From bodice rippers to romantasy, romance novels are dominating the book market – and rewriting women’s sexual power

Today’s romance novels spotlight women in control in the bedroom and in their relationships.

By: Diane Winston, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: March 10, 2026

Words: 1,356

Last Updated: 4 months, 4 weeks ago

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By Diane Winston, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism

The compulsion started soon after my marriage.

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.

“Diane is reading bodice rippers,” he said, citing the old-fashioned name for sexually explicit romance …

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