‘Impossibly erotic things’: On men’s underwear in Brief Encounters by Suzanne Forster

Here's the abstract:

Romance novels are known for their sexy heroes who grace the covers and pages. This article concerns itself with how heroes are dressed; in particular, I consider the role of men’s underwear in Brief Encounters by Suzanne Forster. Brief Encounters is a Harlequin Romance novel and, more specifically, a Harlequin Blaze. By way of close textual engagement, I show that men’s underwear plays a significant role in the narrative, especially with respect to the construction and representation of sexuality and masculinity. To these ends, I argue that Brief Encounters imagines men’s underwear as being more than functional, but as desirable and erotic. This article thus contributes to scholarship at the intersection of popular culture studies and critical studies of men’s fashion.

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In a later essay, on "Men's Dress in Popular Romance Novels" Allan states that:

In my article, "Impossibly Erotic Things": On Men's Underwear in Brief Encounters by Suzanne Forster,' I consider the role and function of underwear in a particular novel, more specifically, the thong for men. This article considers the ways in which men's underwear can become analogous to lingerie. More specifically, I show that underwear in this novel is not so much a 'functional necessity' as it is a 'desirable luxury' (Cole 2019) that speaks to the romance novel's investment in 'spectacular masculinity' (Radway 1991, 128). (542)