The Guardian has an interesting piece on it's blog at the moment; talking about whether the term 'chick lit' is something to be avoided and erased, or whether it should be celebrated. A few years ago I saw Freya North speaking at a writing event in Winchester. She had just won the Romantic Novelist of the Year award that year, and in her speech she spoke about how she hated the term 'Chick Lit' as she felt it downgraded the works that fall into that genre. But I am not so sure. What makes that term derogatory?
Last week DJ Connell stated that the term 'Chick Lit' should be banned. Well actually she said it was offensive but it carries the same implication. But surely it is this kind of attitude that would lead to individuals mis-interpreting the meaning of 'chick lit' in the first place. If critics go around stating that chick lit is thought of as second rate or poorly written, then readers and the general public will start to believe this stereotype. If instead, 'Chick Lit' is just referred to as a means of describing a particular type of writing genre, in the same way that science fiction is used, then over time, any pre-judged stereotyping should disappear. One would thing anyway.
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