In this week’s episode, we discuss Romantasy, the Franken-genre that has conquered the publishing world and defined the libidinal landscapes of a generation of women. We decode the genre’s DNA from dimestore bodice-rippers to high fantasy epics, examine the sociological profile of its authors and audiences, and explore how it’s mutated in the digital age via AI visualizers and high-budget audio erotica. We also talk about Renaissance faires, fujoshi discourse, the mirror image of male vs. female gooning in popular culture, Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights as the BookTok movie of the century, and more.
Links:
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Sam’s Romantasy Spotify Playlist
“Did a Best-Selling Romantasy Author Steal Another Writer’s Story?” by Katy Waldman in The New Yorker
“She Fell in Love With ChatGPT. Then She Ghosted It.” (r/MyBoyfriendIsAI profile) by Kashmir Hill in The New York Times
“Sexual Scripts: Permanence and Change” by William Simon and John H. Gagnon in Archives of Sexual Behavior, Vol. 15, No. 2
“How the Renaissance Fair became America’s favorite fantasy” by Kelly Faircloth in National Geographic
r/AskAHistorian discussions about medievalism and high fantasy (one, two, three)
The Oxford Handbook of Victorian Medievalism ed. Joanne Parker and Corinna Wagner
Hard to Be a God (2013) dir. Aleksei German
Candlelight Ecstasy Romance Guidelines c. 1980
Love Story magazine ed. Daisy Bacon (1921–1947) (see covers here)
“The Uses of Reading Mass-Produced Romance Fiction” (Harlequin study) by Susan B. Neuman (1985)
History of the “sex and shopping” genre by Pascal Tréguer
“Girls Who Love Boys Who Love Boys” by E. Alex Jung in Vulture
Interview with Quinn founder and CEO Caroline Spiegel in Refinery29
“Aural Fixation: Celebrity Audio Erotica Is 2025’s Answer to the Centerfold” by Hannah Jackson in Vogue
“The Importance of Critical Thinking in a Zombiefied World” (Why romantasy is crucial to understanding Apple TV’s hit show Pluribus) by Maris Kreizman in The Atlantic
“Liking Books is Not a Personality” by Hannah McGregor in Electric Literature
