{"id":26999,"date":"2026-03-30T08:14:59","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T15:14:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/?p=26999"},"modified":"2026-04-24T10:44:49","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T17:44:49","slug":"from-bodice-rippers-to-romantasy-romance-novels-are-dominating-the-book-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/from-bodice-rippers-to-romantasy-romance-novels-are-dominating-the-book-market\/","title":{"rendered":"From bodice rippers to romantasy, romance novels are dominating the book market \u2013 and rewriting women\u2019s sexual\u00a0power"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n    \n                                \n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/03\/winston-romantasy-top-768x432.png\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/03\/winston-romantasy-top-1920x1080.png 1920w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/03\/winston-romantasy-top-1280x720.png 1280w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/03\/winston-romantasy-top-768x432.png 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1200px) 75vw, (min-width:768px) 83vw, 100vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"Glasses sit atop a stack of four books with a fifth leaning against it on a bed with pillows\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n  \n\n<\/div>\n  \n      <div class=\"image-caption\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Long popular, romance novels currently comprise nearly 25% of book sales in the United States and earn billions globally each year. (Image source: Pexels.)\n\n\n<\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  \n  <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n          <nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\" class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n        <ul>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\">News<\/a><\/li>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\/?category=arts-and-culture\">Arts and Culture<\/a><\/li>\n                  <\/ul>\n      <\/nav>\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n  <h1>From bodice rippers to romantasy, romance novels are dominating the book market \u2013 and rewriting women\u2019s sexual\u00a0power<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n          <div class=\"subtitle\">\n            \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Today\u2019s romance novels spotlight women in control in the bedroom and in their relationships, writes Diane Winston of USC Dornsife\u2019s School of Religion.\n\n\n<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    \n           <strong class=\"author-field\"><span >By<\/span><a href=\"mailto:communication@dornsife.usc.edu\">Diane Winston<\/a><\/strong>\n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">March 30, 2026<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--social-share \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--social-share\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"content-wrapper\">\n    <span class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" style=\"line-height: 32px;\">\n      <span class=\"title\">\n        Share\n      <\/span>\n                        <a class=\"a2a_button_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#copy_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Link\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_copy_link\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m7.43475275 9.52380952-2.17490843 2.26076008c-1.08745421 1.058837-1.68841575 2.518315-1.68841575 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xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m8.14285714 9.42857143c-.17142857 0-.34285714 0-.51428571.08571428l7.28571427 6.34285719c.3428572.2571428.6857143.2571428.9428572 0l7.2857142-6.34285719c-.0857142-.08571428-.2571428-.08571428-.4285714-.08571428zm-1.28571428 1.11428567v.1714286 8.5714286c0 .6857143.6 1.2857143 1.28571428 1.2857143h14.57142856c.6857143 0 1.2857143-.6 1.2857143-1.2857143v-8.5714286c0-.0857143 0-.0857143 0-.1714286l-7.2 6.3428572c-.7714286.6857143-1.8857143.6857143-2.6571429 0z\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" transform=\"translate(-6 -9)\"\/><\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">Email<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                  <\/span>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n \n\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--rich-text \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--rich-text\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n      \n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\">\n\n    \n  <p>The compulsion started soon after my marriage.<\/p>\n<p>Long before e-books and audiobooks, I furtively read paperbacks whose covers of bosomy maidens and bare-chested men would have outed my obsession. Then, on a family car trip, my husband told my young stepdaughters why I liked sitting alone in the back seat.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDiane is reading bodice rippers,\u201d he said, citing the old-fashioned name for sexually explicit romance novels. Back then, they were my guilty pleasure.<\/p>\n<p>More than 30 years later, I remain a fan of romance novels, but it\u2019s no longer a craving I feel compelled to hide. In fact, I value the window it opens to <a href=\"https:\/\/annenberg.usc.edu\/faculty\/diane-winston\">my research interests in pop culture, religion and gender<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m not alone. Romantic fiction makes up almost <a href=\"https:\/\/bookriot.com\/romance-novel-trends\/#:%7E:text=Romance%20novels%20have%20been%20an,Shades%20of%20Grey%20came%20out.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">25% of books sold<\/a> in the U.S., and the genre earned <a href=\"https:\/\/www.writersdigest.com\/the-billion-dollar-genre-why-romance-writing-matters\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">US$1.44 billion<\/a> globally in 2022-23. The Bible may be the bestselling book of all time, but annual sales of romance novels even <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/colleen-hoover-outsold-bible-last-135221268.