No one can underestimate BookTok’s influence on the publishing industry. This community of book lovers on TikTok has found a niche talking about their passion — books — and publishers have taken notice. If you look in stores, you’ll find several books advertised as popular on BookTok.
One genre that consistently comes up is romantasy. A portmanteau of romance and fantasy, the romantasy genre takes elements from both aforementioned genres and makes it a focus in the book. In romantasy, romance is equally important as fantasy and drives the plot.
You’ve probably heard of romantasy titles before, racing from Rebecca Yarros’ “Fourth Wing” to Sarah J. Maas’ “A Court of Thrones and Roses” to Lauren Roberts’ “Powerless.” And that doesn’t include the countless romantasy novels publishers have released or plan to release.
Like others online, I have issues with some common tropes I see in romantasy, including themes that reinforce misogynistic ideas.
But one of my biggest problems with romantasy is the lack of queer representation.
I have seen some queer romantasy, like Saara El’Arifi’s “Faebound.” However, most of the time, romantasy revolves around a straight, cisgender couple. As a queer person who loves fantasy, it’s disappointing to see that this new, popular genre lacks many queer leads.
The hetero-cisnormativity of romantasy also bleeds into many of the problems people have with the genre, which aren’t unique to romantasy but stand out because of the genre’s popularity. Often, these relationships reinforce gender stereotypes —the man is dominant and emotionally closed off, while the woman is more submissive and in touch with her emotions. This also, intentionally or not, alienates queer readers, as queer relationships often challenge these gender norms.
Now, I won’t pretend that romantasy invented gender norms and sexism; they’ve existed in our world for centuries, and our books, regardless of genre, reflect that. However, as romantasy has grown as popular as it has, it’s glaringly obvious that there’s a lack of queer representation. And, as the publishing industry has become more inclusive, I expect more from new books.
With the majority of romantasy books I see, I can’t help but feel excluded from the genre.
A local bookstore opened in my town, selling only romantasy, but most of the books there feature straight, cisgender couples. When men and women in relationships are seen as the norm, it alienates queer people, whether intentionally or not.
I want to see publishers and authors challenge the status quo and shake things up. We are not a monolithic society. Instead, we need more queer authors and publishing professionals to write, publish, and advocate for books that feature queer characters as leads. We need to see that romance can take many forms, that relationships can look different for people, and that there isn’t one way to be in a relationship, romantic or otherwise.
Books have the power to inspire people and open their eyes to new experiences and ideas. They can also provide representation for historically marginalized groups. And we see this in the recent rise of queer, BIPOC, and other novels that focus on people historically excluded from the narrative, and I want to see this trend continue.
As romantasy continues to dominate the publishing industry, I’d love to see more queer novels.
We already have some novels out there; now, it’s time to push the momentum up, so people don’t feel excluded from diving into a great novel.
There’s nothing quite like losing yourself in a great book. Everyone should get to experience that, regardless of who they are.
Featured image by Elin Melaas on Unsplash
