BY: Anushka
The popularity of romance novels can be attributed to their ability to transport readers into a world of love, passion, and emotional intensity. These books offer an escape from the mundane realities of everyday life, immersing readers in captivating narratives that evoke a range of emotions.
The deeper reasons behind their widespread appeal:
● Escapism and Emotional Satisfaction: In the realm of romance novels, readers find a cherished form of escapism—a respite from the demands and routines of everyday life. These books transport us to enchanting worlds filled with passion, desire, and heartfelt emotions, offering a temporary escape from our realities. Within the pages of romance novels, we discover emotional satisfaction in abundance. What makes romance novels particularly addictive is the allure of living vicariously through the characters’ love stories.
● Emotional Engagement and Empathy: The relatability of the characters’ experiences and the emotional resonance of their stories tug at our heartstrings, allowing us to connect with our desires for love, and connection, and get emotionally engaged. Empathy, in particular, enhances the reading experience, allowing us to step into the shoes of the characters and experience their emotions as if they were our own. We empathize with their hopes, fears, and desires. It is this emotional investment that often leads to addiction.
● Emotional Fulfillment: Immersing ourselves in these narratives, we find solace, hope, and a sense of fulfillment for our unmet emotional and psychological needs.
● Narrative Tropes and Emotional Rollercoasters: The tropes, such as the forbidden love, second-chance romance, or the enemies-to-lovers trope, create a framework for the story that elicits powerful emotional responses. As readers, we are drawn to the emotional highs and lows that these plot twists and conflicts bring. The anticipation of the characters’ fates, the tension of unresolved obstacles, and the uncertainty of their journey create an emotional rollercoaster that keeps us on the edge of our seats.
BENEFITS:
Romance novels provide a unique platform for exploring our own emotions and desires in a safe and controlled manner. We can explore the complexities of love and relationships through the lens of the characters, learning valuable lessons and gaining insights into our own lives along the way.
These captivating stories have the power to trigger our brain’s reward system, leading to a release of neurotransmitters and hormones associated with pleasure and emotional fulfillment. romance novels can also stimulate the release of oxytocin, often referred to as the “love hormone.” Oxytocin is associated with feelings of intimacy, trust, and emotional bonding.
#Booktok is one of the ways women have embraced the community aspect of reading. Women have also organized groups through the internet to form virtual book clubs, create Bookstagram accounts, and share their thoughts with each other. Similarly, women have aestheticized the act of reading to the extent that the exhibition of reading on social media has become its own hobby done in conjunction with the reading itself.
Why is reading a female-dominated activity?
One survey found that men make up only 20% of the market for fiction books. While men seldom read works by women, women read men's and women's authors about evenly. Goodreads’ 30 most popular fiction books of 2022 are all by women. Similarly, the list of Best-Selling Books of 2022 is dominated by female authors
There are plenty of unmarried women in no relationship whatsoever for whom romance books raise their expectations too high when looking for a man, or does it fill a need in their lives to fantasize about what it would be like to be loved? It has become a way to fill out the void.
● Gender Stereotypes: Reading, especially fiction, is often stereotyped as a more feminine activity. Studies have shown that both men and women tend to view reading as a feminine endeavor. ● Reading Preferences: Women are more likely to read fiction, which is a genre that explores emotions and relationships, aligning with stereotypically feminine traits. Men, on the other hand, are less likely to engage with fiction and more inclined towards non-fiction. ● Social Influences: Social media platforms like BookTok have popularized reading among young women. The increased social media visibility of women reading makes men associate the hobby with being feminine.
NEGATIVE EFFECTS:
● Emotional Impact: Dark romance novels often contain intense and emotionally charged themes, including violence, manipulation, and unhealthy relationships. Constant exposure to such content can desensitize or lead to heightened emotional responses, depending on the individual.
● Unrealistic expectations: One may develop unrealistic expectations about love and relationships, as these novels often portray intense and possessive love as desirable. This can lead to dissatisfaction in real-life relationships.
● Escapism: Some readers turn to romance novels as a form of escapism, which can be healthy in moderation. However, excessive escapism can be detrimental if it interferes with daily responsibilities or real-life relationships. People tend to be so immersed in reading and fantasizing that they forget bout their responsibilities or start procrastinating.
● Impact on Mental Health: For individuals who are already struggling with mental health issues, reading dark romance novels with heavy themes may exacerbate their conditions. It's essential to be mindful of how such content affects your mental well-being. These books contain trigger warnings which one should be mindful of.
● Personal Boundaries: Stretched exposure to explicit content and dark themes can blur personal boundaries and desensitize readers to unhealthy behaviors depicted in the novels. The acceptance and normalization of such behavior could lead to an unhealthy lifestyle.
● Reduced Social Interaction: Spending too much time immersed in books can lead to reduced social interaction, which can impact one’s social skills and relationships
REFERENCES:
● The Psychology of Romance Novel Addiction, The romance studio,
https://www.theromancestudio.com/the-psychology-of-romance-novel-addiction/#:~:text=This %20chemical%20reward%20reinforces%20our,%2C%20trust%2C
● Brown, Zoe,2023, Is Reading Becoming a Female-Dominated Hobby?, her campus.com, https://www.hercampus.com/school/ku/is-reading-becoming-a-female-dominated-hobby/ ● Singh, Pranshi, 2023, Love in The Shadows: Unhealthy Side of Dark Romance Novels, Medium, https://tpriyanshi70.medium.com/love-in-the-shadows-unhealthy-side-of-dark-romance-novels 9a43074e26f6
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