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">outpace the Scriptures<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Written by women, for women<\/h2>\n<p>Among scholars, there\u2019s a range of opinions on the genre\u2019s enduring popularity.<\/p>\n<p>Some describe romantic fiction as the literary equivalent of Marx\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Opium_of_the_people\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">opium of the masses<\/a>.\u201d They argue that these books are perennial bestsellers because they offer escapism and the promise of \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/iupress.org\/9780253032485\/happily-ever-after\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">happily ever after<\/a>\u201d \u2014 a quick sugar high to distract from the struggles of everyday life.<\/p>\n<p>Other scholars cite <a href=\"https:\/\/www.routledge.com\/The-Routledge-Research-Companion-to-Popular-Romance-Fiction\/Kamble-MurphySelinger-Teo\/p\/book\/9780367543204\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the genre\u2019s pedigree<\/a>. Though they\u2019re canonized as literary classics, 19th-century novels such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gutenberg.org\/ebooks\/1342\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Pride and Prejudice<\/em><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gutenberg.org\/files\/1260\/1260-h\/1260-h.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Jane Eyre<\/em><\/a> and <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gutenberg.org\/ebooks\/768\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Wuthering Heights<\/a> <\/em>can also be read as romances \u2014 stories written by women and centered on women\u2019s emotional lives, courtship and desires. In a world circumscribed by <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/how-did-public-bathrooms-get-to-be-separated-by-sex-in-the-first-place-59575\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the era\u2019s narrow gender roles<\/a>, these books featured clever, often headstrong women who exercised some agency over their love lives and their fates.<\/p>\n<p>In my view, this explains their popularity: 19th-century readers may have found vicarious pleasure in Jane Eyre\u2019s journey from timid governess to independent heiress and happy wife. Likewise, Catherine Earnshaw\u2019s decision to marry the wealthy Edgar Linton, thus abandoning the penniless Heathcliff, may have struck the female fans of <em>Wuthering Heights<\/em>\u00a0as an understandable choice.<\/p>\n<p>Nineteenth-century women had limited pastimes. Books that reflected on their own circumstances, albeit with more intrigue and drama, were catnip. But as readership grew, male authors wanted to cash in on the expanding market.<\/p>\n<p>As men penned their own novels, their perspectives dominated, pushing women\u2019s fiction to the side. Changing social mores also made the once popular \u201cwoman\u2019s novel\u201d seem <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/books\/2018\/feb\/19\/women-better-represented-in-victorian-novels-than-modern-finds-study\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">dated<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The romance genre was revived in the 20th century when authors added more oomph to their plots and edgier characters. Daphne Du Maurier\u2019s 1938 classic, <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/0958923032000088292\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Rebecca<\/em><\/a>, breathed new life into gothic romances \u2014 love stories set in dreary, desolate places, intermingled with horror and suspense. And <a href=\"https:\/\/www.officialgeorgetteheyer.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Georgette Heyer<\/a> revitalized historical romance with smoldering stories such as <em><a href=\"https:\/\/historicalnovelsociety.org\/reviews\/the-grand-sophy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Grand Sophy<\/a><\/em>, set in England\u2019s Regency period (1811\u20131820).<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20110610053405\/http:\/\/www.sfweekly.com\/2001-07-25\/news\/a-romance-glossary\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Bodice rippers<\/a> debuted in the 1970s. The name came, in part, from <a href=\"https:\/\/romancenovelsforfeminists.blogspot.com\/2017\/11\/the-origins-of-bodice-ripper-cover.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the covers<\/a>, which often depicted a woman in a half-torn dress being embraced by a buff male. A racier take on the romance genre, they were often set in early 19th-century England and ended in happily-ever-afters. But the characters were sexually active in ways that would have shocked and scandalized Jane Austen\u2019s heroines.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"align-center zoomable\"><a href=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/721847\/original\/file-20260303-63-x3fxda.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/721847\/original\/file-20260303-63-x3fxda.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/721847\/original\/file-20260303-63-x3fxda.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=329&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/721847\/original\/file-20260303-63-x3fxda.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=329&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/721847\/original\/file-20260303-63-x3fxda.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=329&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/721847\/original\/file-20260303-63-x3fxda.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=413&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/721847\/original\/file-20260303-63-x3fxda.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=413&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/721847\/original\/file-20260303-63-x3fxda.