Re-writing Romance

Second/Third Wave Feminism in “New Adult” Novels

I will readily admit it — I am a sucker for a (cue Lady Gaga circa 2009) bad romance novel.

Let me qualify that statement: I am a sucker for bad romance novels that are free and in e-book form.

While I do love books of all sorts about everything under the sun, sometimes it is nice to read a book with a straight-forward plot, predictable (if utterly un-admirable) characters, and a total page number that doesn't exceed 400. I know it sounds strange, but plowing through these stories in a couple days helps to clear my mind to fully take in the more, shall we say, enriching works of literature out there.

It was while searching for just such a novel on Amazon a couple of months ago that I stumbled upon “Running Back” by Allison Parr. Initially drawn in by the seemingly ridiculous description of a grad-student archaeologist who somehow manages to sink an all-star quarterback while digging in Ireland, I found myself pleasantly surprised as I began to turn the pages. Despite having been on an archaeological dig myself, and being in grad school, and loving football, it was not the plot points or the romance-novel-promise of soft-core erotica that kept me reading. It was the female protagonist.

She was smart (a good trait for someone in grad school). She was driven. She was courageous. But, best of all, she was relatable. Here was an average 20-something year old who was so restless that she never stayed in the same place for longer than a year, who had parenting issues, who was fiercely independent and who fought to achieve her goals. The sprouting romance between her and Mr. Football Player was secondary to her work; and when it became a primary issue, it was through mutual respect of the other person. She was not throwing herself at his feet; she was not defined by her body or her sexual needs. She was not a Bella Swan or an Anatasia Steele/Grey, setting horrible examples for female readers by being whiny and utterly dependent on their significant other. She was a modern woman, a feminist if you will. And I cannot tell you how refreshing it was to read her story.

I guess this is all part of the new genre called “new adult” fiction, of which I had never heard of until recently. Aimed at the 18-25 set, these books are often self-published and explore coming-of-age issues such as traveling, careers, and of course, sexuality.

I am by no means an expert on romance novels, and I am sure that there are women and gender studies scholars out there who could provide a much better analysis on the development of this particular genre. But from what I have read, it seems as though that more and more female protagonists within new adult stories are more free-thinking, independent, self-supporting individuals than their literary predecessors. Perhaps this is due to younger authors who grew up with feminist ideals in home/at school, or perhaps this is merely a way of marketing romance novels to the college-aged set.

Regardless, as someone who indignantly stopped reading the “Swiss Family Robinson” at age 11 because there were no girl characters besides the mother, I applaud the inclusion of female protagonists who engage in equitable relationships with those of the opposite (or same!) sex. These are the characters whom younger readers should be exploring and emulating, not the lovestruck teens who cannot find a meaningful existence sans loverboy/girl.

I mean, we can’t all be Lizzy Bennett, but we can sure as hell try.