I’ve been known to be a bit of a book snob.
My literary roots — i.e. my major is English and all I do is read — have given me some sort of complex where I think certain books are beneath me.
Much of my scorn has been directed toward popular series such as “Twilight,” “Fifty Shades of Grey,” “The Hunger Games” trilogy and the like. I find myself instinctively rolling my eyes whenever these books come up in conversation.
I’m not exactly sure what it is about these books that I find so off-putting, but I think it has something to do with the commercialization and them being mainstream.
But my real enemy in the world of books has always been chick lit.
For those who don’t already know, chick lit is a fictional genre that addresses modern womanhood, usually with humor or some lightheartedness. Chick lit has always been full of annoying tropes such as the overbearing mother or the overweight and funny friend.
It all seemed so regressive to me. By that I mean it seemed as if chick lit novels were casting women back into definitive and weak gender roles. It was as if the chick lit novel were undoing all the hard work and social reform that was achieved through each of the feminist movements and encouraging women to have low self-esteem and lack confidence in their bodies and sexuality.
However, during the course of the semester, I have done a great deal of research on chick lit novels and female representation.
My findings have shown me a new perspective on chick lit, a perspective that allows me to appreciate the work the writers are doing.
Chick lit developed out of the need for girls and young women to learn about their bodies and sexuality.
In the 20th century, there were many more freedoms for women in terms of their bodies and sexual expression, but it was a topic that was nearly impossible to discuss. As a result, many young women growing up didn’t know what to expect as their bodies changed and they sexually matured.
As a response to this, female authors began writing first-person narrative novels so young women could easily relate to the characters and learn from their experiences within the novel.
With the progression of time and the development and expansion of the chick lit genre, there has been a shift to addressing the same issues with humor and a certain lightheartedness that makes the issues far less daunting than they would be in a more “sophisticated” piece of ?writing.
I’ve realized chick lit doesn’t put women in inferior roles to undo feminism but rather chick lit places women in these situations so the everyday reader can easily relate to the characters and their problems and make light of things that have no substance, such as calorie counting or worrying about being forever alone.
The chick lit genre has a lot to offer a reader, and I admit to having judged too soon. It might not be “sophisticated” like many of the pieces I tend to be drawn to, but chick lit has a way of dissecting social issues with humor and making them relatable to a broad audience, and that is to be commended.
johnstra@indiana.edu
