The Introduction states that "Camille S. Alexander studies Jasmine Guillory's bestselling romantic comedies featuring Black female leads, and often male leads of color as well."
---
African American romance writer Jasmine Guillory's novels depict relatable African American female characters, often in plausible situations. Her novels combine the rom com with sista lit, providing an amusing take on black romantic relationships in the 21st century, but also incorporating a level of reality called "the realness," which some romance novels may lack. (121)
---
The denizens of RuPaul's Drag Race (2009-) define the realness as "the truest version of something or someone" - an element of a person or event that cannot be imitated (Borge par. 21). The realness is an important element of black life and plays a crucial role in sista lit, moving the genre towards an authenticity often lacking in rom coms. In sista lit, the realness is key to presenting black women and their experiences in a manner that is as close to reality as possible with few forays into the absurd. (122)
---
Conventional rom com and sista lit novels make some missteps, highlighting one component of women's lives or resting on opposite sides of the fiction spectrum - too absurd or too serious. These genres leave a gap in the romance novel genre that could successfully merge falling in love with daily life, incorporating the realness in the process. (122)
---
Guillory's storylines provide candid discussions on race atypical to many romance novels, which can sometimes avoid race. Romance novel plots are sometimes plagued with unrealistic locations, events, and characters that alienate readers by requiring them to suspend all disbelief. Guillory's novels are often set in plausible locations; include everyday events; and contain non-white protagonists while also adding the requisite amount of humor to classify them as romantic comedies. While contributing to the rom com, Guillory enriches sista lit without sacrificing plausible characters or content. Guillory's novels, while not creating an entirely new subgenre in the romance novel genre, do significantly refocus the genre. As such, Guillory accentuates the rom com by offering more convincing plots while staying true to "the realness" of sista lit. (123)
The Introduction states that "Camille S. Alexander studies Jasmine Guillory's bestselling romantic comedies featuring Black female leads, and often male leads of color as well."
---
---
---
---