As an avid Romantasy reader I never imagined myself reading Sci-Fi. I thought it was catered to men and that I wouldn't find the books interesting. However recently Romantasy started to frustrate me, and I didn't feel the books were intellectually stimulating.

I came across the Sci-Fi series Red Rising by Pierce Brown and absolutely fell in love. I posted a TikTok about the so called "pipeline" from Romantasy to Sci-Fi and was overwhelmed with other women describing the same feeling. So, I figured, let's talk about it!

Red Flag Relationships

So why do so many women feel this way? Well, dare I say that romantasy is inherently sexist. The books normally showcase a class fantasy where a girl is isolated from her community and the MMC is a prince or king who gives her a platform/power.

These books play into stereotypes of what big companies think women want. Like said class fantasy where a man comes and whisks the FMC away (even if he is kidnapping her), or a girl who never had family, the man that “fixes her” by giving her love, or the fact that the MMC is always a 6 ft+ man who is shredded and has a pretty face. The FMC is never just a normal girl; there is always something “quirky” about her, written as a detail that attracts the MMC. Alot of the time the two main characters are bonded by some inexplicable force that consequently absolves them for needing substantial personality traits. What I mean is that they automatically feel drawn to each other and skip the part where they learn to love all the quirks and facets of one another (you know like humans are supposed to do). Devoid of true character arcs their personalities become their love for each other, red flag much. This all or nothing relationship sets a toxic precedent to readers that they don't need hobbies they just need a man.

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Gender Dynamics in Romantasy

While I recognize that the MMC giving the FMC motivation to reclaim her power provides escapism for women who suffer from male discrimination in the real world, why is this the only plotline? Does this not push the narrative that finding a man will solve all our problems? Speaking of the real world, the new Vogue article “Is having a Boyfriend Embarrassing” captures this so-called pipeline.

Many women are sick of a male oriented female persona. For the first time in history women are being seen as being valuable without having a man and not needing to center their life around a man. This is where I think people get this wrong. I'm not talking about decentering your life from love, I am talking about gender dynamics in Romantasy. Love is never embarrassing, in fact love is what makes life fulfilling; however, historically women have been seen as second to their husband and dependent. Like I previously mentioned the MMC is always in a position with more power and more often than not uses his status for his gain. There are increasingly less books where the FMC and MMC have a balanced power dynamic because of increasingly trendy tropes. That's my distinction, let's get a book where the women are already built up and impressive without needing her man.

The Marketing Trap

My other issue is less with the books themselves and more how they are marketed. Recently tropes on booktok have created an almost brain rot culture within Romantasy. Like enemies to loves, tending to her wounds, same bed, dragons, shadows, etc.

It feels like these books are more worried about fitting in tropes then creating an actual political system. It is starting to feel like a Romance book with a poorly crafted magic system and elves. These tropes are why I started to get bored and felt like I was reading the same story over and over. In assuming what women want in a book all ingenuity in writing is lost. Like why are Romantasy books reduced to a just a love story as if it's the only lens that women are interested in reading through? I don't think there is anything wrong with a fun Romantasy book, but we are modern women who want politics and intrigue with a side of romantic love story. Give us more female marketed books that have complex worlds and intellectual themes! Literature has always been an artform to portray real world problems in fantastical ways in hopes of opening the readers' eyes. If this is the case, young girls only reading about romantic love demotivates them from developing curiosities for interests and themselves.

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Bring Back Intrigue!

It may sound crazy but Sci Fi, while being known as blatantly sexist, has transformed in recent years. Many books have crafted the art of creating a gripping story while also creating a beautiful love story. The main difference between Sci-Fi and Romantasy is that one is more scientific and the other is more magical.

Both have love stories and are supposed to have rich plot lines, but only one of them has been measuring up. Take the book Red Rising for example, the main female characters do not receive status, personality, or power from a man. In fact, the women are some of the smartest, most skilled characters written with depth outside of love interests. And yes there are still love plot lines, and the main one may be my favorite of all time. There is lots of yearning and a heart wrenching enemies to lover's scenario. This is precisely why women are turning to Sci-Fi; it has the best of both worlds, love story and great plotline.

Female Authors Leading the Way

If you are intrigued and want some books written by women, a great example is R.F Kuang. Her books lean towards Sci-Fi and have historical intrigue and heavy plots. There is still a love story but without the focus on the relationship alone.

M.L Wang is another great female author who's book Sword of Kaigen has Sci-Fi elements. The book centers around Japanese culture and has fantastical elements. Also, don't be afraid to read books that are not viral TikTok books! There are thousands of amazing books no matter the genre. All of this being said I would be a hypocrite saying I don't enjoy these stories. I only suggest that next time you pick up a romantasy book, be mindful about the themes you are consuming. And go read some Sci-Fi!