After reading our assigned text, “Women Read the Romance,”
by Janice A. Radway, I thought of the hit novel series and upcoming film, Fifty Shades of Grey. Fifty Shades of Grey has become
something similar a world phenomenon for women. Everywhere you go, someone is
reading one of the books, talking about a ‘steamy new trailer,’ or buying pre-purchased
tickets to the Valentine’s Day viewing. Now, I’m not saying that anything is
wrong with this; in fact, I’m sure I’ll be going to see it when the film is
released.
Rather, I think it’s extremely fascinating how women become
obsessed with these romance driven novels. Stated in a book review of, The Romance Revolution: Erotic Novels for
Women and the Quest for a New Sexual Identity, “…the female of [a] romance
fiction is satisfying the same needs as the male viewer of Sunday football
games…” (Roller 317). It is clear that women use these novels to escape and
relax in the same way that men do as they watch sports television. However, I
find it interesting that the women’s outlet (sex driven novels) for relaxation
and sense of escapement from reality is much more R-rated than the men’s outlet
(Sunday night football). With this being said, the answer could simply be that
women are much more open about reading these types of novels, while men may
feel embarrassed to be reading something has “women obsessed.” With this being
said, I’m sure boyfriends and husbands won’t complain about ‘being dragged’ to
see the film on Valentine’s Day weekend.
Roller, Judi. 1988. "The Romance Revolution: Erotic Novels for Women and the Quest for a New Sexual Identity."
American Literature Vol. 60 No. 2: 317-318 http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.rollins.edu:2048/stable/2927233
seq=1#page_thumbnails_tab_contents.
American Literature Vol. 60 No. 2: 317-318 http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.rollins.edu:2048/stable/2927233
seq=1#page_thumbnails_tab_contents.
Excellent analysis. Do you think it's also that women's versions of erotica are also hidden under the auspices of "romance," whereas men's can be more explicitly sexual or escapist in nature? That is, it's more acceptable socially for men to be openly and overtly sexual, and more acceptable socially for them to be aggressively into sports (e.g., adrenaline junkies) than women. Is the romance novel then a form of micro-resistance to social oppression/repression?
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