"Chick lit" was something I was not aware of until Wattpad decided to launch it as one of the new genres on their website. To be quite honest, I had no idea what it was. Now that I've done some research on the topic, I feel I can share my opinion on the genre based on my findings.
Most of the problem with chick lit is not chick lit itself, but its connotation and how others view it. The actual definition of "chick lit" is literature about females. That's it. Yes, it's often written by females and thus is frequently of a female audience. Neither of those are requirements. However, what many people think of when someone says "chick lit" is fluffy stories about girls falling in love and whining about their love life, which is not the case. All chick lit means is "about women".
This brings me to my second point. The big problem I have with chick lit is that it's considered its own genre. I don't see why it has to be a separate genre, separated from regular literature. Just because a novel has a female protagonist doesn't mean it should be labeled as something outside of the "normal" genre. These kinds of labels are not only discouraging boys from reading stories with a female lead, but it makes it harder and harder for females to be taken seriously.
I find myself shaking my head at Wattpad. Whether their intentions were good or not, they are subconsciously sending negative connotations to all their users. And I would've thougtht that by the 21st century we'd be past this sort of thing.
What are your thoughts? Are you a fan of chick lit? Are you discouraged by this sort of genre labelling? Leave a comment below!
I honestly, cannot believe that's all 'Chick Lit' is. I assumed it was a love story and a female protagonist with no connection to 'fantasy or paranormal' genres. I don't think 'Chick Lit' should have entire genre to itself.
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