Why the Romance Genre Deserves More Respect: A Rant Against the Haters

I'm only going to say this once, because I don't see any point in constantly harping on about it, but I deem it important for my soul: the hate towards the romance genre - especially when we have so much progression - is becoming ridiculous and extremely harmful.

If you couldn't tell from my plethora of reviews on them, I read a lot of romance books. I do read other genres like fantasy, crime, and dystopian, but it is my main genre. There has always been something about picking up a romance novel and settling down to read about two people falling in love that I avidly enjoy. Though there are tropes that are overdone and used all the time, it still works, and I believe it will continue to work because each author has something that makes them different. There is just something comforting in the repetition of knowing how something is going to end. And I think a lot of us are guilty of that, enjoying that there is a happily ever after - considering I don't think many people enjoy getting to a cliffhanger that doesn't have a sequel out yet, or even worse, you're on a book buying ban. 😱

Over the last couple of years, especially since lockdown in 2020, social media has been a big help to the book industry. BookTok is a main helper, which is a sub-section on the infamous TikTok. It has helped to increase the sales of books; however, I believe that it can also be detrimental. For a plethora of promoting videos, there are also videos that show shock and aggravation towards the romance genre. Especially when they reduce these novels about communication, friendship, found family, and soulmates to just one word: "Smut". This is all I hear, as if this is a genre that only contains sex. As if sex isn't a normal part of the world, which the majority of people know about.

One of the biggest standalone books that is at the forefront of the campaign against "smut" books is Icebreaker by Hannah Grace. A lot of people dislike this book due to the cover containing cartoon characters on it, when there are explicit sex scenes within the pages of the novel. But I love the cartoon covers on romance novels, because not only do they give an idea of what the characters look like, but they are also so much better than a tasteless shirtless man on the cover. It feels tacky and once again reduces a book that could have so much more to just sex. If people are picking up the book expecting a clean romance, then I understand that is not fair. I understand that we need more awareness to ensure that children are not buying these books; however, why should it be separated into clean romances with cute covers and then adult books with shirtless men on? Also, a lot of books now tend to have content warnings that specifically say what is in the novel, as well as sometimes on the back of the book.

It also becomes problematic when the romance genre is mostly frequented by women. When people say they are disgusted by what these books entail, it seems to be minimising women for reading and writing these types of books. People read romances for so many different reasons, and for a seemingly more progressive world where women have finally gotten a safe space for expressing their desires and passions, there are still plenty of people who seem to be put out and aggravated about what other people are reading. It has taken ages to reach a point where ‘#TikTokMadeMeBuyIt’ romance tables are front and centre in all the big book retailers, that we need to celebrate this, not put it down.

I don’t feel very comfortable talking about the novels I read with certain people due to the stigma that surrounds them. But I strongly feel that there is a difference between a matter of opinion where you personally don't like it and shaming other people for reading or enjoying it. I mean, I'm not a big fan of classic novels, but I don’t go around saying that people who read them are boring. I haven't really heard any other genres getting dragged over the coals as everything I have personally seen has been mostly about the romance genre – though it could be because my algorithm shows me anything to do with romance novels. But either way, it is just sad. I have to say that these opinions on the genre are especially uncalled for if they are by people who don’t read or haven't read a romance novel because it is not their cup of tea.

You also have the fact that people believe reading romance leads women to have unrealistic expectations about relationships. Because obviously, wanting someone to support you, have good communication, and work with a 50/50 partnership is too much to ask. Come on, really? And again, reducing a romance novel to the fact that women are expecting the bare minimum from their relationships, is just insane. It is like people think that women want their partner to constantly shower them in presents, when it is really knowing the little things about them and always being there to support them. See, the bare minimum!

Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of things in romance novels that are incredibly sweet, but there is a point where it is fiction, and most people actually know that. We don’t always live in a fantasy book world, though I bet we all wish we did. But yes, the books may have unrealistic expectations of the male figure by describing a man that has a six (or even ten) pack by either working out all the time – or potentially never. However, what I say to this is that everyone still has a type of person they are attracted to, and a few book descriptions aren't going to suddenly reverse all of that. Especially as when people read, they might not even find the description that is being written to be an attractive look on a person when they imagine the character.

I get so sick and tired of trying to justify why I read romance that it gets to the point that I don’t feel like I am reading anything of importance anymore. It is not enough to stop me, of course, because I know what I like and will argue it till I'm blue in the face, but I shouldn't have to explain why I enjoy them (or write a rant to post on my blog). It feels like there is a stigma that emphasises that romance novels are not a part of what is deemed good literature. People believe that they don’t make you think as much as classics do or there isn’t the world-building like in fantasy. But think like this: there are books that are written today that may one day be a classic that is being studied by future students, so maybe we shouldn’t judge before we know what will happen one day.

So anyway, I love romance novels and people shouldn’t feel shame about reading them. Shout it from the rooftops and keep fighting for what you believe in.

Until the next chapter,

#BellesBookBabble