The idea of radical romance was inspired by the reading I've been doing this year and by a call to action issued by author Adriana Herrera @ladrianaherrera:
"I would say this in addition to read romance. I would say come into romance with a critical eye. I would also say, WE NEED TO DECOLONIZE ROMANCE. Because what we have as canon leaves a whole lot out..."

To me decolonized romance is intersectionally feminist romantic fiction that cultivates social justice. These stories model and/or advocate for equality with regard to race, gender and sexuality, and ability; masculinity without toxicity; and a multicultural society without the hierarchy. Last, but definitely not least, these are emotionally satisfying romantic narratives that never lose sight of the happy ever after.

Read anything that fits the bill? I NEED YOUR INPUT. THIS LIST ONLY WORKS IF IT'S INCLUSIVE. Please add, vote, comment, like and share! #RadicalRomance #Decolonizeromance
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295 books · 206 voters · list created December 13th, 2019 by Carole Bell (votes) .
124 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


Carole 3785 books
385 friends
Barbara 498 books
13 friends
Sue 2557 books
204 friends
Jessica 1762 books
336 friends
Kelly 3199 books
67 friends
Suzanne 4991 books
92 friends
Valentine 1111 books
85 friends
Allie 2287 books
76 friends

More voters…


Comments Showing 1-5 of 5 (5 new)

dateUp arrow    newest »

message 1: by Mary (new)

Mary While Brokeback Mountain is an incredibly moving love story, it would not be considered a romance based on genre definition (no HEA).


message 2: by Carole (last edited Dec 17, 2019 04:13PM) (new)

Carole Bell Mary wrote: "While Brokeback Mountain is an incredibly moving love story, it would not be considered a romance based on genre definition (no HEA)."
I agree. It doesn't fit the genre. I have a soft spot for it because I think it tells an important story. But you're right. My fault. I violated my own rules. Will remove.


message 3: by N.J. (new)

N.J. Lysk I'm so excited to have found this list! Brilliant idea! <3


message 4: by Carole (last edited Jul 01, 2020 12:42PM) (new)

Carole Bell Amber wrote: "I love the idea of this list but I would encourage the rethinking of the word 'decolonize', specifically, when it comes to putting any romance books that have pro-royal/aristocracy/monarchy messagi..."

I hear you and I tend to err on the side of avoiding anything that glorifies monarchy and colonialism for that very reason. The thing about the list criteria is that it's a guideline but the list is crowd sourced. I wouldn't remove the charge to "decolonize" romance from the criteria I listed because its the direction I want the list to go in. That's the aim of the list and the call to arms. Rather than water that down I'd rather reiterate the purpose behind the list and challenge people to keep it in mind!

That said, RWRB has an explicit critique of England's colonial history and the racism and homophobia of the present day monarchy as well so that made it more palatable for me personally even though of course it also has a prince as a hero. But in general I don't nominate or vote for anything that focuses on aristocracy or the monarchy or billionaires to take the modern equivalent.


message 5: by Sally (new)

Sally "Policing women's sexual and romantic fantasy for ideological purity is Woke, actually!"


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