Dangerous Books For Girls: The Bad Reputation of Romance Novels Explained

by Maya Rodale

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  [53] St Clair, 205.

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  [72] Eliot, George. “Silly Novels by Lady Novelists.” In Silly Novels by Lady Novelists. Penguin Great Ideas. London: Penguin UK, 2010.

  [73] Copeland, Edward. Women Writing about Money: Women’s Fiction in England, 1790-1820. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. P 165

  [74] Love Between the Covers . Directed by Laurie Kahn. Released in 2015.

  [75] Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. New York: Barnes & Noble Classics, 2003; 178.

  [76] Pride and Prejudice , 178

  [77] S. “What Is the Harm of Novel-Reading?” In Victorian Print Media: A Reader, edited by Andrew King and John Plunkett. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 2005; 48–49.

  [78] “Uncanny Valley.” Wikipedia. Accessed March 23, 2015. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_valley.

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  [80] Reeves, Clara. The Progress of Romance. New York: The Facsimile Text Society, 1930; 110.

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  [84] Horne, Jackie C. “Dukes: The 0.0001735%.” November 22, 2013. http://romancenovelsforfeminists.blogspot.com/2013/11/dukes-00001735.html.

  [85] “List of Countries by the Number of US Dollar Billionaires.” Wikipedia. Accessed March 24, 2015. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_the_number_of_US_dollar_billionaires.

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  [87] Milan, Courtney. "Rake Mathematics: A Deleted Scene." Rake Mathematics: A Deleted Scene | Courtney Milan, Historical Romance Author. http://www.courtneymilan.com/rakemathematics.php.

  [88] Giraldi, William. “Finally, an Academic Text Devoted to ‘50 Shades of Grey’” TheNewRepublic.com. May 19, 2014. www.newrepublic.com/article/117814/50-shades-grey-academic-study-feminist-point-view.

  [89] Crusie, Jennifer. “Romancing Reality: The Power of Romance Fiction to Reinforce and Re-Vision the Real.” Jennifer Crusie. Accessed March 24, 2015. www.jennycrusie.com/for-writers/essays/romancing-reality-the-power-of-romance-fiction-to-reinforce-and-re-vision-the-real/.

  [90] Tetel, Julie. “On the Term ‘Bodice Ripper’” Julie Tetel Andresen’s Blog: The Anatomy of Language and Love. June 9, 2014. www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/6432127-on-the-term-bodice-ripper.

  [91] Bly, Mary. “A Fine Romance.” The New York Times. February 11, 2005. www.nytimes.com/2005/02/12/opinion/12bly.html?_r=0.

  [92] Joyce, Brenda. Deadly Caresses. New York City: St. Martin's Paperbacks, 2007.

  [93] See the 2015 Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition cover.

  [94] Theilen, Jacqueline M., MD. “Sexual Health. Viagra for Women: Why Doesn't It Exist?” May 8, 2014. Accessed March 24, 2015. www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/sexual-health/expert-answers/viagra-for-women/faq-20057960. And Vernon, Polly. “The Race to Discover Viagra for Women.” TheGuardian.com. April 24, 2010. www.theguardian.com/society/2010/apr/25/women-viagra-polly-vernon.

  [95] Doody.

  [96] Acton, William. The Functions and Disorders of the Reproductive Organs in Childhood, Youth, Adult Age, and Advanced Life: Considered in Their Physiological, Social, and Moral Relations . 3rd Edition. London: Churchill, 1862; 101.

  [97] Rogers, Rosemary. Sweet Savage Love. New York: Avon Books, 1974; 228.

  [98] Crellin, Olivia. “Historic California Rape Law Tells College Campuses: ‘Yes Means Yes’” Vice.com. September 29, 2014. http://bit.ly/19MSthI.

  [99] Goldberg, Eleanor. “As Risk of Female Genital Mutilation More Than Doubles in U.S., Lawmakers Take Action.” The Huffington Post. February 6, 2015. Accessed March 24, 2015. www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/06/female-genital-mutilation-us_n_6629460.html.

  [100] St Clair, 188.

  [101] Virgin, 147.

  [102] Virgin, 77.

