Why Do We Call Books Written For Women Chick-Lit?
Our desire to classify books marketed toward women as “trashy” has patriarchal roots
The last time I went to a pub quiz with my friends, a new guy was trying out for the team. A question came up that required knowledge of the Twilight series. I answered it immediately.
The new guy laughed and said, “You like Twilight? It’s so bad!”
I smiled at him. “Oh? What is it you don’t like?”
“I’ve just heard how bad it is.”
“OK, so you’ve never read them? So maybe they aren’t for you?”
“Of course not. They suck.”
I’m not here to tell you that the Twilight series is a masterpiece. It is not. Some messages in it make me cringe, particularly when it comes to the odd pro-life messages at the expense of the health of the mother. What I am here to say is that Twilight, Confessions of a Shopaholic, and 50 Shades of Gray are marketable books. They have a clear audience who knows exactly what they want to read.
If this passing of judgment were passed on men’s entertainment, it would be less obvious.
Yet, the entertainment that men consume is rarely looked at through the same lens. Things like comic books, science fiction…
