The Rise of Chick Lit from 1998 to 2008: The Evolution of the Genre

Ten years ago, there was a boom in the literature market. Suddenly bookstores were carrying massive amounts of candy-colored books that followed the "every woman" through a critical point in her life, whether it was finding Mr. Right, getting the perfect job, moving away from her home and embarking in a strange new city on her own or a combination of all three. These types of book were then termed with the then negative "Chick Lit" and many critics thought it to be a fad that would burn out in due time. However, not only is Chick Lit one of the best selling genres today, but it has expanded into other topics, such as Paranormal Chick Lit, different types of Ethnic Chick Lit, and most recently and perhaps one of the most popular right now, Mommy Lit. Are the books idealistic and giving young woman an unrealistic view of the world? Or are the books simply there for the reason most fiction books are which is for the joy of reading.

It could be argued that this rise of chick lit started across the pond with our British cousins and the publication of Bridget Jones' Diary. This story followed a year in the life of a thirty something, plus sized woman in her search for Mr. Right and to get a better job. In fact, a large amount of the chick lit in circulation in the United States does come from England with Sophia Kinsella and Marian Keyes being two of the names that immediately come to mind. However in the United States we have our own writers in this genre such as Jennifer Weiner, Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez, and Julie Kenner not to mention numerous other authors. One of the appeals of chick lit nowadays seems to be that the center focus is sometimes but not always on romance. Thirty years ago the only books that really were marketed towards women were romance novels of the Harlequin, bodice ripping type which essentially were not much more than literature porn for housewives and stay at home moms. In these stories the primary focus and desire of the female characters involved were to meet a man, marry and settle down with children.

While there are some novels in the chick lit genre that do focus on meeting Mr. Right, some other novels focus on the lead character's career, or desire to show everyone she can be independent. It's interesting that one of the top critiques of chick lit is that it is unbelievable when it can be argued that the romance novels of yesteryear were much more unbelievable giving young women a false of idea of what romance, marriage, and even sex should be like. If anything, romance novels are more detrimental to young female readers as there is little to no disappointment in them. Chick lit novels strive to deal with situations that women can really go through. Take for instance Bridget Jones who was engaged in a relationship with her boss Daniel Cleaver that she thought would end in marriage only to discover that he was in fact engaged to another woman who worked in the American sister publication company that they worked at. Or Jennifer Weiner's Good in Bed, where the lead character Cannie engages in a one night stand with her ex that she believes would lead to a reconciliation only to discover he felt it was just one last fling. While it is certainly true that fiction in no way imitates life, the scenarios in most chick lit novels can happen whereas it is doubtful that a young lord will sweep a young woman off her feet and marry her and they will live happily ever after with no marital problems.

However on the other side, some feel that the term chick lit is too large of an umbrella with any new female author being thrown into the batch even if the novel is not indicative of what a chick lit novel should be. New women writers could find themselves feeling frustrated if their novel was thrust into this genre if it had nothing to do with it. Jenny Colgan told The Guardian that she believed the term chick lit to be insulting and couldn't be more so if they termed it "slut lit". She, like many other critics of the term seem to feel that arguably a woman could write the Great American Novel but that the book would be packaged in the typical candy coated cover with shoes, drinks, or some other fluffy item on the cover that would detract from the depth and seriousness of the novel. The category of chick lit actually hurts rather than helps new young writers because in a way it pigeon holes them into this genre whether they want it or not. This could cause frustration with new writers who want to be taken more seriously then they may feel chick lit is.

Whatever your opinion is it is true that chick lit is not a flash in the pan fad that many critics thought it would be back in 1998 when Bridget Jones' Diary was released. It has been going strong for ten years and if you walk down the aisles of your local bookstore or library you will see more new authors and titles with eye-catching colors staring back at you. Happily though is that, yes it is true that about five years ago most chick lit novels dealt with finding Mr. Right, the right shoes, the right drinks, etc; most of the novels deal with young vapid women who didn't seem to have a thought in their bubbly head that was remotely important. But now with different types of chick lit out there, women writers don't have to feel like they are in a box. Julie Kenner's Kate Connor series which can't be credited as actually being able to happen, manages to combine Mommy lit and Paranormal Chick lit, the mommy aspect of her stories being something that most mothers can relate to (because and let's be honest; how many of us mothers or even day care workers can recite Goodnight Moon from memory)? Most of Jennifer Weiner's novels cater to women who don't fit into society's idea of what a woman should look like as most of her main characters are plus sized women. And Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez, Poonam Sharma, and Kyra Davis' novels all seem to call to a different ethnic group outside of the WASPs and give these women something they can relate to. Chick lit is growing more and more with every new author who comes up with a new idea and adds another branch to the chick lit tree. While many people may feel that this term and genre is unfair to women writers, it is certainly a lot more flexible and kind then the bodice ripping romance novels of our mother's times that most women were pressured into writing.