Jul 31 2007
Romance Self-Defense: Conclusion
I don’t personally encounter a lot of genre bullies. The only criticism I get on a regular basis is from my daugher, who also screams and covers her eyes when people kiss on television, which tells you where she’s coming from.
(One of these days, though, her curiosity is going to force her to take a book off that shelf, and she’ll be hooked. She’s a paranormal gal if ever I’ve seen one.)
Part of my immunity may be that I possess a disdainful stare of my own that has the power to make those who displease me burst into tears and scurry into hiding. In general, I don’t let judgmental people bother me because usually judgmental people don’t know what they’re talking about, which gives them zero credibility, which makes everything they say almost as meaningful as the diatribes of the adults in the Peanuts animated specials (”bwah bah, mwah bah bwah blah muh gwah“).
At any rate, I’m out of romance stereotypes for now. If you have any others, please share, and I’ll see what I can put together by way of defense, then we’ll kick it around to toughen it up.
Remember, being defensive (in the prickly sense) will encourage attack. Relax. You have nothing to be ashamed of. You’re reading (or writing) a romance novel, not beating up an old lady and stealing her social security check.
Let the Romance Self-Defense entries be your guide to shutting down those uneducated stereotypes, but feel free to personalize your responses with your own humor, wisdom, and anecdotes.
Romance reader/writer and proud of it,
Kerry Allen
9/30
11/4
11/4
11/25
July 31st, 2007 at 1:38 pm
I think the only time I came to blows is when I was holding a romance novel and someone said to me, “oh, you read that trash.”
As if I had an I.Q of -50. The best I could do comeback wise was to ask them if they read romances in a snotty tone. I’ve realized I will always have to defend romance.
August 1st, 2007 at 3:53 am
I think the disdain will always be there. The book in your hand is such a ridiculous thing to attack, but some people just aren’t happy unless they’re sneering at somebody for something.
I hear a lot that readers have nothing to say when they get a snotty comment because they’re caught off guard by it. I think it’s something we should all be talking about so we’re prepared next time it happens—and it will happen.
(I’ve fixed the comment box so you don’t run off the edge of the screen when typing anymore. Thanks for bringing me in here so I could discover the problem!)
(Now, if only I could find the code so we can make bloody paragraphs in the comments by hitting the enter key!)