Love: the most complicated, confusing, boundless, impassioned concept of our time. Of any time, really. We make a fool of ourselves for love, chasing even the idea of it when we cannot possibly find a better alternative to our desires.
For many of us, we prefer watching love from the sidelines, living vicariously through the novels that fly off the shelves or the movies that surpass box office records. When the realities of life fail us, the happy endings of fictional characters restore our hope in humanity. Romance is seen as a form of idealism, guaranteed to reel us in with a predictable problem and its inevitable solution. We have a one-stop shop to leave the world behind right at our fingertips.
Maybe not everyone is looking for an escape from the world, but how could one not want to escape from politics in the U.S.? The federal government has launched itself into a war with Iran as a preemptive measure against potential nuclear weapon stockpiles in its usual, overly intense and violent fashion. Domestically, we hear in the news every day about ICE attacks on immigrant communities, protests across the nation, midterm elections that determine whether the president will lash out or enact his authoritarian goals, and the Epstein files threatening the integrity of the government — the list goes on and on. It’s understandable that no matter which way you lean politically, the desire to leave such a polarized political battlefield is universal.
In fact, during times of political unrest, data shows that romance fiction books experience a boom in sales. For example, there were overwhelming upticks in sales of romance novels after 9/11 and the 2008 stock market crash. In the last five years, we have seen print sales double in the U.S. for romance fiction, reflecting the rapidly changing nature of politics and polarization in the country. While there are a variety of factors that have contributed to the increasing sales of romance novels, it cannot be denied that politics, or the desire to escape it, is a largely underlying factor in people’s decision to pick up the latest best-selling love story.
But what we often don’t notice when we delve into our fictional worlds is that, no matter how much we turn away from politics, the romance genre itself is inherently political. The light reading you pick up on the way home from work or the movie you turn on in the background while cooking may reveal something deeper if you take a closer look. Time and time again, we see romance books, movies, and TV shows that are seemingly separate from politics bring up social norms and recurring societal issues that say a lot more than we originally anticipated.
A romance classic many find themselves gravitating towards is “Little Women.” The famously heartwarming, witty, and relatable novel focuses on the four March sisters as they navigate their childhood and adulthood during the Civil War in Concord, Massachusetts. Jo March, the second-oldest sister, is generally considered the protagonist of the overarching story, known for her revolutionary ways of thinking and independent mindset. Her story revolves around her relationship with her family and with the complexities of romantic love. More importantly, it concentrates on how she pursues her own aspirations to become a writer while being shunned for her outspoken, intense voice compared to other female writers in the 1860s.
Jo has become a symbol of feminism because of the way she navigates the challenges of wanting a career while finding love. When her best friend Laurie confesses his love to her, she tells him, “I don’t believe I shall ever marry. I’m happy as I am, and love my liberty too well to be in a hurry to give it up for any mortal man,” emphasizing her desire for independence. In the end, she successfully challenges gender norms by not only pursuing an independent career in writing but also marrying another man, Friedrich Bhaer, on her own terms without the external pressures of being forced to love. Rather, she found it naturally while prioritizing her career first.
By bringing the balance between having a career and a family to the forefront of Jo’s story, Louisa May Alcott sheds light on the value of having a character who could show others the social issues that come with gender stereotypes and how they could be reframed in society. This classic story has defined generations of uprising against typical gender norms, and it especially challenged the prevalent concept of Republican motherhood in late 18th-century America. Of course, women still face scrutiny for prioritizing their careers over finding love and a family — something that continuously shows up in the political and economic sphere — but the overwhelming statistics have also shown that they have prevailed in the workplace, currently representing about 47 percent of the total U.S. labor force.
Not everyone gravitates towards reading a 500-page classic novel in times of distress, but luckily, an intensely popular story that is changing the game (no pun intended) in romance fiction is “Heated Rivalry.” Originally written by author Rachel Reid as part of a hockey romance novel series, the story of Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander has captivated audiences through its TV show adaptation, highlighting their impassioned love as they navigate understanding their sexualities while hiding their relationship from the public eye. There is no doubt that, for both book and television enjoyers, they are guaranteed not only a heartfelt story but also one that is unapologetically sexual and intense, both mentally and physically.
Beyond that, Heated Rivalry fanatics can get a taste of what the National Hockey League (NHL) and its historically anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments are truly like. The NHL has never had an openly gay player in its history, being the only major men’s league to bear that statistic. Additionally, what sparked intense backlash in 2023 was the NHL’s ban on pride jerseys worn during warm-ups and pride tape used on players’ sticks within games on “Pride Nights.” This ban was the NHL’s response to several players refusing to wear Pride Night jerseys, referencing religious and other political reasons. Undoubtedly, the culture of hockey continues to be vastly anti-LGBTQ+, despite major strides in recent years.
More than that, it epitomizes the overarching problems within society that reinforce the unhealthy stigma surrounding sexual independence and exploring one’s sexual identity. With the show averaging 10.6 million viewers per episode in the U.S. and counting, the messaging of social and political issues in society has undoubtedly resonated with those viewers, whether or not they are familiar with the NHL itself. At the same time, it has also brought new fans into hockey who are rapidly incorporating pro-LGBTQ+ sentiments into the space.
These are just a couple of examples that highlight the romance genre’s propensity for social commentary in politics and culture. They underscore broad social movements, political challenges, and changing forms of thought through the stories that resonate with us in our everyday lives.
Of course, this isn’t always the case, and in many ways, romance novels also have the potential to regress into social stereotypes. American romance novelist Colleen Hoover has often been scrutinized for having this effect on her readers. Her audience is largely based in the U.S., with her books being popularized on #BookTok and consistently outselling popular novels — even the Bible. However, with great fame comes great backlash, as critics claim that her novels often present an anti-feminist message, reinforcing misogyny and romanticizing domestic violence. So even though her books are seemingly presented as modern and feminist in the cultural sphere, in reality, they have the opposite effect by dismantling the social progress that Colleen’s predecessors fought hard to achieve.
This just goes to show that when we look to romance for a morsel of love and hope in our lives, we aren’t always met with the level of idealism that we seek in the first place. We come face-to-face with the joy, tragedy, hope, and anger of our political climate – the many stories and perspectives that not only fuel the chaos, but also give us a sense of agency amidst all of it. What we assume is a form of escapism from political turmoil could actually have the potential to revolutionize or challenge social norms and shed light on significant problems that we face every day. Many shifts in social thought are so localized in specific political events that we fail to realize how much external change can come from even a simple love story.
In the U.S., we are still in an ongoing battle of unrest, violence, and social divisions. The countless times we as a society move to romance and other forms of idealism as a vessel of escape from this political climate are immeasurable. But no matter how hard we try, even the tropey, predictable, and corny stories that we invest our energies into are making progress through their political and social commentary. While we cannot escape politics through this genre, we can certainly use it to our advantage by highlighting its ability to revolutionize everyday norms and ways of life. What is seen as an escape from crisis is actually not so far from it in the first place. If we allow it to, romance can bring a new sense of political thinking into society and give people the opportunity to challenge the turmoil facing this country as a whole.
Featured Image Source: Ageist