n summarizing the essence of romance novels, Grant (1999) has said:“Romance literature tells us that love is the most powerful force in ourlives. A story that does not convey this message is not a romance, althoughit may contain a romantic subplot” (p. 10). Although there are constraints tothe genre, recent years have brought great diversity within the field. Thereis variety in terms of heroines and their professional lives, relationshipsof male and female characters, time periods, amount of explicit sex andso forth. The most current romances seek to replicate social norms. Thus,where heroines in earlier romances were dependent on a man for lifestyleand love, currently the heroines are often successful in their own businessesat least initially. They are independent and focused characters. In additionto the main romance plot, there is an emphasis on relationships and howthese are negotiated.Romance novels enjoy a huge readership not only in the US but alsoin countries throughout the world. The readership is 90% women, most ofwhom are lifetime readers who typically read their first romance in theirteenage years and continue on through adulthood. To give an example ofthe prevalence of this type of fiction, in 2000, in the US, romance fictioncomprised 55.9% of all paperback fiction sales; 2,289 titles were publishedwith $1.37 billion in sales. In 1999, 41.4 million people, or 18%, of thereading-age population read a romance. One in every third woman read aromance that year.2Mostreadersexhibitapatternofrepetitivereading,finishingonenoveland rapidly moving on to another. Dedicated readers often enjoy talkingwith each other about the romance novels they read. Nowadays, manyreaders exchange and discuss views through a large array of computersites. They may use the internet for discussions with authors, as well asprovide book reviews, relevant interviews and so forth.Despite the popularity of romance novels, the culture at large harborsa deep suspicion toward romances that has led to their marginal position.Few people realize how much courage it takes for a woman to open aromance on an airplane. She knows what everyone around her will thinkboth about her and her choice of reading material. When it comes to ro-mance novels, society has always felt free to sit in judgment not only onthe literature but on the reader herself. (Krentz, 1992, p. 1)There are several reasons for this. As fiction, both written by and forwomen, romance novels “have been stigmatized by the low status of theirfemale readers and writers” (Jensen, 1984, p. 23). There may, in fact, be adeep-seated dislike for and prejudice against a genre that appeals almostexclusively to women. Proponents of such views may be suspicious of a