Potentash
  • Relationships
    • The Singlehood Series
    • Dating
    • Sex
    • Parenting
  • Lifestyle
    • Home
    • Food + Beverage
    • Fashion
    • Interviews
  • Stories
    • The Singlehood Series
    • Fiction
    • Poetry
  • Skin + Beauty
    • Skin
      • Skincare
    • Hair
      • Haircare
  • Wellness
    • Physical Health
    • Emotional Wellness
    • Mental Wellness
    • Social Wellness
    • Spiritual Wellness
  • Business
    • Business Finance
    • Personal Finance
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Investments
    • Personal Investments
  • Entertainment
    • Internet
    • Events
    • Music
    • Books
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
Potentash
  • Relationships
    • The Singlehood Series
    • Dating
    • Sex
    • Parenting
  • Lifestyle
    • Home
    • Food + Beverage
    • Fashion
    • Interviews
  • Stories
    • The Singlehood Series
    • Fiction
    • Poetry
  • Skin + Beauty
    • Skin
      • Skincare
    • Hair
      • Haircare
  • Wellness
    • Physical Health
    • Emotional Wellness
    • Mental Wellness
    • Social Wellness
    • Spiritual Wellness
  • Business
    • Business Finance
    • Personal Finance
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Investments
    • Personal Investments
  • Entertainment
    • Internet
    • Events
    • Music
    • Books
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
Potentash
No Result
View All Result
Romance: Love heart in the sunset Image

Love heart in the sunset Image Via: https://bit.ly/2wJj2B4

Opinion: In Defense of Romance Stories

Nereah Obimbo by Nereah Obimbo
5 October 2018
in Opinions
Reading Time: 3 mins read
12 1
0
15
SHARES
86
VIEWS
FacebookTwitterWhatsApp

How many movies have you seen where the guy reluctantly confesses to having watched a romance movie because his girlfriend made him? How many men do you know who turn their noses up at the thought of watching romance movies? Movies are bad enough, but can you picture a man reading a romance novel? All the men sighed a collective, perish the thought. It’s not limited to men, women increasingly take pains to distance themselves from romance stories, at least publicly.

For writers, romance as a genre has long been considered the low-hanging fruit of writing. For audiences, it’s considered pure fluff with nothing to say, suitable for killing time when you just don’t want to engage your brain. What is the cause of this ambivalence to romance stories? Why don’t we take them seriously? Why is it that stories revolving around love and human connection are not as important as those where ripped Liam Neeson-esque guys blow everything up in the pursuit of revenge masquerading as justice?

The way our society is structured, the family unit is our first team, our first introduction to and representation of what society and the world at large are like or at least should be like. We all start out the same, a man and woman meet, well if we’re fortunate, have mutual love and respect for each other, do the Budapest shuffle and ta-da nine months later, here you are. Considering how foundational the male-female romantic relationship is, you would think romance stories would be elevated. And no, not erotica and all its alarming permutations.

I submit that one of the ways we can begin to create lasting change in society is to reconsider our narratives about romance and our relationship with said narratives. Romance stories focus on the human element. They focus on seeing people and accepting them as they are, warts and all. They focus on people trying to be the best they could be. They showcase human vulnerability at its best along with the desperate need for connection that we all share. They focus on other people’s needs and desires and not just our own selfish interests. They strip us down to our core absent the pomp and distraction of stuff. In a world that is increasingly materialistic, romance reminds us that when all is said and done, what matters, what truly matters is people and I think the world could use a little more of that.

In a world in which there is so much violence everywhere, including or maybe originating from the violence between men and women, maybe the gentleness of romance can be the place where we begin to relearn the place of love and vulnerability in our interactions. It can be where we begin to handle each other with care and concern again. There isn’t much you can do about disastrous US Foreign Policy literally everywhere in the world or the ever-increasing public debt in Kenya but you can learn to be gentle and to treat others the same way.

They say hurting people hurt people and that one of the primary indicators of the kind of spouse and parent you will be is the kind of relationship your parents had. Maybe we start to place more value in the male-female relationship outside of wild rabbit sex, and maybe we show each other and by extension our children that there’s nothing wrong with tenderness and vulnerability and love even of the romantic kind. Maybe the next time you’re watching a romantic movie and someone makes fun of you, maybe this time you tell them you’re playing your part in changing the world. Keep the romance stories coming and let’s go make the world a better place.

Opinion: Things Romance Writers Must Stop Saying Immediately

Gender-Based Pay Disparity: A Discriminatory and Sexist Practice That Should Be Stopped   

Share6Tweet4SendShare1Pin1
Previous Post

Finances: When You Should Use Your Emergency Fund

Next Post

Book Review: Give To Get By Vishal Agarwal

Nereah Obimbo

Nereah Obimbo

Writer. Youtuber. Filmmaker. Abolitionist. Pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will.

Next Post
Book Review: Give To Get By Vishal Agarwal

Book Review: Give To Get By Vishal Agarwal

Please login to join discussion

Recommended

The Singlehood Series: My Ex Used To Track My Period Cycle And Call Me Every Time I Was Ovulating

The Singlehood Series: My Ex Used To Track My Period Cycle And Call Me Every Time I Was Ovulating

24 March 2024
180
The Singlehood Series: The Guy Used To Spend So Much Money On Me Yet We Weren’t Dating

The Singlehood Series: The Guy Used To Spend So Much Money On Me Yet We Weren’t Dating

13 November 2024
0

Popular Stories

  • Kenyan Musician J. S. Ondara Nominated For A Grammy Award For His Album Tales Of America

    Kenyan Musician J. S. Ondara Nominated For A Grammy Award For His Album Tales Of America

    23 shares
    Share 9 Tweet 6
  • Boy Sexually Harassed By Teacher At St. James High School Kegonge, Embu

    518 shares
    Share 207 Tweet 130
  • They Had A Bad Breakup. When They Met 3 Years Later, She Was In A Jail Cell

    5 shares
    Share 2 Tweet 1
  • Best Hairstyles For A Long/Oblong Face Shape

    1380 shares
    Share 552 Tweet 345
  • Her Past Comes Knocking Upending Their Present Bliss

    2 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Potentash Blog

Potentash is an award-winning lifestyle blog. We publish lifestyle content that intersects with health, women, beauty, travel, business, relationships, finances and entertainment.

Explore

  • The Singlehood Series
  • From Stairs To Ramps
  • Man Around Nairobi
  • Pearls And Heels
  • Personal Finance
  • Food + Beverage
  • Editor’s Pick
  • Reviews

Get the Potentash Newsletter

  • Newsletter Archive
  • Subscribe
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us

Copyright © 2023. Potentash, In Partnership with Decima

Welcome Back!

Sign In with Linked In
OR

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
  • Login
No Result
View All Result
  • Relationships
    • The Singlehood Series
    • Dating
    • Sex
    • Parenting
  • Lifestyle
    • Home
    • Food + Beverage
    • Fashion
    • Interviews
  • Stories
    • The Singlehood Series
    • Fiction
    • Poetry
  • Skin + Beauty
    • Skin
      • Skincare
    • Hair
      • Haircare
  • Wellness
    • Physical Health
    • Emotional Wellness
    • Mental Wellness
    • Social Wellness
    • