"Chick lit Chick lit or chick literature is genre fiction, which ""consists of heroine-centered narratives that focus on the trials and tribulations of their individual protagonists"". The genre often addresses issues of modern womanhood – from romantic relationships to female friendships to matters in the workplace – in humorous and lighthearted ways. At its onset, chick lit's protagonists tended to be ""single, white, heterosexual, British and American women in their late twenties and early thirties, living in metropolitan areas"". The genre became popular in the late 1990s, with chick lit titles topping bestseller lists and the creation of imprints devoted"
"Women's fiction Women's fiction is an umbrella term for women centered books that focus on women's life experience that are marketed to female readers, and includes many mainstream novels or woman’s rights Books. It is distinct from Women's writing, which refers to literature written by (rather than promoted to) women. There exists no comparable label in English for works of fiction that are marketed to males. The Romance Writers of America organization defines women's fiction as, ""a commercial novel about a woman on the brink of life change and personal growth. Her journey details emotional reflection and action that transforms"
"appropriate for book clubs. Women's fiction Women's fiction is an umbrella term for women centered books that focus on women's life experience that are marketed to female readers, and includes many mainstream novels or woman’s rights Books. It is distinct from Women's writing, which refers to literature written by (rather than promoted to) women. There exists no comparable label in English for works of fiction that are marketed to males. The Romance Writers of America organization defines women's fiction as, ""a commercial novel about a woman on the brink of life change and personal growth. Her journey details emotional reflection"
"of self-management, be it in the form of dieting, exercise, or—most popularly—makeover scenes. Postfeminist literature—also known as chicklit—has been criticized by feminists for similar themes and notions. However, the genre is also praised for being confident, witty, and complicated, bringing in feminist themes, revolving around women, and reinventing standards of fiction. Examples can also be found in ""Pretty Little Liars"". The novels explore the complexity of girlhood in a society that assumes gender equality, which is in line with postfeminism. The constant surveillance and self policing of the series' protagonists depicts the performance of heterosexuality, hyperfemininity, and critical gaze forced"
"Feminist comedy Feminist comedy refers to comedic acts and styles that further feminist principles, including gender equality and awareness of the social experience of gender. Comedy, an umbrella term referring to creative works with the intention of humor, has been historically dominated by men. The current comedy culture climate remains male-focused and is currently accepting of women comedians. The conversation surrounding gender-aware comedy has included articles and opinions from many male comedians and fans that are rooted in the idea that women aren’t funny, despite protest from successful female comedians and audiences. However, there is a difference between female humor"
"Matron literature Matron literature (also known as hen lit) is a literary genre which focuses on older female characters as protagonists. The genre has increased in popularity as the baby boomers have aged and female readers have sought characters to identify with. Subjects are often romantic in nature, and heroines are usually between the ages of 45 and 65. Matron lit characters were often married at one point, but are no longer with their spouses or living with their children. There are usually feminist themes in matron literature, though some works are more overtly feminist than others. Matron literature has"
"allusions and satirical references to them. Women participated in this debate by writing poems, conduct books, novels, children’s literature, and plays that addressed women’s issues specifically, namely the need for a good education, legal status, and the ability to be economically independent. Thus, the reading material of women became a political topic. Novels such as ""Modern Philosophers"" played a large role in this debate, since they were widely read and easily available. Discussion about women’s rights took place in novels because the genre itself was perceived as feminine and it was the most accessible kind of literature to women. Women"
"""Sydney Morning Herald"" described a trend of new fiction books aimed at women readers which were characterized by ""...a spirit of post-Tory, post-grunge lightness [that] tapped into hordes of female magazine-readers and TV-watchers"". This fiction was called the birth of a ""publishing phenomenon"" which can be called ""chick fiction"" ""...or chicfic"", all unified by subject-matter, packaging and marketing"", with ""candy-bright, heavy in pink and fluorescen[t]"" covers, and ""candy-bright"" titles, ""hinting at easy digestion and a good laugh...Such books are positioned in a marketplace as hybrids of the magazine article, fictional or fictionalised, television...and comfort food digestible over a single' night"
"men and women. Modern feminist literary criticism finds most of its roots in the 1960s second-wave feminist movements. Beginning with the interrogation of male-centric literature that portrayed women in a demeaning and oppressed model, theorist such as Mary Ellman, Kate Millet and Germaine Greer challenged past imaginations of the feminine within literary scholarship. Within second-wave feminism, three phases can be defined: the feminine phase, the feminist phase, and the female phase. During the feminine phase, female writers adhered to male values. In the feminist phase, there was a theme of criticism of women's role in society. And in the female"
"general willingness of the larger community of authors to support this literary focus. Besides the class struggle, there were two areas that were subject of serious literature: feminism and the struggle against the concentration of governmental power into a centralized government. The term feminist literature or woman's literature was shifting during this period. While some believed that a special term for literature written for women by women about women's experiences were necessary, others were concerned that feminist literature served to place the female writers and readers outside the community, in an isolated cycle. Notwithstanding the debate, important contributions came from"
"in the novel. As women's career options have expanded in real life, so have those of their fictional counterparts. In the earliest Harlequin romance novels, heroines were typically nurses and secretaries. As time has passed and women have entered the workforce in larger numbers, romance heroines have spanned the career spectrum. Modern romance novels now feature more balanced relationships between men and women. The romance genre has been popularly derided and critically ignored. Despite recent rehabilitation and merging of the genre with other genres, the stigma attached to the romance genre continues to be strong, with some dedicated readers embarrassed"
"Lad lit (genre) Lad lit is a fictional genre of male-authored novels about young men and their emotional and personal lives, often characterized by a confessional and humorous writing style. The term combines the word ""lad,"" which refers to a boy or young man and ""lit,"" which is short for ""literature."" The term ""lad lit"" can be used as a noun to refer to the genre of fiction (about young men and their emotional and personal lives), or as a modifier (e.g., ""lad-lit novels""). Lad lit typically concerns itself with the trials and tribulations of urban twenty and thirty something"
"magazine, ""Ms."" magazine and the Ms. Blog, where she frequently covers issues pertaining to same-sex marriage and LGBT rights. In her book on Jane Austen and her contemporaries, ""Laughing Feminism"", Bilger coined the term ""Enlightenment feminist humor"" to identify a tradition of anti-patriarchal satire and comedy that begins in the late seventeenth century and continues through Austen and beyond. Enlightenment feminist humor mocks the idea that men are superior to women and promotes a more egalitarian gender system. Bilger’s most recent book, ""Here Come the Brides! Reflections on Lesbian Love and Marriage"", co-edited with Michele Kort (Seal Press, 2012), is"
"her and her relationships with others, and includes a hopeful/upbeat ending with regard to her romantic relationship."" At the Women's Fiction Writers Association women’s fiction is described as a story where the plot is driven by the main character’s emotional journey. Women’s Fiction includes layered stories about one or several characters, often multi-generational that tackles an adult character’s struggle with world issues resulting in emotional growth. It may include elements of mystery, fantasy, romance or other subgenres, but is not driven by these elements. The writing is high quality and accessible. Upmarket fiction often falls in this category, and is"
"audience, most notably works like ""Twilight"" and ""Fifty Shades"". Ryona The word refers to a genre of fiction and sexual complex wherein a protagonist, usually female, is subject to physical or psychological abuse from an offender who is at the same time a love interest, usually male. The term is mostly used when in connection to Japanese culture, although the theme itself is seen in many other cultures. The term ""ryona"" almost exclusively refers to where a woman being abused by a man. In the case where the target is male, it is more commonly called . However, neither term"
"I Know About Whileaway"", where ""the poisonous binary gender"" has died off. In speculative fiction, female-only worlds have been imagined to come about by the action of disease that wipes out men, along with the development of technological or mystical method that allow female parthenogenetic reproduction. The resulting society is often shown to be utopian by feminist writers. Many influential feminist utopias of this sort were written in the 1970s; the most often studied examples include Joanna Russ's ""The Female Man"", Suzy McKee Charnas's ""The Holdfast Chronicles"". Such worlds have been portrayed most often by lesbian or feminist authors; their"
"The novel is a love story, a political and social satire, and a tribute to the novels of Charles Dickens. This Dickensian quality was noted in at least one review, Gerald Weaver's writing is incredibly sharp – it doesn’t lose focus anywhere. ""I quickly found myself quite strongly attached to both Melinda and Garth, hoping that they would come out on top, and groaning when things started not to go their way . . ."" ""One day, women will be in charge,"" Weaver told BBC London. Weaver says that his purpose was not to tell a story that corresponds with"
"""All said and done, I'm reluctant to say writing ""Smashed"" was cathartic. For one, I think we assign that term to women far more often than we assign it to men. All too often, men's works are deemed 'literature' and women's are dismissed as 'therapy.' On a personal level, sure, it's easier to discuss old indignities. Talking, for instance, about a horrifying blackout doesn't rattle me the way it used to. I'm not convinced I've come to term with old aches as much as I've had to numb myself to them for the sake of spreading the book's message. Ultimately,"
"society, and that singling out women as the only group not okay to lampoon is a sexist act in itself. In a 2008 article, Kira Cochrane in the ""New Statesman"" disputed that idea, stating there still remained much inequality between men and women. Cochran called the fratire genre a regression to old-fashioned sexism ""presented under the veil of irony"". Fratire Fratire is a type of 21st-century fiction literature written for and marketed to young men in a politically incorrect and overtly masculine fashion. The term was coined following the popularity of works by George Ouzounian (writing under the pen name"
"of ""Wonder Woman"". SF is used throughout as an abbreviation for speculative fiction, for convenience. Science fiction and slash fiction are written in full when referred to specifically. Gender in speculative fiction Gender has been an important theme explored in speculative fiction. The genres that make up speculative fiction (SF), science fiction, fantasy, supernatural fiction horror, superhero fiction, science fantasy and related genres (utopian/dystopian literature), have always offered the opportunity for writers to explore social conventions, including gender, gender roles, and beliefs about gender. Like all literary forms, the science fiction genre reflects the popular perceptions of the eras in"
"focuses on romantic and/or sexual relationships between female fictional characters. Typically, characters featured in femslash are heterosexual in the canon universe; however, similar fan fiction about lesbian characters are commonly labeled as femslash for convenience. The term is generally applied only to fanworks based on Western fandoms; the nearest anime/manga equivalents are more often called yuri and shōjo-ai fanfiction. Femslash is also known as ""f/f slash"", ""femmeslash"", and ""saffic"", the last term being a portmanteau of Sapphic and fiction. There is less femslash than there is slash based on male couples – it has been suggested that heterosexual female slash"
"rules, and roles that exist in reality. Rather, the genre creates a space in which the gender binary might be troubled and different sexualities may be explored. As Anna Gilarek explains, issues of gender have been a part of feminist discourse throughout the feminist movement, and the work of authors such as Joanna Russ and Marge Piercy explore and expose gender based oppression. Gilarek outlines two approaches to social critique via Feminist SF: the use of fantastical elements such as ""invented worlds, planets, moons, and lands"", used to call attention to the ills of society by exaggerating them, or a"
"novelists attribute the stigma to the fact that romance is the only genre ""written almost exclusively by women for women."" Romance novelist Jennifer Crusie counters that in the modern romance novel ""a woman is rewarded with unconditional love [only] if she remains true to herself,"" while novelist Susan Elizabeth Phillips believes that romance novels are popular because the heroine always wins, sometimes overcoming great odds so that she is no longer a victim. Romance novels are divided into two sub-sets, category romances, also known as series romances, and single title romances. Many authors write only within one of the formats,"
"Magazine"" include: In the past few years, transgender women have been finding publishers for their own picture books written for transgender kids. Some of these books include: Gay literature Gay literature is a collective term for literature produced by or for the LGBT community which involves characters, plot lines, and/or themes portraying male homosexual behavior. The term is now used most commonly to cover specifically gay male literature, with a separate genre of lesbian literature existing for women. Historically, the term ""gay literature"" was sometimes used to cover both gay male and lesbian literatures. Because of the persecution or opposition"
"and gender that are fashionable or controversial in the present day, which it then projects into a future or fantasy setting. Science fiction in particular has traditionally been a puritanical genre orientated toward a male readership, and has been described as being by men for men, or sometimes for boys. Most of the stereotypical tropes of science fiction, such as aliens, robots or superpowers can be employed in such a way as to be metaphors for gender. Fantasy has been perceived as more accepting of women compared to science fiction or horror (and offering more roles than historical fiction or"
"DJ to avoid the chick lit label. She said having a female name and writing humor would jeopardize her work and would not be taken seriously if labeled chick lit. In another example, author Ruth Gilligan wrote about how she garnered disrespect from the general public, agents and publishers for her chick lit-branded books. When she tried out a new style in a book about sexual assault on college campuses, the publishers presented her with a bright flowery cover, which Gilligan deemed disrespectful. Chick lit Chick lit or chick literature is genre fiction, which ""consists of heroine-centered narratives that focus"
"self-fulfillment. She intimates that the 1990–1991 Gulf War influenced the development of female characters ""who fight to protect the destiny of a community"", such as ""Red River"", ""Basara"", ""Magic Knight Rayearth"", and ""Sailor Moon"". Fujimoto opines that the ""shōjo"" manga of the 1990s depicted emotional bonds between women as stronger than the bonds between a man and a woman. Major subgenres include romance, science fiction, fantasy, magical girls, yaoi, and ""Ladies Comics"" (in Japanese, ""redisu"" レディース, ""redikomi"" レディコミ, and ""josei"" 女性). As shōjo literally means 'girl' in Japanese, the equivalent of the western usage will generally include the term: girls'"
"tremendous popularity. They often deal with everyday life and have political messages (such as subtle criticisms of the capitalist system), partly because unlike novels, short stories are not censored by the Press Scrutiny Board. Poetry is also a popular genre today, as it was during the monarchical times, but unlike novels and other works, which use literary Burmese, may use the vernacular, instead of literary Burmese. This reform movement is led by left-leaning writers who believe laymen's language (the vernacular and colloquial form of Burmese) ought to be used instead of formal Burmese in literature. One of the greatest female"
"fiction pieces in response to Mazza and DeShell's call for ""postfeminist writing"". In the mid-1990s, the term was used by various media outlets to describe fiction written by women authors for women readers. The term has been expanded to include female stories in historical fiction, otherwise known as ""chick lit in corsets."" In addition, ""chick lit jr."" is chick lit for younger readers, combining elements of the genre with coming-of-age tales. While chick lit has been very popular with readers, critics largely disapproved of the genre. Reviewer Alex Kuczynski writing for ""The New York Times"" condemned Fielding's novel, in particular,"
"women largely directed at female audiences. She instead calls her books ""rom-com"", after the film genre of romantic comedy, but even this term is largely inaccurate of what chick lit is. Publishers continue to push the subgenre because sales continue to be high. Various other terms have been coined as variant in attempts to attach themselves to the perceived marketability of the work. ""Refinery 29"" writer Lauren Le Vine published a listicle in March 2016 entitled ""The Chick-Lit Books That Won't Destroy The Feminist Inside You,"" which includes eight books written by women for women. Le Vine recognizes the argument"
"serves a female audience. ""If there are chick flicks and chick lit – derogatory though some might find those terms to be – ""Love, Loss, and What I Wore"" should clearly be classified as chick legit...for the women who can share deeply in the particulars of experience dissected and discussed."" ""The Los Angeles Times"" notes the light nature of the subject matter: ""...isn't out to reclaim female sexuality from centuries of oppression; it wittily celebrates wardrobe malfunctions..."" According to Reiner, the show points out that ""...if there is one thing the females of the species have in common, it's a"
"double bind: ""They could choose to speak politics in nonpolitical modes, and thus risk greatly diminishing the clarity and pointedness of their political passion, or they could choose literary modes that were overtly political while trying to infuse them with a recognizable 'feminine' decorum, again risking a softening of their political agenda."" So Barbauld and other Romantic women poets often wrote ""occasional poems"". These had traditionally commented, often satirically, on national events, but by the end of the 18th century were increasingly serious and personal. Women wrote sentimental poems, a style then much in vogue, on personal occasions such as"
"the male bias in the publishing industry and the media, alleging that books by male authors are better received than those written by women, that is, reviewed more often and more highly praised by critics. In 2010, she told ""The Huffington Post"", ""I think it's a very old and deep-seated double standard that holds that when a man writes about family and feelings, it's literature with a capital L, but when a woman considers the same topics, it's romance, or a beach book – in short, it's something unworthy of a serious critic's attention. ... I think it's irrefutable that"