The romance community on Booktok has grown in notoriety far beyond the bounds of TikTok, giving rise to many-a-think-pieces across the world wide web. In this video, I explore the internet’s reaction to this community and its controversies – from those worried about the state of literature to those concerned for the poor little women who seem to inhale one Colleen Hoover tome after another – hoping to definitely answer the old-age question: are romance books bad for women?

timestamps:
00:00 – intro
01:17 – everything wrong with romance booktok
02:03 – is spicytok to blame for book overconsumption?
03:50 – the writing is bad, but is that a surprise?
06:07 – the misogyny question
06:59 – the most unhinged romance novels
09:11 – if booktok is a cult, who are the cult leaders?
11:46 – the hockey player thirsting debacle
14:50 – spicy books: the questionable gateway to female sexual liberation?
17:32 – madame bovary syndrome and the moral panic over the female psyche

Videos referenced:

Swell Entertainment https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44MHR2iZtNo&t=816s
With Cindy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTYxx9npRns&t=1615s

Khadija Mbowe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9QP2U1ndGk&t=1118s
Casey Aonso https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IatKojHB5KE

Jack Edwards https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOk7isYDMuU
Annamarie Forcino https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBYwyklxHz4
Alice Cappelle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27Qg9W3FpPU&t=297s

Articles and other sources:

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/tillie-cole-darkness-embraced-romance-debate-tiktok-1234875534/

https://www.insider.com/guides/health/mental-health/porn-addiction#:~:text=Porn%20addiction%20is%20not%20a,life%20or%20relationships%2C%20seek%20therapy.

https://www.latimes.com/health/la-xpm-2011-jul-07-la-heb-romance-novels-women-health-20110707-story.html

https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.livescience.com/14985-romance-novels-bad-women-health-psyche-psychologist.html&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1703432243868158&usg=AOvVaw0CWiX26XHVWZ_es4BxbzDt

https://www.npr.org/2011/07/07/137675779/romance-fiction-and-womens-health-a-dose-of-skepticism

https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2000/04/video-games

https://www.theguardian.com/games/2020/jul/22/playing-video-games-doesnt-lead-to-violent-behaviour-study-shows

https://www.verywellfamily.com/aggressive-behavior-and-video-games-1094980

Psychological Reader‑response Theory

#booktok #booktube