romance

Palatable Love: Seeking a Happily Ever After in a White Publishing World

illustration of a South Asian woman outside of a bookstore observing a crowd of white people gathered inside for a South Asian romance novel event.
by Madhuri Sastry
September 28, 2020 at 3:14pm
For many diaspora writers, success is predicated on a hefty down payment of writing through the white gaze.
Rebekah Weatherspoon, a Black woman wearing glasses, smiles at the camera

Rebekah Weatherspoon Is the Queen of Erotic Romance

by Nichole Perkins
July 14, 2020 at 9:00am
If you want to read romances with a bit more erotic heat to them, look no further than Rebekah Weatherspoon. Read more »
a book cover that features two white women putting their lips together, almost kissing but not quite

Beyond Coming Out: 6 Lesbian Novels That Bring the Romance, and Sex

by Rachel Charlene Lewis
November 8, 2019 at 10:40am
We deserve books that actively center our pleasure, too. Read more »
Omar Epps as Quincy and Sanaa Lathan as Monica in Love & Basketball

The Love Below: 15 Black Romance Movies You Can Watch This Month

by Evette Dionne
February 14, 2018 at 4:18pm
What the Obamas have built in real life is available to other Black people through cinema. Read more »
covers of vintage romance novels

For the Love of Independence: Romance Authors Are Literature’s Unsung Heroines

by s.e. smith
February 5, 2018 at 11:07am
Women working for themselves while changing the culture of romance is explicitly feminist. Read more »
Jasmine Guillory, author of The Wedding Date

Revolution In Romance: Jasmine Guillory Gives Black Women the Book We’ve Been Waiting For

by Evette Dionne
January 25, 2018 at 8:00am
Jasmine Guillory might be the author who revitalizes romance novels. Read more »

I Want You, But I'm Triggered: Finding Pleasure When Trauma and Memory Collide

by adrienne maree brown
January 24, 2018 at 11:07am
Triggers happen. Here’s what to do when trauma threatens to disrupt your pleasure. Read more »

First Base is the Home Run: Kissing as the Ultimate Pleasure

by adrienne maree brown
October 11, 2017 at 7:00am
The importance of being wet and getting wet can’t really be overstated. Read more »

Being a Second Lover Means Loving Yourself First

by adrienne maree brown
September 20, 2017 at 12:18pm
With a lot of honesty, being a second lover can come with freedom, discovery, and lessons in self-love. Read more »
Small Change by Roan Parrish

Small Change: Queer Feminist Characters Deserve “Happily Ever After” Romance Novels

by Roan Parrish
July 7, 2017 at 10:00am
I wanted the romance genre to have space for a character like Ginger. Read more »

The Pleasure Dome: On Nonmonogamy and Casual Sex

by adrienne maree brown
June 21, 2017 at 2:36pm
With time, I’ve learned that under the layers of socialization—and jealousy—there’s deeper wiring that says yes to one, or yes to two, or yes to many. Read more »

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Hot Under the Bonnet: The Cooptation of Amish Culture in Mass-Market Fiction

a blue and white illustration of a woman in Amish attire standing next to a fan and a chicken
by Audrey deCoursey
Spring 2014 • Maps & Legends
Dubbed “Amish romance novels,” “Amish fiction,” or the more waggish “bonnet rippers,” these novels just one entry point into the varying images of Amish communities in U.S. popular culture. Read more »