Let’s show Love some love!
I have a secret — please try not to sigh or roll your eyes: I love the romance genre.
Written by Esther Smith
Every Sunday afternoon, I go to my favourite coffee shop and crack the spine of a book. I devour page after page while eating an extraordinary brie and cranberry panini and sipping on a creamy mocha. Sometimes the employees will ask what are you reading this time? I’ll sheepishly hold the book up to show them the telltale signs of a romance book, explaining that work has been so busy and life has been so stressful, that I just need to unwind and not think too seriously.
Hey, I’m highly aware of how people view the genre and maybe if I beat them to the punch, they’ll forgive me for my sins. But is the romance genre really a sin?
Ugh! As If!
Romance films are already at a disadvantage - they’re usually targeted to women, mostly called Chick Flicks, and are not taken seriously. Starting in the 1990s, Chick Flick was used for films targeted towards women, which just so happened to be mainly romance films. The term has come under criticism for being derogatory towards women. It comes with the long history of women’s hobbies being mocked — appearance, pop culture, music, and fitness has been ridiculed by many.
Let’s take the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy for example — it took the world by storm, and in 2015, you couldn’t step anywhere online or offline without seeing its impact on culture. But the mocking it received feels a little suspicious, especially when the term Mommy Porn was coined after the book and movie gained a lot of attention from older women. Everyone had decided to collectively forget the word erotica to further humiliate the target audience.
Now, what about interests and hobbies that are dominated by men? Sport, finance, and video games are hailed as important, serious, and worthy of time and attention.
But if women’s interests aren’t taken seriously, why do the box office figures look so good for the romance genre? All it takes is a scroll through the statistics to see the reality of it all; people are in love with romance. That love doesn’t just show up in the box office, it shows up in list after list online that make it abundantly clear that romance shouldn’t be looked down upon.
Although, we can see the market share for the genre dropped dramatically in 2012 — the romance fatigue started to emerge. Unsurprisingly, I didn’t have to search far to see why the romance genre could be disliked; I only needed to scratch the surface of Reddit to see that the main critique was that it wasn’t realistic at all — and yes, I could point out that the Fast & Furious series isn’t realistic either, but that would just be “taking the fun out of things, Esther!”.
It was nice to see the shift happen when Barbie was released in 2023. Not only did the film pull in over $1 billion worldwide, its marketing took over social media. The Barbenheimer phenomenon added to the gendered politics with hobbies and finally, we saw success with Barbie winning the battle.
It’s Not You, It’s Me
Time moves on and our view on society continues to evolve. For this reason, there’s many moments in the romance genre that haven’t particularly aged well — although I’m happy to see not all the cliches are destined to be left behind.
Throughout the years, we’ve seen romance films send the wrong message to viewers. When it comes to body image we don’t need to look further than Love Actually and Bridget Jones, BIPOC stories and characters are often neglected, and how about those problematic storylines?
Okay, so that’s a lot of criticism… but at least these films are empowering to women, right? Well, it depends on how you look at it. Yes, it’s empowering to see a wide range of films with women in positions of power — however, the problem lies with the fact they always end up in a relationship, leading viewers to believe they’re not happy until they’ve found their one true love.
We’ll Always Have Short Films
We’ve seen love being declared within 90 minutes, 120 minutes, and 310 minutes if you’re watching BBC’s Pride and Prejudice. But what short films? Can you still give the audience the yearning, laughter, and heartfelt confessions in less than 30 minutes? Let’s turn to the short film festivals that prove romance isn’t just for feature films:
Love Story Film Festival London is proud to provide a space for the romantic genre by saying, “If there’s one thing we all enjoy, it’s a decent love story. One that fills our hearts with the joy, hope and despair of human attraction.”
Starting in 2024, Blussh Romance Festival in Australia are ready to swoon their audiences, “Fueled by their shared obsession with romance and a dream of bringing stories to life, they’ve crafted a festival designed to make you fall head over heels in love with love”.
Hong Kong Lesbian and Gay Film Festival is the oldest LGBTQIA+ film festival in Asia and they take pride in the fact the festival has become “a significant platform for queer voices and stories from around the globe”.
Looking for something particularly steamy? CineKink was founded in 2003 and aims to “celebrate and explore the wide diversity of sexuality” through screening 50 films at their 2024 edition in New York City.
Even festivals that aren’t entirely dedicated to showcasing romance films have space for them — London Short Film Festival programmed a romance block in their 2025 edition.
Love At First Stream
Sure, the box office numbers aren’t looking the best — but thanks to streaming services, the romance genre is picking up again. The Idea of You was the biggest film on Amazon Prime in 2024, following the footsteps of Red, White & Royal Blue. One Day on Netflix drew in positive reviews.
It’s not just streaming records, the genre is breaking: it’s getting noticed at awards season. Rye Lane, which had been nominated for 16 BIFA’s, became available on Disney+ shortly following its theatrical release. Past Lives, available on MUBI, was nominated for a total of 5 Golden Globe awards. Netflix’s Nobody Wants This was nominated for 3 Golden Globe awards and leading actor Adam Brody won the Best Actor in a Comedy Series at the Critics Choice Awards.
Live Without Shame
The tide is slowly turning when it comes to the public’s opinion and we’re starting to shed the shame. We can still learn to love romantic films, and there’s even more attention on looking at this topic through a feminist lens, along with a highlight on POC stories. With a rise of female-driven stories, perhaps we could see new stories emerge that don’t hold problematic plots.
I, for one, am ready to put down the shame. Yes, you’ll find me reading steamy romance books that make me blush, allow me the honour of terribly singing the best power ballads Spotify has to offer, and make sure you have the box of tissues ready when Harry delivers his confession of love to Sally on New Year’s Eve. My love for rom-com is just as valid as every other genre that exists in film and it’s time to stop feeling ashamed. So, if you need me, I’ll be watching 10 Things I Hate About You again — and yes, I love it.