  [103] Collins, Gail. When Everything Changed: The Amazing Journey of American Women from 1960 to the Present. New York: Little, Brown and, 2009; 169.

  [104] Turner, Natasha. “10 Things That American Women Could Not Do Before the 1970s.” Ms Magazine Blog. May 28, 2013. http://msmagazine.com/blog/2013/05/28/10-things-that-american-women-could-not-do-before-the-1970s/.

  [105] Collins, 167.

  [106] Wendell, Sarah, and Candy Tan. Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches’ Guide to Romance Novels. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2009; 25.

  [107] Wendell, Sarah. “Romance, Arousal, and Condescension.” Smart Bitches Trashy Books. March 15, 2012. http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2012/03/romance-arousal-and-condescension/.

  [108] Orenstein, Peggy. Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the New Girlie-girl Culture. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2011.

  [109] “Sin City’s Missing Sexual Education.” TheDailyShow.com. February 11, 2015. http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/67hgfz/sin-city-s-missing-sexual-education.

  [110] Fisher, Mary Anne, PhD. “How Much Do Romance Novels Reflect Women's Desires?” Psychology Today. July 16, 2010. www.psychologytoday.com/blog/loves-evolver/201007/how-much-do-romance-novels-reflect-womens-desires.

  [111] Grescoe, 50.

  [112] Wendell, 72.

  [113] Vail, Elizabeth. “The ABCs of Romance: The Duke of Slut, Mary Sue, TSTL, and More!” Heroes and Heartbreakers, January 19, 2012. www.heroesandheartbreakers.com/blogs/2012/01/the-abcs-of-romance-the-duke-of-slut-mary-sue-tstl-and-more.

  [114] “Marketing to Women: Quick Facts.” She-conomy.com. May 07, 2008. http://she-conomy.com/facts-on-women.

  [115] Wendell, 73.

  [116] Rodale, Maya. “9 Surprisingly Feminist Romance Novels to Read During ‘Read a Romance’ Month,” Bustle.com. August 8, 2014. www.bustle.com/articles/336
55-9-surprisingly-feminist-romance-novels-to-read-during-read-a-romance-month.

  [117] Kinsale, Laura. “The Androgynous Reader: Point of View in the Romance.” In Dangerous Men & Adventurous Women: Romance Writers on the Appeal of the Romance, edited by Jayne Ann Krentz. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1992; 37–54.

  [118] Barlow, Linda. “The Androgynous Writer: Another Point of View.” In Dangerous Men & Adventurous Women: Romance Writers on the Appeal of the Romance, edited by Jayne Ann Krentz. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1992; 55–64.

  [119] Kinsale, 45.

  [120] Kinsale, 47.

  [121] Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. We Should All Be Feminists. London: Harper Collins, 2014.

  [122] Ali, Ayaan Hirsi. Infidel. New York: Free Press, 2007; 94.

  [123] Gay, Roxane. Bad Feminist: Essays. New York: Harper Perennial, 2014.

  [124] Collins, 199.

  [125] Smith, Stacy L., Marc Choueiti, and Katherine Pieper. An Investigation of Female Characters in Popular Films Across 11 Countries. Report. September 2014. http://seejane.org/wp-content/uploads/gender-bias-without-borders-full-report.pdf.

  [126] Doody, Margaret Anne. The True Story of the Novel. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1997; 281.

  [127] Grescoe, 44.

  [128] Tetel, Julie. “On the Term Bodice Ripper.” Julie Tetel Andresen’s Blog: The Anatomy of Language and Love. June 9, 2014. www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/6432127-on-the-term-bodice-ripper.

  [129] Side note: Those backgrounds are also made up by the artist. Jon Paul tells a funny story of a model coming to a photo shoot with her mother, who expected to see elaborate sets with luxurious couches and dramatic castles. But nope, those are all added later, out of the imagination of Jon Paul.

  [130] Roiphe, Katie. “Working Women’s Fantasies.” Newsweek.com. April 16, 2012. www.newsweek.com%2Fworking-womens-fantasies-63915.

