Skeletal Writings

To put it bluntly, yes.  And also no in some cases (one writer in particular writes solid romance with slightly-better-looking-but-nothing-worth-writing-home-about male leads and no/fade to black sex scenes, but she seems to be in the minority) , but mostly yes.  As a note, having not read a solid paranormal romance/romance novel in general for a few good years I can't speak for the new crop.  However, the stuff I read seemed more like the whole goal was to get the characters in bed, not to tell a story where the characters eventually ended up in bed because it was natural.  And that's the angle I'm coming from. 

This debate has been on my mind ever since I read my first paranormal romance and was hooked enough to search out more good books in the genre.  Honestly, I blame the searching aspect for some of this. 

For example, there was a post on the Amazon message board where longtime fans of paranormal romance talked about a fictional example of why their male partner should give up his porn, willingly or otherwise, but they can read their paranormal romance as much and as often as they want.  Because, as the consensus went, there is absolutely nothing porny about romance novels.  These women (and I believe there was one man who posted once in a while, but not so sure if it was on this particular topic) seemed quite intelligent when discussing their favorite novels and props to them for recommending stuff I enjoyed back then (it was a difficult task), but I couldn't see where they were coming from.  Still, I thought I was the only one who thought this and kept it quiet.

So then today I was doing my daily web searches and came across this post: http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/index.php/weblog/comments/everything-i-need-to-know-i-learned-from-romance-novels-porn-vs.-romance/ which sums up the debate quite well.  Basically, this woman has a boyfriend who gave up his porn when he committed to her, and he wants her to give up her romance because he sees it as porn for women, and she disagrees and wonders what other romance readers think.  When I checked there were only three comments, but I'm thinking by the end of the day this topic will be overflowing with responses.  So far, the thoughts are generally "He shouldn't control what you read.  No one should control what you read" and "He made a choice.  Nobody told him to give it up."  Even if you're like me and disagree with the overall stance, I recommend reading this post because the question asker expresses herself well.  It seems as though she knows what she wants to hear, but she's also confused and genuinely needs the input, and she explains why her boyfriend's thoughts on her reading choice have been bothering her.

The whole point of this has been for me to express my thoughts, so on with my own personal views.  First of all, I firmly agree that you should read what you want.  I may find your choices head-deskable, but it is your reading, not my reading.  Second of all, I fail to see the difference between porn and romance novels.  They both concern hot people, they're both wish fullfillment, they both have the goal of turning you on (except for fade-to-black romance novels, which I think have more of a story).  Third, you know what?  From the paranormal romance novels I've read, I've read very few that were about characters connecting and going through the usual relationship process and eventually ending up in bed.  The authors use this idea of claiming, where the woman is bound to the man and vice versa because "It's destiny!", which leads to "I love you!"  "I love you more!" "Let's hop into bed!" "Yes!"  The end.  Where's the romance?  Claiming is a very paranormal idea and there's definitely sex scenes, but where is the connection that's supposed to separate  porn from romance?  Because if the only reason for saying "Romance is not porn!" is that romance is coming from a "different place" and "there's a connection!" I'm not seeing it.

As a very related side note, talk about controlling.  You're not allowed to tell someone "You can't read that!" in real life, yet this subject of claiming in novels is considered romantic.  *Sigh*