Romance Writers of America files for bankruptcy amid bitter racism battle

[NanaCat]

12. Some of the scorn is for other reasons

More than any other genre, its readers don't have much tolerance for anything other than an HEA. I've known a few books that didn't have one, but they're on the rare side. The readers also prefer not to get too bogged down with social issues--the point is to escape the big bad world, so most writers either avoid those issues entirely, or address them in a not-too-taxing way. The vast majority of its fans simply don't want anything too dark or heavy in their love stories.

These restrictions limit the genre so that it seems shallow or superficial, rather than 'serious.' And it's not that some romance writers don't address serious issues. Some do, but most don't, because modern romance readers don't want books that are too deep or heavy or dreary.

Fans of the other genres--sci-fi, fantasy, mystery, and even westerns, don't have so much resistance to more serious topics as romance does. And that, not that it's women writing for women, is a big reason why those genres get so much more respect than romance does.