The True Love Experiment

The romance genre centers and celebrates desire and passion, making—at least in the case of heterosexual pairings—the woman’s sexual pleasure and satisfaction an integral focus of the narrative. This move is often explained, in literary criticism of the genre, as a response to patriarchal cultural beliefs that a woman’s role is to please a man. Certainly, there are veins of literature that coach women on making themselves attractive and pleasing to men, reflecting the belief that a man’s satisfaction is of paramount value. The romance genre in all its forms makes the woman’s satisfaction as important, if not paramount, which Fizzy acknowledges with her chant “down with the patriarchy, up with romance” (329). Fizzy’s sex-positive, enthusiastic approach to dating and romance reflects her belief that she deserves pleasure, and that satisfaction should be mutual in any kind of sexual interaction.

A convention of the contemporary romance novel is the understanding that physical attraction leads to and is a component of the unique and powerful passion that the relationship couple shares. As a mark of their special compatibility, the attraction is more powerful than it has been for previous partners, and the sexual satisfaction is more complete, unrivaled by previous encounters.