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.