Unashamedly Romantic

 It's no secret to anyone who knows me that my favorite genre is romance. It's something I talk about constantly, something I read constantly, and something I always come back to if I'm having a bad day. Last year alone I read 38 romance novels, but even more which had a romantic subplot in it somewhere. It's rare for me to read or enjoy a book that has absolutely no romance in it, and this has been true since a very young age. But before we get into that, lets look at the romance genre and how it's become what it is today. 

If you look back in history, the term romance novel was very different to what we think of today. You have your Greek romances, Arthurian romances, and the novels of Sir Walter Scott. Romance could mean a tale of adventure with a brave hero on a quest; there might not necessarily be any love story involved. Think of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight or the stories of Sir Lancelot. Sir Walter Scott was writing historical novels that were inspired by this style in the 1800s with his most famous example being Ivanhoe. But before this in ancient times, the Greeks were writing works primarily focused around a central couple falling in love. Only five nearly complete examples of this still exist, one of which is Daphnis and Chloe by Longus. 

But our idea of a romance novel really started with writers like Jane Austen, Ann Radcliffe, and the Bronte sisters. In the 17 and 1800s these women were writing novels that focused on female heroines who usually found love and successful marriages after they endured different trials or defied societal expectations. They were given happy endings which has become a staple of the entire genre. Austen's Pride and Prejudice is still called one of the best, if not the best, romance novels ever written. When we think of romance novels today however, it really started with Georgette Heyer and category romances in the 20th century. Writers like Heyer, Margaret Mitchell, and Daphne du Maurier revitalized the romance novel. You then have publishers like Mills & Boon as well as Harlequin publishing category romances which became very popular. Category romances are usually shorter, very trope driven, and have similar plots and themes; you could call Hallmark Christmas movies category romances. You know what you're getting right off the bat. Then when you get into the 1970s, the bodice ripper was born. And I think this is what everyone thinks of when they think of the romance genre. These were the books with the gorgeous models in various sensual poses on the front covers. The plots usually featured innocent yet fierce women being taught the ways of love by a large alpha male who didn't really understand what consent is. This is when the plots of romances got real steamy. The novel that pretty much introduced this whole new sub-genre was The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss. 

Fast forward to today, and the romance genre has changed even more. It still has its basic tropes and rules, you're still going to have a happy ending and it's still going to focus on the love story of one main couple, but there's much more diversity both in terms of characters and sub-genres. We have a lot more romance novels by POC and queer writers featuring characters who are not heterosexual and white. There's also more diversity in terms of what types of plots you might get. You have contemporary and historical settings, but there's also romantic suspense, paranormal romance, science fiction romance, fantasy romance, time-travel romance, erotic romance, and many many more. The romance genre has also become much more mainstream with people talking about it on social media and more publishers getting in on the action. 

But why do I love it? Well, when I was little, my favorite part of any book or movie was the love story. If there wasn't a cute couple who fell in love at some point, I didn't want anything to do with it. Something about romantic love fascinated me. I adored grand declarations of passion, attending weddings, and day dreamed about when I would one day find it myself. I devoured fairy tales and Jane Austen, as well as fan fiction that my parents would probably not have approved of. But when it came to actual romance novels, it was a harder road. I grew up very religious, and was frequently taught that as a woman I should not even think about sex until marriage. So the only romance novels I was allowed to read were Christian ones. I read a lot of Janette Oke and Grace Livingston Hill, which I will never touch again. It was all I had, but something was missing. These characters were too perfect, their connections were never fully believable, and the religious themes were shoved down my throat. It wasn't until I got to college and I really started to deconstruct my religious beliefs and leave them behind that I rediscovered the romance novels I was never allowed to read. They were what I had always wanted, and I was so happy that I no longer felt shame about loving them. Because here's the thing, there is nothing more empowering as a woman than to read about female characters discovering themselves and finding happiness on their own terms. And can I still appreciate a clean romance? Sure! But those spicy scenes are pretty fun, lol. 

And there you go, I hope you learned something new about the romance genre. I'll leave you with something to think about if you're still skeptical about romance novels and why they're worth reading. This genre was built by women for women. There's no other genre, at least that I know of, which has done that. Does it have its problematic elements and history? Yes. However, the romance genre showed women that it's okay to explore and celebrate your sexuality. Romance novels today do not focus on perfect people, in fact they rarely ever did. Romance novels are about regular, often damaged people finding someone to make their life better, which is what good relationships should do. The characters talk about things they've gone through in the past, they form emotional connections, and they have conversations about what they want and need. That's not an unrealistic portrayal of romantic relationships, that's actually a picture of something we should all strive for. Sure, in real life you probably won't be kidnapped by pirates or make a fake dating pact with your best friend, but you will have to overcome past trauma, learn how to communicate with your partner, and find someone who will stick with you through the good times and bad. And that's what romance novels are all about, Charlie Brown.