once more, with feeling
And then I ran into Sarah's post about bodice rippers and romance novels and sex scenes where she quotes somebody else on the ridiculous nature of sex scenes in romance novels.
This blanket condemnation of a whole genre -- often by people who admit (proudly) that they don't read it -- really gets tired. It's as intellectually suspect as universal praise. How about this: There's no such thing as a badly done serial murder spree when it comes to crime novels.
Ridiculous? Of course.
Generalized romance-bashing comes in waves, it seems; Lee Goldberg got into the act, too, and his commenters joined him. There are other examples from other weblogs, but I'm going to stop there. Instead I would just like to point out that the term bodice ripper seems to have some magical power. Maybe because it is such a fantastically evocative put-down and so visual, some people (especially those who are proud never to have read a romance, or to have seen the error of their ways and turned away from the whole genre in disgust) jump at the opportunity to use it, and use it with glee, when talking about love stories with happy endings that are written by women.
So yes, I could have left a comment on both Sarah's and Lee's weblogs with a list of well written, engaging romance novels with sex scenes that commit none of the sins mentioned. I could have, but then I reminded myself that talking people out of preconceptions is next to impossible. More than that, it's a waste of time that could be better used procrastinating elsewhere.
Like right here, pointing anybody who has never read romance or who hasn't read it in a long time to novels that might want to have a look at. Those would be: Welcome to Temptation and Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie, Bliss and Dance by Judy Cuevas, Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale, and of course, the ultimate romance novel: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.
To be clear: I do like what I've read of Sarah's weblog and I was already in the habit of visiting Lee's once a month or so, to catch up. I also appreciate the links on both sites, because I found a few very promising blogs in a quick foray, including Wendy Duren and Smart Bitches.