Our Genre

Today is International Women's Day. What does this have to do with romance? Everything.

There is this huge, buried truth in the romance genre - we all know it, but we rarely take time to think about it. Today is the day.

This is a genre written by women, for women, about women. It's our genre.

Really, there are no men at this party. The so-called mainstream media refuses to acknowledge us, and is anyone really surprised? It's just a bunch of women, after all. The odds have always been against us, and they always will be. And meanwhile, as the men aren't paying attention, we're writing our own stories, about the things we care about. We're making money at it, too - writing while we work, build our careers, raise our kids, live our lives. It's really just us, talking in a room, no boys allowed. Men aren't listening.

There are two exceptions to the no-boys rule: The publishing rules are made by men, and the covers are made by men. Coincidentally, those are the two largest detriments to the creativity of our genre, and the two biggest reasons we're not widely accepted. I'm not talking conspiracy here, I'm just talking reality. Our writers will always have worse covers, and tighter rules, than the unbearable Dave Eggers, and there's a flat-out a reason for that. We are reluctantly allowed to succeed financially, but not artistically. It just isn't allowed.

The other men in our industry are the ones we create. When women get together, we frequently talk about men, and our novels are the same. Our heroes may be pure spun fantasy, but they say a lot about us, both good and bad. We never get tired of writing about men, in a book where we can control them, make them what we want. It's a pleasant reversal.

So, today, if you're reading a romance, take a minute to think about the woman who wrote it, and what she's saying to you. Take a minute to give props to the kind of courage it takes to put yourself out there and say something. Take a minute to think, "Damn, I'm happy I can read what I want, and no one can tell me different."

There are improvements to make, for sure, but it's only a matter of time.

Abby