Romance Novels That Stand Up for Women’s Issues

Next time you start feeling guilty about enjoying that romance novel, consider this. Romance novels can have a profound effect in the perception of many women’s issues. A case in point: in 2010, a romance author penned a law that changed the lives of every woman in her state who gives birth while imprisoned. In doing research for her book, “Unlawful Contact,” writer Pamela Clare learned that it was the practice of the state to shackle pregnant women to their beds when they were in labor. She wrote a happy ending to her book – a hero senator pens a bill that outlaws the practice and it passes. But it wasn’t enough for her. She eventually penned a law forbidding the practice, and it passed in her state. Thanks to that law, the state of Colorado no longer routinely chains women in labor to their beds.

Now, women in prison may not be your choice for a “Woman of the Year” award, but keep in mind that the imprisonment of women for relatively minor offenses and the treatment of incarcerated women is one of the very real women’s issues of our time. And it is only one of many women’s issues that are routinely explored and exposed in romance novels written by aware and pro-active romance writers. Author Patti Ann Bengen, for example, has built a career on weaving various women’s issues – and individual solutions to them – into her novels. Bengen’s novels have explored domestic violence, human trafficking, sex trafficking and drug trafficking, the role of women in violent cartels, and even the victimization of women through love/money Internet scams.

The women in Bengen’s adventure-romance novels are strong and compelling, and the women’s issues explored are very real. With a deft, sympathetic touch, she brings her heroines to life and shines the light on some of the most troubling issues of our times. Any woman who has been involved in – or known anyone involved in – a relationship based on domestic violence and abuse will recognize Heather Langdon, the heroine of Bengen’s novel, New Beginnings. Outwardly, Heather has the perfect marriage. Behind her front door, though, her life is one of fear, emotional abuse and physical beatings. The novel explores the relationship through Heather’s eyes, allowing readers to recognize and realize the reasons that women often find it impossible to break out of abusive relationships. Bengen brings a storyteller’s eye to the issue, infusing it with adventure, intrigue and mystery, but the heart of the story lies in the evolution of Heather Langdon and her escape from domestic abuse.

Bengen explores other women’s issues with the same deft, sympathetic touch in other novels. In  The Devil’s Dance, Bengen explores the underground world of drug trafficking and its effects on the women who live on its fringes, and in her newest novel, Sex, she rips the covers off the world of underground sex trafficking and human slavery.

Romance novels are far more than guilty pleasures. They have the capacity to raise consciousness and change minds – and even laws. So cover up your romance novel with a glitzy book cover to hide it if you must, but put away your shame. You’re not consuming empty calories. You’re learning more about women’s issues than you ever thought you wanted to know.

The Olympics and Women’s Issues

What do women’s issues have to do with the Olympics? Surprisingly, a great deal, as it turns out. The Olympics has always represented the best of the world coming together to celebrate and elevate the best in sportsmanship, sports and athletics. In truth, however, half the population of many countries that participate in Olympic competition have gone unrepresented – until this year.

As the Olympics continue, news outlets all over the world are celebrating 2012 as the Olympics “Year of the Woman.” For the first time in Olympic history, there are women representing every single country that is taking part in Olympic competition, even those countries that routinely oppress and suppress women at home. It’s a significant, historic moment – but the presence of women athletes on three teams that traditionally banned women from competing is little more than window dressing. The situation of the two women representing Saudi Arabia in the 2012 Olympics paint a stark picture of how little opportunity exists for young women in many countries around the world.

Saudi Arabia, often touted as one of the U.S.A.’s staunchest allies in the Middle East, is also one of the countries that is most oppressive of women’s rights. Women in Saudi Arabia are not allowed many of the rights that women elsewhere take for granted. They can be punished for allowing their hair to show. They can be arrested if they dare to go for a morning jog in sweats and a T-shirt. Women in Saudi Arabia are not allowed to drive and must get the permission of a man – a father, husband, uncle or brother – before getting a job, going to school or traveling anywhere, but especially outside the country. Women’s sports clubs are forbidden by Saudi Arabian law, which doesn’t even allow physical education in schools for women.

With all of these known women’s issues and restrictions on the rights of women in Saudi Arabia, how then did any women train or qualify for the Olympics?

One of the women who will be competing for the Saudis in the 2012 Olympics, Sarah Attar, was raised in Escondido, California and ran cross-country for her high school track team. The other, Wodjan Shahrkhani, was trained completely in the privacy of the family home by her father, an internationally known coach and referee in judo, and has never competed in public. Both have been afforded opportunities and advantages that their sisters, living under a rule that is hostile to women, have not had and will never have until the world forces the government of Saudi Arabia to recognize the equal rights of women in their country.

It’s easy to believe that this kind of oppression only happens in “those other” countries, but the statistics on important women’s issues tell a different story. We live in a world where domestic violence, despite its recent higher profile, is routinely overlooked and excused, and where victims of human and sexual trafficking are routinely blamed for their own victimization. Until the world as whole recognizes the rights and worth of women, we will continue to live in a world where half the population of the world is undervalued and oppressed – and few people even recognize the fact that it’s happening.