Oh, wait? Did I say “porn”? I meant “romance novels.” Sorry.
No, hold on. Did I say they cause unrealistic expectations for “men”? Sorry, sorry, I meant for “women.”
From the LiveScience blog:
Romance Novels Bad For Women’s Health and Psyche, Psychologist Says
Romance novels can be a bad influence on women and lead them to make poor health and relationship decisions, says a British psychologist.
The novels give women unrealistic views about what to expect out of a relationship because they, well, romanticize love, said Susan Quilliam, a relationship psychologist based in Cambridge.
“They offer an idealized version of romance, which can make some women feel bad about themselves because their relationships aren’t perfect,” Quilliam said.
Hold on… isn’t this the same thing that women have been saying about men who read Playboy, Penthouse, and who watch porn? That the constant exposure will lead to unrealistic expectations?
However, Quilliam stressed, she is not saying women are gullible and don’t understand the difference between fiction and reality. Nor is she saying there is no place for romance novels in our culture.
So, then it’s possible for rational-minded, thinking adults to make a distinction between fantasy and reality? Amazing.
But the novels add to an underlying view in society that in women, emotions and passions trump reason and solid decision-making, Quilliam said. Women should not try to follow their emotions at all costs, but instead balance them with reason.
“The thing that’s going to make relationships last is a mix of romance and common sense,” Quilliam said.
Right. It’s important to mix things up a bit.
I’m sure that most porn watching men would have said this very thing… if you could drag them away from Redtube.
How is this affecting women? Quilliam told MyHealthNewsDaily she often gets letters from women who are in a stable relationship, but feel emotionally attracted to another man. The women think these emotions mean they should abandon their current relationship, because the passion has faded, and go in search of new love rather than trying to work things out.
I wonder if those letters represent a statistically significant population sample?
In fact, everyone, not just female romance readers, can benefit from this advice, Quilliam said.
“Nobody — man or women, romance reader or non-romance reader — should be making their decisions based on,” an idealized version of romance, Quilliam said.
Heh. Party on, Garth!
And since this is a short article, let’s add something appropos to make it interesting.
