Books are incapacitating us?

(An Investigation of the Correlation between Romance Novels and Women.)

Meet the reasercher

Jeslyn Wittler

AP Capstone Diploma Candidate, Class of 2026.

research question

An Investigation of the Correlation of abusive straight relationships content in Romantic Novels and Straight southern women perceptions of males as romantic partnerships

Problem Statement

Romance novels, while providing escapism and entertainment, may contribute to the perceptions women have on men, differing to either causing them to be more complient to their spouce or to consider them to be a contributer to abuse. The rise of social media, particularly TikTok’s #BookTok, has further amplified their influence, with sales increasing by 42% from 2017 to 2022 (Eires). This study examines how romance novels impact women's perceptions of relationships, focusing on idealized love, toxic masculinity portrayals, and potential addiction-like reading habits. By analyzing a specific demographic—white, straight, Christian women in Florida—this research explores whether these narratives shape their expectations of male partners and gender roles. The findings aim to bridge the gap between literary influence and psychological impact, assessing whether romance novels serve as mere escapism or affect real-world relationship dynamics.

Study Significance

Understanding Media Influence: This research highlights how romantic fiction shapes relationship expectations, providing insights into modern relationship dynamics and potential dissatisfaction caused by unrealistic portrayals. Filling a Research Gap: Existing literature predominantly focuses on older demographics (e.g., women aged 55-64). By targeting younger readers (25-34), this study provides new perspectives on the influence of romance novels on millennial and Gen Z women. Implications for Relationship Counseling: The study’s findings could be valuable for therapists, relationship coaches, and psychologists, helping them understand whether media consumption contributesthe numbers of domestic violence cases and numerous views of toxic husbans in the south. Guidance for Publishers and Authors: The study offers insights for authors and publishers in the romance genre, informing them about potential reader impacts and the ethical considerations of romantic storytelling. Broader Societal Impact: By examining whether romance novels create an idealized, potentially harmful perception of love, the study contributes to ongoing discussions about literary influence on social and emotional well-being.

Method of inquiry

For my research I will be using: Secondary analysis, polls/surveys, and interviews. My secondary analysis would be finding other's experiences of this issue, specifically their own words collected through social media that might not be available for my school computer. Sending surveys to individuals that consent to them, asking a series of questions about their daily reading. I will find people to take this survey in multiple different servers for romance novel enthusiasts, like facebook groups, and Reddit pages. I have already found lots of online research specifically from what people say from their own experience, even making online documents to allow them to tell me. As well as romance novel reviews and actual parts of romance novels that could create the delusions of women and feed into unrealistic expectations.

Hypothesis

From my reaserch before the data I assume that there won't be any direct signs that this is a predominant issue, I think that I will get some of my surveys coming back positive in the ways that this is an issue but it will be hard to tell if these survey contestants are being honest and therefore I don't think that my data from the survey will be completely one way or the other, even if it seems like it should. However, with this hypothesis, my bias may shine through in a small way. The bias is a confirmation bias If I, the researcher, already believe that romance novels with domestic violence negatively impact women's perceptions, I may unintentionally focus on studies and arguments that support this view while overlooking research that contradicts it. To overcome this I will need to have plenty of evidence showcasing both sides of this argument to properly demonstrate my unbais attitude towards this research.

Objective

If find that there is a predominant issue and these books that are continuing to not move forward but only move backward, still show toxic men with terrible traits and bad habits. Then is there anything that we can do as readers to get this out of our books so that we can move past this. Especially if this is found to effect women's mental health. One article that I found about this issue was that there was a possibility of removing these male figures from book in general, this could help the population of book readers, although there would be negative backlash. However in this study there happens to be a few small gaps; Lack of empirical studies, Audience diversity, and Other influencing factors. My largest gap is that because my argument is based mainly on anecdotal evidence or literary analysis, I might need psychological or sociological studies to support how these novels influence real-world perspectives.

The survey I accumulated contained 10 questions, including the consent question. These questions were laid out in a way to get the unconscious answers rather then what they participants wanted to answer. TO do this there was no explicit telling of the contents and therefore caused the readers to wonder and then ask about the survey, some of the survey questions were; Have you read Colleen Hoover's "It Ends with us", have you ever been through a divorce, have any of your relationships had any clues of being a domestic violence or abusive relationship, have you ever been in a relationship, and much more. When I first submitted the survey I got over 50 participants in a day. My survey was advertised on over 10 different Reddit groups, and 5 Facebook communities. I assumed most of the responses were from Reddit groups as after I put the survey up, many people upvoted the survey, pinned it to their group/community, and so many gave reassuring and pleasant comments about the study asking for the results upon completion.