  [131] Wang, Wendy, Kim Parker, and Paul Taylor. “Breadwinner Moms.” PewSocialTrends.com. May 29, 2013. http://pewrsr.ch/1xv1dDG.

  [132] Slaughter, Anne-Marie. “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All.” June 2012. The Atlantic. www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/07/why-women-still-cant-have-it-all/309020/.

  [133] Cowles, Gregory. “Inside the List.” The New York Times. February 21, 2015. www.nytimes.com/2015/02/22/books/review/inside-the-list.html.

  [134] Sandberg, Sheryl, and Nell Scovell. Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. New York: Knopf, 2013.

  [135] Velez, Natasha, Gabrielle Fonrouge, and Natalie O’Neill. “Fifty Shades of Grey Whips Sex-Toy Sales into a Frenzy.” NewYorkPost.com. February 14, 2014. http://nypost.com/2015/02/14/fifty-shades-of-grey-whips-sex-toy-sales-into-a-frenzy/.

  [136] Ogas, Ogi, and Sai Gaddam. A Billion Wicked Thoughts: What the World’s Largest Experiment Reveals about Human Desire. New York: Dutton, 2011.

  [137] Grant, Adam, and Sheryl Sandberg. “Madam C.E.O., Get Me a Coffee.” The New York Times. February 07, 2015. www.nytimes.com/2015/02/08/opinion/sunday/sheryl-sandberg-and-adam-grant-on-women-doing-office-housework.html?_r=0.

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  [141] Flynn, Gillian. Gone Girl: A Novel. New York: Crown, 2012.

  [142] Robinson, Tasha. “We’re Losing All Our Strong Female Characters to Trinity Syndrome.” The Dissolve. June 16, 2014. https://thedissolve.com/features/exposition/618-were-losing-all-our-strong-female-characters-to-tr/.

  [143] “158 Movies Released in 2013.” Listchallenges.com. http%3A%2F%2Fwww.listchallenges.com%2Fmovies-of-2013.

  [144] Fein, Ellen, and Sherrie Schneider. All the Rules: Time Tested Secrets for Capturing the Heart of Mr. Right. New York: Warner Books, 2007.

  [145] Fein, Ellen, and Sherrie Schneider. Not Your Mother's Rules: The New Secrets for Dating. New York: Grand Central Pub., 2013.

  [146] Johnson, Eric M. “Promiscuity Is Pragmatic.” Slate.com. December 14, 2014. http://slate.me/1CvjYHZ.

  [147] Cavenagh, Sarah Rose, PhD. “Female Sexual Desire: An Evolutionary Biology Perspective.” Psychology Today. June 19, 2013. www.psychologytoday.com/blog/once-more-feeling/201306/female-sexual-desire-evolutionary-biology-perspective.

  [148] Regis, 10.

  [149] Crusie, Jennifer. "Jennifer Crusie." Jennifer Crusie. http://www.jennycrusie.com/for-writers/essays/i-know-what-it-is-when-i-read-it-defining-the-romance-genre/.

  [150] Daily, Suzanne. “Little Girls Lose Their Self-Esteem on the Way to Adolescence, Study Finds.” NewYorkTimes.com. January 9, 1991. http://nyti.ms/1xv23Aq.

  [151] Doody, 278.

  Table of Contents

  PREFACE

  WHAT WE TALK ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT FABIO

  THE ROMANCE REVOLUTION

  PROOF OF SNARK

  TRASHY BOOKS

  HOW LADY AUTHORS DRIVE INNOVATION IN PUBLISHING

  FOR LOVE AND MONEY

  ROMANCE VERSUS REALISM

  WHAT WE TALK ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT BODICE RIPPERS

  PURE HEROINE

  LADY PORN

  THE REAL APPEAL OF THE ALPHA

  BRA BURNERS AND BODICE RIPPERS

  THE COVERS

  FROM LEAN IN TO BEND OVER

  BECAUSE SHE’S WORTH IT

  REFORMED RAKES

  HAPPY EVER AFTER

  WHY IT MATTERS HOW WE TALK ABOUT ROMANCE NOVELS

  THANK YOU!

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  ROMANCE NOVELS BY MAYA RODALE

  WORKS CITED