Queering the Romance

This session will be led by Lucy and will seek to question how contemporary queer romance novels conform, challenge or adapt the romance genre through two recently published LGBT+ romances: Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston (2019) and Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann (2018). 

Some questions to consider while reading:

• What makes a romance novel queer or LGBT+?
• How is the queer body being portrayed in these texts?
• What romance tropes are being used in these novels?
• Are these tropes being queered? If so, how?
• How is the queer romantic relationship being portrayed?
• Do the romances in these novels conform to heternormative ideals?
• Does the sexuality and gender of the authors influence the ‘queerness’ of the novel?
• How important is it to have LGBT+ authors writing LGBT+ romances?
• What role does intersectionality play in these texts?

Extracts of key chapters for these texts will be provided prior to the session but also feel free to read the books in their entirety if you wish!