Men can be replaced with luxury items like Manolo Blahniks. Or at least they can in chick lit, which was analyzed by author Stephanie Harzewski during a talk at the Penn Bookstore Tuesday evening.
Harzewski’s new book Chick Lit and Postfeminism defines the genre — which includes titles as Sex in the City and Bridget Jones’ Diary — as a subgenre of romance that she says has grown to “gargantuan proportions.” It has infiltrated other genres such as science fiction, she said, and has spawned other genres such as self help.
The key to its seductive quality, Harzewski said, is the fact that it has the elasticity of the romance novel combined with humor and depictions of glamorous lifestyles that are enticing during a recession. Chick lit has received a bad rap over the years because it is seen as consisting of “beach reads.” As College of Liberal and Professional Studies junior Emily Savin put it, she had previously been intrigued by the idea of chick lit but had been afraid to pick it up due to this stigma. But chick lit “offers commentary on significant cultural changes in the United States” Harzewski said.
Chick lit is “a utopian amalgamation of different strands of feminism,” Harzewski said. But in its treatment of feminism, chick lit has its limitations. According to Harzewski, the genre is seen as a comic representation of feminism, as the main idea it communicates seems to be that “emancipation and exfoliation aren’t mutually exclusive.”
And this is precisely why it sells. Harzewski observes that the market is growing among young women in part because of the early sexualization of girls. She observes that young women, even in February, walk out in dresses without pantyhose and that companies like Victoria’s Secret have started marketing to women who are “frankly too young.” She does, however, note that a shift in the climate of feminism has encouraged a growth in demand for courtship novels more akin to Jane Austen’s works.
Many of the audience members found the talk interesting, and as second-year Penn Law School student Meghan Lydon put it, Harzewski has “an engaging way about her.” Savin felt that the talk had given her “a more complex understanding of this literary phenomenon.”
The event was held in honor of Women’s History Month. It will be followed by other events held by the Women’s Center including an International Women’s Day event at the International House on Wednesday.
