Shelf Love
  • 087. Clutch Your Pearls & Think of New England

    Apr 27, 2021

    "Safe sex" in romance novels with Dame Jodie Slaughter, part 2. We'll finish discussing the research published in 2000 about if reading romance impacts condom usage, and then I'll share some Twitter poll results from the community about condom usage in the last contemporary romance they read, as well as some results on where folks learned information about safe sex - what's your guess on how many were impacted by media including romance novels? Jodie and I brainstorm some ways to incorporate less commonly covered aspects of safe sex and sexual health in romance novels. Plus, how do WASPs teach sex education? If you haven't listened to episode 086, you probably want to take a listen to part 1 of this conversation before diving in.

  • 086. Sex Education & Romance Novels: Not Medical Advice (with Dame Jodie Slaughter)

    Apr 20, 2021

    Dame Jodie Slaughter joins me to talk about sex education, the messages about safe sex in romance novels, the symbolic nature of sexual choices in romance, and discussion of research on these topics.

  • 085. Reflections on 2020 Listener Favorite Episodes, 2021 Plans

    Apr 13, 2021

    I reflect on listener favorite episodes from 2020, share what I'll be speaking more of in 2021, and say thank you to the Holiday Fairies! (Originally recorded in January when 2021 was still fresh.)

  • 084. Captive Romance: Problematic Favorite Tropes

    Apr 6, 2021

    Evil Prince Jack Harbon busts captive romance out of its cage: is captivity and kidnapping only found in dark romance, or are its themes more prevalent? We discuss why this trope is pleasurable and different manifestations in popular culture: Beauty and the Beast, Persephone Hades, the patriarchy, medical school, and alien abduction.

  • 083. Earth is Ghetto: Joyless Hags Book Club

    Mar 30, 2021

    1 Bonkers Book; 3 Joyless Hags. If you could escape earth, would you happily hitch your wagon to a lizard-man's space ship? When we scratch the surface of alien abduction romance, what do we find, and does insta-love exist? All of these questions are answered in the first ever Joyless Hags Book Club. I'm joined by Tasha L. Harrison and Katrina Jackson to discuss Alien Mate Experiment by Zenobia Renquist.

  • 082. Critical Reading as Liberation from Mimicry of the Powerful

    Mar 23, 2021

    Dr. Julie Moody-Freeman, host of Black Romance Podcast, uses a multi-modal cultural studies perspective to engage students in critical engagement with Black romance texts to "liberate learners from the mimicry of the powerful."

  • 081. From History to histories

    Mar 16, 2021

    "Archives don't tell us everything. You should question, what texts did you use? What did you look at? What did you not look at? What did you miss? What questions did you ask? What questions did you not ask? And I think that's when we start to get outside of this problem of history, capital H, and move into histories, small "h" pluralized, and think about what appears first and what we do underneath." -Dr. Margo Hendricks

  • 080. I Now Pronounce You Colonialism, Capitalism, & White Supremacy

    Mar 9, 2021

    Have you ever wondered when Shelf Love would finally cover the unholy marriage of Colonialism, Imperialism, Capitalism, and White Supremacy? Dr. Margo Hendricks drops in to explain why you can't talk about just one because they're inextricably linked. Yes, this is still a romance novel podcast!

  • 079. There's Only One Heart: Caroline's Heart by Austin Chant (Crossover with Boobies & Noobies)

    Mar 4, 2021

    You've heard of "there's only one bed" romance trope - are you ready for: "There's Only One Heart"? Kelly Reynolds from Boobies & Noobies invited me on her show in October 2020 and we discussed Austin Chant's Caroline's Heart. Plus, learn a bit about Shelf Love's exciting new research project.

  • 078. Romance Curious: Bridgerton So Hashtag Diverse (with Jodie Slaughter, part 2)

    Jan 30, 2021

    Will Bridgerton inspire romance curiosity for a new generation? Jodie Slaughter became a romance reader by way of Twilight and Twilight fanfiction. When newbies take their first clumsy steps into romancelandia, will they be welcomed with the benefit of the doubt or shunned for arriving at the HEA gates too late? Part 2 - listen to episode 77 for part 1.