Back in the spring I attended a conference on romance scholarship at which several academics spoke on topics related to romance fiction and race. After the presentations, an attendee and I, both white chicks, discussed our multiracial families, and how we thought about race as kids.
I told her I grew up in the time when I heard ugly things like, "He's a credit to his race," and "If you date a black man, no white man will have you." None of that made sense to me because I was being taught at home exactly from where a human's value was derived.
Yet I remember vividly as a child being puzzled, absolutely sucker-punched when I realized black folks had pets. I mean, I only saw Lassie and her white family on TV, and all my white friends and their pets, so, I guess my kid logic followed that, while overt racist remarks could be rejected out of hand, what I saw with my own eyes had to be the only possible reality.
So imagine how that perception played out for black kids? Gwendolyn D. Pough,* Associate Professor of Writing, Rhetoric, Women's and Gender Studies at Syracuse University has done just that, especially as it relates to the positive roles the advent of Black romance fiction has played in the lives of black women.
"Imagine growing up never seeing popular images of healthy loving relationships," says Pough in a guest post today atRomance: B(u)y the Book's Scholars on Romance Week . "Imagine hearing nothing but distortions about your sexuality, having your desire demonized, and hearing nothing but myths about your so-called pathology. Could you hold on to the dream that you would one day find love?"
Pough says before 1994, when Kensington Books created their Arabesque line of romances, "traditional paperback romance novels that showcased black love had been sparse to say the least." Like romance fiction in general, once begun, Arabesque and lines like Harlequin's Kimani changed lives.
"Most black readers will tell you that they read black romances because they want to be able to relate to the book," states Pough. "They want heroines that look like them."
In addition, Pough believes Black romance novels "perform a kind of activism" because they allow both white and black folks to re-think perceptions. "[Black romances] participate in the re-making of African American images and representations. They offer positive representations of relationships between black men and women. And they also work to rescue the images of black men and women from harmful stereotypes, often rewriting and remixing the stereotypes."
Perhaps most important, Pough believes Black romance provides a message that promotes healing. Says Pough, "[Black romance works] to disprove myths about black love and black people's capabilities to love and worthiness to be loved."
How important is it for you to be able to identify with the characters in a romance novel? Who are some of your favorite authors of African American and multicultural romance? Are there romances sold near you with folks on the cover who look different from you -- and what makes you want to buy them?
*Gwendolyn D. Pough says Arabesque romances helped her realize she could have a career in academia as well as fulfillher other dream: Pough writes romance fiction as Gwenyth Bolton. Check our her new read, "Sizzling Seduction," and herHightower series. She's also the author of "Check It While I Wreck It: Black Womanhood, Hip-Hop Culture and the Public Sphere " as well as numerous essays and articles on black feminism, hip-hop, critical pedagogy and black public culture.
Hi Michelle! It is important to relate to the characters in a romance, but I don't necessarily read romances based on the race of the characters. Being from a multiracial family, personally I believe that love has no color and this carries over to my romance reading I guess. Honestly, I've never thought about it until now. I've read romances by black authors and I've enjoyed them as immensely as the ones I've read by white authors.
Some of my favorite African American authors are Sandra Kitt (a long time favorite), Monica White and Bernadette Parkin. Ms. Parkin had a book entitled Nate's Lady, a historical romance published in 1981 by Avon Books. This was a good book. In fact, I still have it as part of my keepers. It had a beautiful cover!
There are lots of romances with people on the cover that look different than I do, but this doesn't bother me. When I read a romance, I'm looking for that connection between the hero and heroine that leads to emotional sparks and these sparks eventually lead to love. That's what interests me! I buy romances based on authors I've read before or recommendations from other readers. I also buy them based on the blurb on the back of the book. If that catches my interests along with setting, plot, and time period, then I buy the book. Again, It has nothing to do with the color of the author for me! 
If an author is a good writer and can grab and sustain my attention, be they black or white, then I'll buy their book.
Hi Michelle! I think Nate's Lady is still in print. I wish I could send you a pic of the original cover. The hero is to die for! You know publishers change the covers. And knowing how old that book is, I'm sure it has been changed. Unfortunately, I'm not that technologically advanced. I have a printer that I'm still trying to figure out how to hook up!
