American romances: narratives of culture and identity

Lynn Coddington (1997) cites Chappel's thesis, saying that:

Deborah Chappel believes that reading and writing a romance may be among the most subversive acts a woman can engage in when it comes to challenging patriarchal culture. She sees the feminist movement and women's popular culture, of which romance is most assuredly a part, as central sites of resistance to negative definitions of women in America. (59)