Why Reading Romance Novels Isn't Trashy
The subject of female sexuality is tricky, namely because we have done our darndest to make it that way. Whereas men get the pass (e.g, 'boys will be boys'), women still live in a world where romance novels are considered tacky, shameful, an intellectual waste, and a bunch of other really nasty things. Yes, the world has become more progressive and every day, more women are comfortable standing out and speaking their mind. However, even the most enlightened areas of the globe maintain this stigma that women should, for some reason, be ashamed of themselves for what they enjoy doing. Writer friends of mine have been told they're not "real" writers because of their chosen genre. My own mother calls what I write "porn" or "smut" and doesn't seem to understand why this is offensive.
Star-Crossed Lovers
Star-crossed lovers have been a consistently popular theme for just about ever. Romeo and Juliet, Tristan and Isolde, Lancelot and Guinevere, Catherine and Heathcliff, and so on. It doesn’t always end in tragedy, as it did so often in early literature—Romeo and Juliet being the prime example—and the trope has morphed as trends change. Sometimes the couple ends up together (Edward and Bella), other times it simply Isn’t Meant To Be (The Doctor and Rose) and all that delicious angst is washed down the toilet.
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