Part One of the Smeddley Book Essicles*

Not all Bodice-Rippers are Bad
or : Why I read Romance Novels, a Smart Girl's Guide to a Cliché Genre

I get a lot of flack for liking romance novels. And I do understand that they’re not everyone’s cup of tea. I do have a problem, however, with a few of the reasons usually cited for the dislike. People tend to dislike romance novels for one of three reasons: they simply do not like romance storylines, they think they’re trite/cliché/stupid/cheesy/unrealistic, or they think that anything remotely romantic dehumanizes women and romance novels are going to toss up back to the middle ages, equality-wise. I’m only going to rebut one of these, the second one.

( If you’re interested in a very long, rambling post about this, which I admit to being tentatively proud of, click here. And dissenting opinions, clarifications, and other comments are certainly welcome. All thoughts expressed here should be considered a ‘living draft’ and not a final, subject to change at any time, for any reason. )

*Essicles: a combination of 'articles' and 'essays', neither seemed right to call these since they are not published, so Pen made me a new word! Also, post-by-email seems to be not working, so if two other copies of this post appear I'm sorry!