Why do women like romance novels

Berkley books, for instance, re-packaged the self-published Bared to You, by Sylvia Day to better appeal to the Fifty Shades fanbase. The book, which follows the raunchy encounters of an emotionally damaged pair of lovers, recently reached number 10 on the New York Times bestseller list.

Romantic and erotic fiction remains the top-selling sector of the book market. So what is the appeal of these fantastical stories? It might have something to do with women feeling underappreciated in their own lives.

The heroines of romance novels often enjoy the lavish attention of male suitors, who cater to their every whim, and who often represent a stark contrast to the prototypical 'emotionally unavailable' man. Not only do the men and women in these books connect on a sexual level, they become immersed in each other's emotional yearnings. In an age where staying 'connected' means following someone on Twitter or communicating via text message, these stories of deep physical and emotional intimacy offer a welcomed retreat from reality.

Much of the thrill of a romance novel is the care and devotion the hero lavishes on his beloved, maintains New York-based sex therapist Stephen Snyder.

Snyder, who has written extensively on the mystique of female sexuality, believes these novels capture the thrill of completely engrossing a man -- without having to compete with the television, the iPhone or any of the myriad distractions that exist in the real world. Well, you could tell that nosy question asker that life is squashing your dreams and you need a little you time in a fictional world where good people are actually rewarded with good lives.

Then burst into tears real or fake, your choice until they scooch awkwardly down the bench and refuse to make eye contact.

Or you could refer them to this handy-dandy list of responses, complete with visual aids. Simply point them to the relevant examples which range from honest to honestly-a-little-salty , and get back to your book! But it can take deliberate effort to diversify our reading lists beyond straight white men. You might not be missing women from your shelves today.

You might have, like many people I know, devoted yourself to reading more or only women and authors of color , especially in the last few years. Women have been historically excluded from the canon, and that carries on through to publishing today. How sex, in literary fiction, is rarely actually fun, and if it is then someone must pay the price. There are male and nonbinary authors, too and not all romances pair a man and a woman , but romance authorship may be the arena least dominated by straight men in the entire world.

And, almost more important than these women falling in love, is them being fallen in love with. For being strong, independent, vulnerable, honest, brave, smart, funny, and stubborn. Those are stories about women that I think are extremely worth reading. I started reading romance when I was in my early 30s, working at a website where romance was a major focus.

I started for work, but I kept going because it was But soon enough it was, of course, November, and then it was , and I left that job, and the world kept finding new ways to be bad. I remember reading one book and needing to DM the author to find out if anything bad happened to the delicate dog who was traipsing through the pages.

So there were two problems: bad things happening in books and the anticipation that they might. Romance, like any other genre, has its genre conventions.

Rule 2. Critics have suggested the romance provides women with the opportunity for self-transcendence, to imagine being ravished, adored, protected and loved. It also enables women imaginatively to resist the constraints and excesses of a male-dominated society, and to find a cathartic space in which to explore fear and guilt, as well as revenge fantasies, around fathers and husbands.

As I too discovered when discussing Gone With the Wind with readers, women gregariously swap romance books, memories and ideas; exchange with each other on and offline favorite lines, narratives, and playful comments on characters and endings.

Women can be fierce critics but also enjoy banter and erotic fantasies around the stories. Readers devour romances actively, discriminating between texts and having a shrewd sense of how to find stories and characters that appeal—often via recommendation from friends or family members. An escape from the ironing board and the frying pan. Three of my correspondents summarized the self-deprecatory or sardonic attitude to this kind of reading.