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=413&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w\" alt=\"Three book covers featuring illustrations of hunky men wooing beautiful women.\" \/><\/a><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Bodice rippers were all the rage in the 1970s and \u201980s. (<\/span><span class=\"attribution\"><span class=\"source\">Nick Lehr\/The Conversation)<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Kathleen E. Woodiwiss\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jezebel.com\/the-sweet-savage-sexual-revolution-that-set-the-romanc-1789687801?fbclid=IwAR0-9ro7BecbTJxDRaH0dCH-g-JDCqovWOgBL-uhvtRadQGSt2oCHxXtYnk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>The Flame and The Flower<\/em><\/a> (1972) is widely credited with launching the modern bodice ripper: The first romance novel published in paperback, it became a huge bestseller, despite its graphic rape scenes.<\/p>\n<p>These novels, which debuted in the midst of the sexual revolution, were more explicit than their precursors, and heroines <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/romancerevolutio0000thur\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">enjoyed more agency<\/a> in their life choices. That said, the sex was male-driven and often implied that a \u201cthrobbing member\u201d could send the heroine into paroxysms of ecstasy.<\/p>\n<h2>Lovestruck mafiosos and bull breeders<\/h2>\n<p>The digital revolution further transformed romance novels.<\/p>\n<p>Self-publishing, digital publishing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/07\/01\/books\/tiktok-books-booktok.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">and BookTok<\/a> brought new and younger readers into the mix. <a href=\"https:\/\/janefriedman.com\/romance-authors-thrive-in-the-self-publishing-era\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Anyone could become a romance novelist<\/a>, leading to an array of new characters, plots and sexual adventures.<\/p>\n<p>A genre that once mainly featured straight, British aristocrats now embraced Black, Latino and Asian protagonists. There were wanton witches, voracious werewolves and vampire lotharios. Some stories explored <a href=\"https:\/\/rubydixon.com\/series\/ice-planet-barbarians\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">alien pairings<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/the-made-universe.fandom.com\/wiki\/The_Sweetest_Oblivion\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">lovestruck mafiosos<\/a>, while in others, <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/whats-behind-the-astonishing-rise-in-lgbtq-romance-literature-223159\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">LGBTQ characters<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/heated-rivalry-matters-in-a-sporting-culture-that-still-sidelines-queer-men-273143\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">professional athletes<\/a> took center stage. Readers drawn to bawdier fare could dive into erotic fiction, with plotlines featuring <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/shelf\/show\/bull-breeding\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">women mating with bulls<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/series\/321500-the-bonds-that-tie\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reverse harems<\/a> \u2014 one woman with several men \u2014 and women consorting with <a href=\"https:\/\/dearauthor.com\/book-reviews\/overall-b-reviews\/b-minus-reviews\/review-venomous-by-penelope-fletcher\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">multi-limbed aliens<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Many of these innovations have something in common. Rather than sticking to the male-driven plotlines of 20th-century bodice rippers, most contemporary romance writers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dipseastories.com\/blog\/the-female-gaze\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">focus on the female orgasm<\/a>. Men are far less likely to rush penetration because, before seeking their release, they want their partners to experience multiple climaxes.<\/p>\n<p>But contemporary female characters are not just sexually satisfied. They also enjoy successful careers and close female friends. True to real life, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.writersdigest.com\/write-better-fiction\/the-importance-of-plus-size-inclusion-in-romance-novels\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">some are plus size<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.romancerehab.com\/blog\/highly-recommended-romance-novels-with-disability-rep\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">have disabilities<\/a>. Others were burned in past encounters. They need suitors to scale their emotional walls before blowing their minds in the bedroom.<\/p>\n<h2>Women in control<\/h2>\n<p>Put together, the genre has undergone a 180-degree turn from the books I hid in the 1990s.<\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s romantic fiction is less about horny couplings and happy endings and more about exploring emotional connections and power dynamics. Stories also play out the impact of race, class, gender and sexuality on relationships.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_27001\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-27001\" style=\"width: 500px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-27001 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/03\/winston-romantasy-instory-500x500.png\" alt=\"Covers of three volumes of the &quot;Heated Rivalry&quot; searies against a tan background with white dots\" width=\"500\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/03\/winston-romantasy-instory-500x500.png 500w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/03\/winston-romantasy-instory-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/03\/winston-romantasy-instory-768x768.png 768w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/03\/winston-romantasy-instory-320x320.png 320w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/03\/winston-romantasy-instory.png 980w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-27001\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The queer ice hockey love story <em>Heated Rivalry<\/em>\u00a0became a huge hit after it was turned into a TV show. (Composite: Letty Avila. Image sources: Carina Press; iStock.