First of all, I don’t necessarily have a problem with this subgenre as long as it’s executed in the right way. Unfortunately, I don’t feel like that is the case with most books in this category of romance.
A lot of dark romance books include themes of sexual assault, emotional and physical abuse, power imbalance, murder, incest, slavery, human trafficking, and so much more.
I don’t find any of these things sexy and would most definitely not label them as “romance.” Not to mention the atrocious amount of smut these kinds of books typically have. Some of them don’t even have a plot and are just embarrassingly self-indulgent erotica.
I find it upsetting that so many people act like it’s okay to romanticize these kinds of things in literature. And you could argue that it’s all fictional, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s still incredibly insensitive and inappropriate. And I bet that if any of these were turned into movies, they would receive a lot of backlash just like 365 Days, 50 Shades of Grey, and the After series.
The fact that this particular genre is so popular is honestly insulting to women who have actually experienced these horrible circumstances and have trauma or psychological issues because of it.
It just comes to show what we as a society will overlook for the sake of entertainment or being “horny.”
Edit: A few things
1. I probably should’ve mentioned this in the post, but I’m saying it now. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with enjoying these kinds of books, I just don’t think we should glorify them. I apologize if it came off that way.
2. Some of you are being kind of hypocrital by attacking me in the comments because if you have the right to your own opinions, so do I. I’m not insulting you or being rude, so please give me the same respect.
3. I took out the last paragraph because it was a bit unnecessary, but as someone who has been in a lot of these situations, I can tell you it’s not at all pleasant and that’s probably why I have such a strong viewpoint on this matter.
by CrazyCorgiGirl22