Feminist Fiction?

In the article that we read a couple weeks ago, Let Us Now Praise Scribbling Women, Jennifer Crusie suggests that the genre of romance fiction is in fact a new form of feminist fiction. Her argument for this statement is that romance fiction offers “female protagonists in stories that promised that if a woman fought for what she believed in and searched for the truth, she could strip away the old lies about her life and emerge re-born, transformed with that new sense of self that’s the prize at the end of any quest.” Crusie seems to imply that it is better for women to be portrayed this way, and that this form of writing truly represents the “stories of women”.

In Bet Me, Min does seem to fit Crusie’s criteria for the romance fiction to a T. In the beginning of the story, Min is self-conscious and allows her opinion of herself to be formed by others, but by the end of the story we see Min emerge as her own person, transformed throughout the story to become her best possible self.

I have to politely disagree with Crusie’s criteria for the romance genre. While Crusie argues that this new female portrayal represents feminism, I think it does just the opposite, and her character Min is a great example. Although Min does make quite a transformation throughout the book, it seems that she is doing it simply to acquire the “prize” of a dreamy man. To me, Crusie seems to be implying that women’s one quest in life should be to find a man, and then do whatever she can to hold on tight. While Crusie calls this feminism, I would call this another way for women to try to fit themselves into a man-centric society. Rather than strong and courageous, Min strikes me as meek and somewhat pitiful, and doesn’t seem to ever find out who she wants to be, just for herself.