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Consider the bestselling book and breakout hit HBO series <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt35495073\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Heated Rivalry<\/em><\/a>, which explores the complicated romance between two gay hockey players. It\u2019s beloved by straight and gay female fans for depicting a blossoming relationship characterized by emotional vulnerability rather than toxic masculinity. And it reveals a trend previously underreported: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/society\/2026\/jan\/13\/why-do-women-like-heated-rivalry\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Women like watching gay men enjoying sex<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>While the <em>Heated Rivalry<\/em>\u00a0phenomenon is intriguing, readership also has skyrocketed for romantasy.<\/p>\n<p>Romantasy features unconventional women navigating make-believe worlds populated by magic, faeries and dragons. Some heroines are timid, others are brazen, but they share a drive to succeed on their terms.<\/p>\n<p>The genre took off in 2015 with <a href=\"https:\/\/sarahjmaas.com\/a-court-of-thorns-roses-series\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sarah Maas\u2019<\/a> <em>A Court of Thorns and Roses<\/em>, the saga of a beautiful but impoverished teen who finds herself in the faerie court. Eleven years and two series later, Maas\u2019 books have sold <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomsbury.com\/us\/discover\/sarah-j-maas\/sarah-j-maas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">more than 75 million copies<\/a>. Each novel is kinkier than the last, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/11\/17\/well\/romantasy-books-sex-intimacy.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">and they\u2019ve even inspired some readers<\/a> to spice up things in their own bedrooms.<\/p>\n<p>The success of these new romance subgenres reflects a striking societal shift: Women are no longer shy about being on top. As writers and readers increasingly see powerful women in C-suites and boardrooms, they expect similar strength in the bedroom.<\/p>\n<p>Although what women want has not changed over time, our ability to achieve it has. That\u2019s why the popularity of books by, for and about women is as fervent today as when Elizabeth Bennet, the heroine in <em>Pride and Prejudice<\/em>, fell for Mr. Darcy. But Lizzie Bennet lived in a world where she could do only so much, hemmed in like her real-life counterparts.<\/p>\n<p>Thankfully, women today enjoy more power, agency and pleasure. And thankfully, too, we have a lot more books by, for and about women as we contemplate what lies ahead.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/273765\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" \/><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https:\/\/theconversation.com\/republishing-guidelines --><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/diane-winston-333585\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Diane Winston<\/a>, Professor and Knight Center Chair in Media and <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/religion\/\">Religion<\/a>, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/usc-annenberg-school-for-communication-and-journalism-2771\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">USC Annenberg School for Communication and<\/a><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/usc-annenberg-school-for-communication-and-journalism-2771\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> Journalism<\/a> and the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.<\/p>\n<p>This article is republished from <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/from-bodice-rippers-to-romantasy-romance-novels-are-dominating-the-book-market-and-rewriting-womens-sexual-power-273765\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n  \n        \n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-related-stories \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-related-stories\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--section-title\">\n\n    \n  <h2>\n          Related Articles\n      <\/h2>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n                  <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/alumnus-george-stiffman-wants-you-to-rethink-tofu\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >Alumnus George Stiffman wants you to rethink tofu<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/computational-linguistics-student-finds-love-of-language-and-ai-safety-at-usc-dornsife\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >Love of language and community \u2014 and AI safety \u2014 fuel graduating senior\u2019s USC Dornsife experience<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/dad-brain-is-real-its-reshaping-our-understanding-of-fatherhood\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >\u2018Dad brain\u2019 is real. It\u2019s reshaping our understanding of fatherhood.\u00a0<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n            <\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":27002,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[87,104,83],"class_list":["post-26999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-and-culture","tag-expert-viewpoint","tag-religion","tag-the-conversation"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>From bodice rippers to romantasy, romance novels are dominating the book market \u2013 and rewriting women\u2019s sexual\u00a0power<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Today\u2019s books spotlight 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