ignoring the conversation about tori woods being arrested because there’s more to talk about than just that,
I hope people (specifically dark romance lovers and defenders specifically) start to see just why others have such a hard time swallowing dark romance being mainstream. Because all the rest of us see is a race to the bottom with no care about HOW to present these topics to a wide audience.
it’s not just her dad’s friend, it’s her dads older friend in his thirties ;) no no wait it’s not her dad’s friend it’s her uncle!! And she’s barely legal!! No wait!!! It’s her cousin AND her uncle and they act possessive! No it’s a stalker! And he doesn’t care about her consent! It’s her step brother!! And she’s underage!! No wait-
She was groomed. She was assaulted. She was abused.
I fully understand the point of using this sort of fiction to cope with painful trauma, I’ve even done the same thing. But after a point it is reckless to contribute to the romanticism of abuse, especially to young girls and to a wider extent AFABs and feminine presenting people. You may be gaining a helpful perspective or healing but what happens when another abuser gets their hands on this material and uses it to manipulate another victim? What happens when someone impressionable (young and impressionable are not the same, elders are often impressionable, stop muddying the conversation by bringing up that “teens shouldn’t be reading this anyway” because it doesn’t matter) reads this and it only reassures them that their current abusive situation is okay? Hell, booktok had been openly listing over a REAL 16 year old boy and suggested he read a book with romanticized rape in it.
this issue goes beyond dark romance but it is most prevalent in dark romance because everyone for it and against it has a trigger finger for attacking anyone who says something they don’t like. I’m hoping that this doesn’t fall on deaf ears and this can help a conversation to be had. Because this conversation has needed to happen but everyone has been too stubborn to even begin.
So as a brain worm for you to think about because I can’t find my own answers to these questions yet:
What dark romance is good? Does the genre require more restriction? What is a respectful way to portray the topics often used in dark romance? At what point should the publishers/publishing company be held responsible for any harm done by the book? Does the use for survivors to cope outweigh the possibility victims created by romanticized abuse?