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Paranormal romance as group therapy
Feb. 2nd, 2008 04:39 pmHrm. I know that I analyze pop literature a lot more... intensely than most non-cultural studies people, but it surprises me that this doesn't come up more. Or quite possibly it comes up *all* *the* *time* on parts of the internet I don't frequent.
Women's fiction [by which I mean fiction written by women and marketed to women] is where we've been having a big group therapy discussion for decades now about emotional, physical, and sexual abuse and the effects it has on our ability to form relationships and communicate honestly with each other. The introduction of paranormal elements has been really powerful because it allows us to up the intensity of the discussion through metaphorical structures, and this lets some of the more terrifying elements of the discussion be problematized within the hero/heroine characters rather than put off onto "others".
Paranormal romance, horror with romantic tinges, mystery with supernatural elements, and fantasy with strong emotional storylines seem to be the genres that do this the most. The big plot threads? A non exhaustive list: a) how men are shut down emotionally by childhood emotional and physical abuse and thus have difficulty connecting to others in a way women can accept, b) how women feel both angry, violent, and helpless about the way in which others sexually objectify them, c) how performing in an exceptional way in some identity-central manner can make romantic relationships more problematic by introducing deeper conflicts, d) how gender prejudice and gender behavioral norms blinds us to emotional damage inflicted on men, e) how the need to cooperate in a modern society is constantly at war with an urge towards vigilantism or other violent forms of conflict-resolution, f) how raising children healthily when you yourself are damaged requires group cooperation... the list could be a lot longer I think.
I just don't think it can be accidental that so many of the best loved voices in modern genre fiction are people whose characters are survivors of serious abuse, who create circles of support as adults, who attempt to navigate relationships around the landmines of each others' pasts. All that language about werewolves and ghosts and geases and spells is a really powerful metaphorical one for talking about emotions and desires.
Women's fiction [by which I mean fiction written by women and marketed to women] is where we've been having a big group therapy discussion for decades now about emotional, physical, and sexual abuse and the effects it has on our ability to form relationships and communicate honestly with each other. The introduction of paranormal elements has been really powerful because it allows us to up the intensity of the discussion through metaphorical structures, and this lets some of the more terrifying elements of the discussion be problematized within the hero/heroine characters rather than put off onto "others".
Paranormal romance, horror with romantic tinges, mystery with supernatural elements, and fantasy with strong emotional storylines seem to be the genres that do this the most. The big plot threads? A non exhaustive list: a) how men are shut down emotionally by childhood emotional and physical abuse and thus have difficulty connecting to others in a way women can accept, b) how women feel both angry, violent, and helpless about the way in which others sexually objectify them, c) how performing in an exceptional way in some identity-central manner can make romantic relationships more problematic by introducing deeper conflicts, d) how gender prejudice and gender behavioral norms blinds us to emotional damage inflicted on men, e) how the need to cooperate in a modern society is constantly at war with an urge towards vigilantism or other violent forms of conflict-resolution, f) how raising children healthily when you yourself are damaged requires group cooperation... the list could be a lot longer I think.
I just don't think it can be accidental that so many of the best loved voices in modern genre fiction are people whose characters are survivors of serious abuse, who create circles of support as adults, who attempt to navigate relationships around the landmines of each others' pasts. All that language about werewolves and ghosts and geases and spells is a really powerful metaphorical one for talking about emotions and desires.
