Shonda Rhimes was always adamant about respecting what a romance novel is. Look at Bridgerton-it’s definitely romance-y, but men and women both didn't realize the extent to which they were watching a romance novel. There are only so many ways you can appeal to somebody with a description and a thumbnail.ĮSQ: Are there ways that romance is hiding in plain sight in our culture-perhaps men are consuming it without realizing it? I don't have any problem with men watching it because someone else was. Would I watch all the Marvel movies without my son? Probably not. Even my husband loved it, and he says that if his wife hadn’t written the books, he never would’ve watched it. JQ: A lot of men said, “I watched it because my wife, girlfriend, or sister was watching it.” A large percentage of men came to it because somebody else was watching it, or at least that's what they tell people. Maybe we're making inroads.ĮSQ: How would you describe the male reaction to the show? I get some ribbing when I play football, but these are wonderful.” He looked like your typical lad. He said, “I want you to know that these are not just well-written romances, but they’re well-written books. I spoke with an English man who was just so sweet. I was in Dubai at the Emirates Airlines Literature Festival, where I took part in three talks. I don't know that this is necessarily indicative of anything maybe men reading Bridgerton are less likely to join social media groups about it than women. On Facebook, men make up 11.8% of the fan group. In Instagram insights, I can see that my follower breakdown is 97.2% women and 2.7% men. I know of a very active Brazilian fan group, too-they make videos, and there’s one man who stars in all the videos. Over on Facebook, there's at least one guy whose name comes up often. Of the most active users, eventually you do start recognizing some names. The primary way that I interact with fans is through Facebook and Instagram. Speaking with Esquire by Zoom from her home in Seattle, Quinn took us inside her fanbase, where you’ll find more avid male readers than you think-and fills us in on why more guys should come aboard.Įsquire: Tell me about your male audience. Within her own fandom, Quinn is seeing the beginnings of a sea change. But despite the growing popularity of romance fiction among men, there’s still archaic stigma about romance novels and the people who read them, rooted in sexism and snobbery. The Anatomy of a Period Drama Dance SceneĪccording to the nonprofit Romance Writers of America, 18 percent of romance fiction readers are men another report shows that fully one-third of erotic audiobooks are downloaded by guys.Bridgerton Creator On the Controversial Sex Scene.

Julia quinn