10/05/2026
It’s banned book week where we draw attention to the voices people have tried to silence throughout the years by banning the presence of those voices in schools and libraries. When we think of banned books, we often think of classics such as Fahrenheit 451, 1984, and The Handmaid’s Tale or fantasy stories that include magic such as Harry Potter.
But since, as I *may* have mentioned before, reading is political, the romance genre has also been under attack. Romance books, graphic novels, manga, etc. provide themes of female sexual agency where a woman’s pleasure is important, and they often promote equality for women as well. Since romance by definition needs a happy ending, the reader knows that the villain will not go unpunished, and the female protagonist will be listened to and valued in whatever way makes sense in that world. BL (boy love) manga was actually started by women FOR women because the depiction of women in traditional manga was very one dimensional and this allowed a more three dimensional love story to play out.
We’re enduring another news cycle where we see the reality most women already know exists because of their own experiences and those of their friends and family, one where men sexually assault their victim and then go completely or mostly unpunished so as not to ruin their promising futures while simultaneously ruining their victims’ futures, one where when these things come to light it becomes clear how many men still view women as objects to control, where we learn a lot about friends and family based on whether their comments are victim-blaming and hate filled, or whether they want to “wait for more information” as if the horrific screenshots of the group chat were nothing.
If you have found yourself crying for no reason this week with the weight of the Cornell and LSU cases, you are not alone. In January, I wrote a therapeutic-for-me short piece about being a woman in America. I’ll link it in the comments in case it helps anyone process their own feelings.
But to be clear, I am Jane Doe, and I stand with all the Jane Does.
Reading is a form of resistance and empowerment. Read banned books. Read romance. Don’t give up. Much love. ❤️
