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Eastern Kentucky University

Defending the Bodice Ripper

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

<p>Romance novels have always occupied a strange state of limbo in the literary world. Decried by feminists, critics, and by the general populace, what could a whole genre of books have done to be so disparaged, arguably more than any other genre? Books written by women, for women, about women should be hailed as revolutionary in a historically male dominated publishing industry; from a more cynical point of view, an industry that pumps out hundreds of books and brings in millions of dollars every year is surely doing something right and deserves more than a cursory look. Yet they can’t seem to shake some strange taint that clings to them. The term “bodice-ripper” has long been used in a derogatory fashion to describe the popular romance genre dating back to the 1970s. A closer examination of these books shows that such hatred is far from justified. Said examination will reveal that so called bodice-rippers are an important part of not only the history of the popular romance genre but serve as feminist and cultural artifacts that can help modern readers and scholars to better understand the position and feelings of women in the 70s and 80s. </p>

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Arts (MA)
Level thesis:degree_level
Master's
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
English and Theatre
Grantor dc:publisher
Eastern Kentucky University
Year
2019

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Gardner, Dora Abigail

Subjects

dc:subject × 5

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • Copyright 2019 Dora Abigail Gardner

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Repository record dc:identifier
https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/607
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:encompass.eku.edu:etd-1605

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Eastern Kentucky University
Base URL
encompass.eku.edu/do/oai/
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Gardner, Dora Abigail. Defending the Bodice Ripper. Master's thesis, Eastern Kentucky University, 2019. https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/607