**TL;DR- ‘Women’s fiction is a popular genre in the book industry, however the term is rather archaic and sexist. Calling a literary genre by this name makes no sense as ‘women’s fiction’ can be enjoyed by all genders, and literature shouldn’t be confined and gendered like this, but enjoyed by all who wish to consume it.** There are many reasons why we shouldn’t refer to light-hearted, funny, romantic literature as ‘women’s fiction’. One of these reasons is because it enforces outdated gender stereotypes, unnecessarily squishing literature into a binary view of gender. Though well-intentioned, the genre name suggests that only women can write/read romantic, fluffy, fun stories, because as soon as you attach the label ‘for women’ onto something, it automatically becomes a product that is ‘not for men’ [1]. As Trisha Jenn Loehr states in her blog, ‘have you ever witnessed a parent in a bookstore tell their son, “You can’t get that book, it’s for girls.” Or heard a boy say, “Ew, that’s for girls” when a book has a female protagonist or a girl on the cover? [2]. The gendering of books is just completely unnecessary and archaic, and ‘women’s fiction’ reduces women authors to a sub-category- when you browse in Amazon’s ‘women’s fiction’ category for example, the literature there is ‘united only by the authors' gender’ [3]. There is no category for ‘men’s literature’ as male is still seen as the default. I’m not saying that we should scrap ‘women’s fiction’, we should just call it something different, because it’s archaic and sexist to refer to the light-hearted, romantic sub-genre as exclusively for women. It suggests that women writers are incapable of writing more serious, ‘literary’ fiction, and this is exactly how we get situations such as Harper Lee being accused of not writing *To Kill A Mockingbird*- as of course, only a man could write such a literary classic. Referring to this rom-com literary genre as ‘women’s fiction’ also suggests that men should not read/write these romantic stories, reinforcing toxic masculinity and gender roles in general. As Bellarah states in her blog, the category ‘women’s fiction’ is ‘alienating for men who do enjoy books by and about women, who then may not want to admit it for fear of scorn’ [4]. She then goes on to rightly state that men should be able to enjoy Jane Austen, for example, without receiving judgemental stares. Categorising feel-good, romantic novels as ‘women’s fiction’ is highly problematic, as people should read and write whatever they want, regardless of their gender. Also, women should not be perceived as *only* being able to write funny romance novels. [1 & 2] Trisha Jenn Loehr in *Trisha Jenn Reads*, August 7, 2019 [https://trishajennreads.com/2019/08/07/why-womens-fiction-is-important-why-more-men-should-read-it/] [3] Alison Flood in *The Guardian*, May 16, 2014 [https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/may/16/women-fiction-sign-sexist-book-industry] [4] Bellarah in *Bookarahma*, November 24, 2015 [https://bookarahma.wordpress.com/2015/11/24/womens-fiction-and-why-it-is-a-problem/]

**What do we even mean by ‘women’s fiction’?** Although an initial google search proved difficult in locating a concrete definition, [Agentquery.com]( https://agentquery.com/genre_descriptions.aspx) defines women’s fiction as ‘fiction about women’s issues for a female readership. However, it is not the same as chick lit or romance. While utilizing literary prose, women’s fiction is very commercial in its appeal. Its characters are often women attempting to overcome both personal and external adversity. Although women’s fiction often incorporates grave situations such as abuse, poverty, divorce, familial breakdown, and other social struggles, it can also explore positive aspects within women’s lives. Romantic love stories are also part of women’s fiction, and although love stories are found in chick lit and romance, the mature depth and tone of their development within women’s fiction set them apart from other genre classifications.' Why is it that we don’t have a distinct category for ‘men’s fiction’. This reinforces the notion that women’s writing is seen as a subcategory. Would fiction about men’s issues for a male readership be too considered as ‘mens fiction’? Exploration of romantic love from a male perspective. It is quite unnecessary to continue to uphold the notion of women’s writing as its own distinct genre.

For god's sake. The point of a genre label is to implicate the content. When you hear "women's fiction" You know EXACTLY what type of books are there. That is the only purpose of the label and it works. At this rate in a few years ill have to go to the store and sift through panties and boxers in the same bin because someone got offended that panties were labelled for women. Just stoppp.