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BookTok and dark romance: What’s wrong with it?
ILLUSTRATION: SYEDA AFRIN TARANNUM
ANICA BUSHRA RAHMAAN
The emergence of BookTok around 2020 appeared to be a promising endeavour: a space dedicated to explore newer literary grounds, to engage in passionate discussions, and allow the love for words to soar. However, soon, BookTok revealed its challenges.
In the world of BookTok, tropes such as “enemies to lovers”, “fake dating”, etc. hold a higher appeal than actual plots. To satiate the demand for these popular tropes, authors tend to repackage the same stories to an ever-growing audience, creating an echo chamber of the same ten books. If you are looking for diversity on BookTok, you will have to carefully curate your algorithm to find your preferences.
Another problem with BookTok is that it fosters a culture of overconsumption. Rather than reading a specific book because you simply want to, you are left striving after yearly book goals because every other person on the platform is doing the same, taking away the inherent pleasure of reading.
Despite all these issues, the most pressing concern surrounding BookTok is its rising emphasis on dark romance books. Interested readers gobble it up because these books are easy to consume and entertaining. As these books gain prominence, the serious implications it imposes on the younger readers are overlooked.
Dark romance books are a subgenre of romance, encompassing darker and more intense themes along with mature content. In a nutshell, in the majority of these books, the female protagonists fall for men who engage in predatory behaviour such as kidnapping and stalking. Such portrayals are not only normalised but also romanticised in some cases.
As BookTok’s user-driven content allows viral trends to emerge across diverse genres into one’s algorithm, currently, dark romance is taking the BookTok community by storm. Consequently, younger readers may inadvertently encounter content that is not appropriate for them. The lack of regulation on the platform does not help matters either.
About a quarter of TikTok users in the US fall within the age bracket of 10-19 as per a demographic study. Imagine the vast number of young readers exposed to such mature and inappropriate themes. And that is just taking one country into consideration.
While adults have the intellectual and emotional capacity to distinguish fiction from reality, the same cannot be said for the younger audience. What message do dark romance books convey to them? These books will inevitably set dangerous precedents for these young readers about the kind of treatment they should tolerate from a partner.
Promoting such stories in the guise of romance can prevent them from recognising when they are in abusive situations or even acting as abusers themselves. It could even push them to pursue partners exhibiting toxic traits. Such narratives imply that the suffering caused at the hands of their partners (literally) is a deep sign of love, a form of protection, and that controlling and manipulative behaviour is not just acceptable but desirable. Such characters should not be labelled as “book boyfriends,” no matter how captivating they are rendered to be.
Due to their sensitive nature, dark romance books now almost always have a list of trigger warnings at the beginning, often across two or three pages. However, the trigger warnings tend to deviate from serving their actual purpose and instead are added to the shopping cart by those wishing to dabble in such taboo topics because it’s their “guilty pleasure”. Of course, it can be fun to read about darker themes and twisted, morally grey characters but not at the expense of romanticising sexual assault and deeply problematic consent.
So, what exactly is the solution? Firstly, dark romance books should not have misleading covers with cutesy, dainty undertones, disguising the mature content within with the facade of a light, wholesome read. Age limits and trigger warnings should also be presented on the covers of the books so as to better inform the young teens as well as their parents.
Most importantly, authors and BookTokers should sell the book for what it is. Instead of saying that this is a book for girls who like villains, it may be a better idea to remind the audience that the material is not appropriate for younger readers, the depictions in the book are only possible in fiction, and should never be normalised.
This is not a call to discredit BookTok. Even with its problems, BookTok actively inspires more people to read, brings emerging authors into the spotlight, helps readers discover their new favourite book, and a lot more. Yet, it is possible to cultivate an inclusive literary community while considering the well-being of the younger generation. Ultimately, everyone has their roles to play in ensuring something as precious as books is not tainted and continues to be cherished.
Reference : Exploding Topics (June 12, 2024), TikTok User Age, Gender & Demographics
Despite all these issues, the most pressing concern surrounding BookTok is its rising emphasis on dark romance books. Interested readers gobble it up because these books are easy to consume and entertaining.