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Okay, But Why Are Romance Novels Political?
When people think of romance novels, the first thing that comes to mind is shirtless Dukes with windswept hair on the covers of mass-market paperbacks. The damsel in distress main character who is waiting for a love interest to come and save her from the clutches of evil. They’re a thing for girls. It isn’t ‘real’ reading, because they are stories typically written by women, for women, and starring women. But what if we told you that romance books, even the most quote-unquote “raunchy” of the genre, are deeply political? Who gets to be the hero or the heroine matters. Romance, as a genre, has seen major shifts in recent years, evolving from stories focused on white, heterosexual protagonists to a more diverse range of characters, lives, and themes. LGBTQ+ characters and relationships have entire shelves dedicated to them in bookstores. Black female characters now receive the same fairytale endings...