Between Desire and Responsibility: Unplanned Pregnancies in Contemporary Romance Novels
The study investigates how unplanned pregnancy is presented and discussed in seven contemporary romance novels. Three main themes were identified: contraception, abortion, and the function of a pregnancy narrative. Within these subjects, we listed several examples with the support of interdisciplina...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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International Association for the Study of Popular Romance (IASPR)
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Journal of Popular Romance Studies |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.jprstudies.org/2025/06/between-desire-and-responsibility-unplanned-pregnancies-in-contemporary-romance-novels/ |
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| _version_ | 1850129669042470912 |
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| author | Orsolya Barta Ann Steiner |
| author_facet | Orsolya Barta Ann Steiner |
| author_sort | Orsolya Barta |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The study investigates how unplanned pregnancy is presented and discussed in seven contemporary romance novels. Three main themes were identified: contraception, abortion, and the function of a pregnancy narrative. Within these subjects, we listed several examples with the support of interdisciplinary theories from gender studies, film theory, literary studies, medicine, sociology, and psychology. The topic is an outlier in the genre, but it still addresses many issues important to young women reading contemporary romance, e.g., the consequences of casual sex, contraception, abortion, responsibility, and motherhood. Now more than ever, the representation of young women experiencing unplanned pregnancies is a highly relevant theme of romance fiction. We observed that romance fiction responds to female fears and desires surrounding pregnancy and motherhood. Pregnancy in these stories is not simply a marketing trope for readers, but a vital part of the narrative, which induces the issues and complications that are presented in this study and relays particular aspects of women’s lives. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ecbe6c7df6da4cfb99f77d78d3211b6a |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2159-4473 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | International Association for the Study of Popular Romance (IASPR) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Popular Romance Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-ecbe6c7df6da4cfb99f77d78d3211b6a2025-08-20T02:32:53ZengInternational Association for the Study of Popular Romance (IASPR)Journal of Popular Romance Studies2159-44732025-06-011411910.70138/NMNY8442Between Desire and Responsibility: Unplanned Pregnancies in Contemporary Romance NovelsOrsolya BartaAnn SteinerThe study investigates how unplanned pregnancy is presented and discussed in seven contemporary romance novels. Three main themes were identified: contraception, abortion, and the function of a pregnancy narrative. Within these subjects, we listed several examples with the support of interdisciplinary theories from gender studies, film theory, literary studies, medicine, sociology, and psychology. The topic is an outlier in the genre, but it still addresses many issues important to young women reading contemporary romance, e.g., the consequences of casual sex, contraception, abortion, responsibility, and motherhood. Now more than ever, the representation of young women experiencing unplanned pregnancies is a highly relevant theme of romance fiction. We observed that romance fiction responds to female fears and desires surrounding pregnancy and motherhood. Pregnancy in these stories is not simply a marketing trope for readers, but a vital part of the narrative, which induces the issues and complications that are presented in this study and relays particular aspects of women’s lives.https://www.jprstudies.org/2025/06/between-desire-and-responsibility-unplanned-pregnancies-in-contemporary-romance-novels/abortioncontemporary romancecontraceptionpregnancypregnancy narrativeunplanned pregnancy |
| spellingShingle | Orsolya Barta Ann Steiner Between Desire and Responsibility: Unplanned Pregnancies in Contemporary Romance Novels Journal of Popular Romance Studies abortion contemporary romance contraception pregnancy pregnancy narrative unplanned pregnancy |
| title | Between Desire and Responsibility: Unplanned Pregnancies in Contemporary Romance Novels |
| title_full | Between Desire and Responsibility: Unplanned Pregnancies in Contemporary Romance Novels |
| title_fullStr | Between Desire and Responsibility: Unplanned Pregnancies in Contemporary Romance Novels |
| title_full_unstemmed | Between Desire and Responsibility: Unplanned Pregnancies in Contemporary Romance Novels |
| title_short | Between Desire and Responsibility: Unplanned Pregnancies in Contemporary Romance Novels |
| title_sort | between desire and responsibility unplanned pregnancies in contemporary romance novels |
| topic | abortion contemporary romance contraception pregnancy pregnancy narrative unplanned pregnancy |
| url | https://www.jprstudies.org/2025/06/between-desire-and-responsibility-unplanned-pregnancies-in-contemporary-romance-novels/ |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT orsolyabarta betweendesireandresponsibilityunplannedpregnanciesincontemporaryromancenovels AT annsteiner betweendesireandresponsibilityunplannedpregnanciesincontemporaryromancenovels |