‘Fiction for Men’ is a Harmful, Needlessly Divisive Label  (via bookriot)

I agree with this assessment. I think women will read this stuff regardless unlike a lot of men who avoid anything labeled “Women’s Fiction” or “Chick Lit” like it carries the bubonic plague. It’s not a surprising conclusion but it is an interesting area where we can see the patriarchal values, the gender roles, and general fuckery inherent in our culture. It’s one of the reasons I get so defensive about romance novels. Why do Romance novels seem to catch more flack than any other genre despite being one of the most widely sold? Because it’s associated with women and with “womanly things” like feelings, love, relationships, and sex. Derision for romance novels is not really about bad writing or plots because you have those in every single genre, the problem people have with romance novels is that they’re books written largely by and for women and thus, in this society, they deserve less respect.