The survey

After I collected my data I used the Chi-Square test to see if there was a relationship between new made up themes that I found were relevant in my survey, with this I had a very low P; 7.903539149E-16, much lower then the Alpha that I chose of .05. And because it this, it forced me too have to refute the Ho hypothesis of there not being any relationship between them, but then be unable to refute my Ho. For me this means that my Hypothesis was not proven, but was unable to refute, finding something very significant in my research

Key themese

Historical Context of Gender Roles in the U.S.

Idealization vs. Reality in Romance

Social Media’s Role in Reading Trends

Mental Health & Emotional Escapism

Gender Expectations and Toxic Masculinity

Pre-results:

Data Collection:

Approximately 200-300 participants were invited to complete the survey. After receiving Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval, the survey was disseminated through online women’s reading groups. Participants remained anonymous and were assured of confidentiality to mitigate response bias.

Data Analysis:

The initial survey trial yielded fewer than 20 responses, indicating a need for revision. Adjustments were made, including reducing the number of open-ended questions while retaining some for deeper qualitative insights. The finalized survey contained primarily Yes/No questions with select written responses for nuanced analysis. These modifications improved participation and the overall reliability of the study.

Replicability:

Research Process:

The data collection process consists of four steps:

Acknowledgment of the Issue: Recognizing the influence of romance novels in shaping individuals' expectations regarding relationships and their possible detachment from reality.

Utilization of Previous Research: Drawing insights from Greg Foreman’s study, "About the Romance Genre," which surveyed 2,000 romance readers in 2017. Key elements from this research were adapted to refine survey questions and ensure relevant data collection.

Survey Design and Implementation: The survey was crafted using Google Forms, ensuring clarity and inclusion of both qualitative and quantitative elements. Participants were required to provide informed consent, and anonymity was strictly maintained.

Participant Recruitment: Respondents were recruited via social media platforms such as Reddit and Facebook groups, particularly targeting women aged 25-34, a demographic underrepresented in romance novel studies.

Definitions

HouseWife Syndrome:

American Housewives suffering from supposed bouts of madness and enigmatic conditions, such as hysteria or neuosis

Romance Novels.

A genre picked by mainly women, focusing on relationships and romantic love between characters. This storys tend to feel emotionally satifiying for readers and often optimstic,

feminity

qualities or attributes regarded as characteristic of women or girls.

Results Results

Chi-square test

So what?

The chi-square test of independence needs to calculate contingency tables to organize the data with the formula for the expected frequency, which involves taking the Row Total and multiplying it by the Column Total, which then produces the Grand Total. The chi-square test has a list of conditions for the statistics that must be met: a Random sample, an expected sample, and an independent variable. With the distribution of the table, the researcher uses a significance level of Alpha (0.05), and the Degrees of freedom, the Number of Rows, ,1 and the Number of Columns, 1, to calculate the P variable.

What the test suggests is that if the P-variable accumulated is less than the alpha variable/ significance level, then you can reject the null hypothesis and draw a conclusion. For these studies, the P variable is calculated to 7.903539149E-16/, and when stretched out, the P variable is incredibly low and can be compared to the SL. The SL of 0.05 is larger than the created P, meaning that statistically there is a relationship between the variables, and the researcher could properly refute the null hypothesis, but not prove the other hypothesis is correct, only that there is a statistical possibility of a relationship.

Discussion

In this study, it is proven that no matter how small, there is a direct correlation between the domestic violence in romance novels and the abuse that women face in their own lives. Whether this may be a cause of the contents, causing them to act a certain way, or not. This evidence matters to the women reading romance novels, many novels that encounter themes such as abuse or violence tend to leave out the happy ending and tell-tale truth for women to get out of relationships similar to those in the novel. While the women in the novel may be seen be riding the relationship, the proper guidelines and help features to encourage other women are lacking in the novels. This study could help many authors start concluding their novels with information for women on how to get rid of these relationships, and help the community of readers.

Next steps:

This study touches on many serious topics that should be brought to attention, and this matter is due to the fact that even with the evolution of time and change of women's and men's habits, women are still facing abusive relationships that some don’t necessarily know how to get themselves out of. If this study were to be conducted again, it would be done with this evidence in mind. Using this evidence, future researchers could find ways to add self-help guidelines into their novels, and then prove if they help or not based on their data. Because of the gap in this research being that which is a lack of academic sources on abuse in books, this research study ultimately bridges the gap in the academic field of literature.

Key sources

Foreman: Two essential romance novel themes.

Chen: Romance novels as a mental health escape.

McElhearn (2024): Romance novels account for 23% of U.S. book sales.

Some novels, like It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover, depict toxic relationships.

Giles (2024): Romance novels portraying idealized relationships.

Eires: Social media’s impact on book sales.

Yellen: Historical gender roles and their evolution.

Ymkbird: Reader dissatisfaction with real-life relationships due to fictional standards.

Keeley Adams: The ‘Housewife Syndrome’: An Indicator of Madness or Oppression?

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