Journal Article Analysis

Journal Article Analysis

            The article that I chose to analyze was Sister of Sorts: Reading Romantic Fiction and the Bonds Among Female Readers by Laura Struve. This article addresses stereo types that are placed on romance novels and their readers, and how women are fighting back against these stereo types to bring the romance novel into a new view and light in the public eye. The perceptions of most people who see women reading a romance novel think that she is “unintelligent, uneducated, or neurotic” (Struve, 2011). The novel is perceived as “trash, poorly written, formulaic, and pornographic in nature” (Struve, 2011).

Analysis

            This article makes some very good points about how people feel about romance novels. They are perceived in a very negative way in pubic and it has been very stereo typical for many years. In recent years the online community has come together to try and change this perception and ideology. People are coming together on blogs and websites that are now taking a more critical look at the novels and their content, and starting to shape the world of the romance novel. Women are becoming more active readers, and they are participating in the process of furthering the genera. They are finding other women who become a sister of sorts in other women and they are taking the books and recommending them, criticizing them, and forming bonds with others that will change the face of the romance novel forever. Because of the communities and advancements with the internet romance novel readers are becoming more and more apt and defending their choices and defying those stereo types in the process. This means that the world of the romance novel is changing and the readers are causing this change. “Romance readers fail to be oppressed by their reading; they also make it an occasion to participate in the female community” (Struve, 2011). The history of romance novel goes back in time and has deep ties to literature with books like Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights, and Whitney my Love (Struve, 2011). The active reader, history, and technology have come together to create something new. “A portrait of a different reader emerges, a reader who is an active participant in the genres production and reception as well as consumption” (Struve, 2011, p. 1290).

Personal Analysis

I agree with the author on all points. I think that the romance novel is becoming something that is not nearly as taboo as it used to be, and that people gathering together to further the genre is exactly what is needed to change the public perception of this literature. I think that this article is important in the world of literature, because if the romance novel can gain respect and disprove the stereo types and ideologies then it is possible for people to read without shame and that would change many things in the world of literature.

Reference

Struve, L., & STRUVE, L. (2011). Sisters of Sorts: Reading Romantic Fiction and the Bonds Among Female Readers. Journal Of Popular Culture, 44(6), 1289-1306.