between the heroine and hero, of utmost importance is the quality of the relationship. Rather than undermine my participants' current relationships, the novels they read reinforce the importanceoftheir own personal relationships with their partners. (76)
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the final phaseofthe interviews with my participants dealt with whether or not romance novels were perceivedasincorporating discussionsofrace, class, and gender, or addressing social issues in some way. While my interviews yield valuableinformation- and certainly my discussions with editors, writers, and academics researching and teaching the romance fiction genre have expanded myknowledge-I find that using various texts from my own reading also offers unique insights that help me to fill in and round out this important section of my thesis. (79)
Here's the abstract:
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