Friday, November 24, 2017

What is a Feminist Romance?


This is my brand. As a writer, even before I was schooled how to properly self-edit, I was taught to find my brand. Brand is big. It's me. It's me trying to entice readers to buy me and my books. But what I hadn't put anywhere on my brand is the fact that I'm a feminist. I'd asked a marketer about this word and my brand, and after she'd made a strange face--like I was talking about giving newborns to rabid dogs--I decided not to put the word on my brand.

I never thought much more about it after that talk and look from the marketer. I wasn't sure if it mattered. But, now, after a dearth of reading feminist romance books, after feeling a tad alone and isolated, I'm rethinking that word feminism, specifically what it means to be a feminist romance writer.

Jackie C. Horne has a perfect definition of what it means: • A central love story in
which the characters and/or the author demonstrates a commitment to the political, social, and/or economic equality of the sexes. The main plot centers around individuals falling in love and struggling to make their relationship work in a patriarchal society. A writer can include as many subplots as he/she wants as long as the love story is the main focus of the novel.
• An emotional satisfying and optimistic ending. In a romance, the lovers
who risk and struggle for each other and their relationship are rewarded with social, political, or economic, as well as emotional justice and unconditional love 
Equality of the sexes...falling in love and struggling to make their relationship work in a patriarchal society...optimistic ending...rewarded with social, political, or economic, as well as emotional justice and unconditional love. Wow! That's spot-on! I love this definition and this is what I strive for in every book I write. And what I look for in the books I read.

So this blog will be about my quest to achieve this definition with every book I write. You'll learn a little of the writer's process, specifically the feminist romance writer. You'll learn about the books I like. You'll probably hear an ear-full about the things I'm not fond of within the romance genre, but I'll never badmouth another writer. And I won't allow any commenters to badmouth other writers either. We can dislike, maybe even hate, different tropes, but never the writers.

This is my blog and journey...





No comments:

Post a Comment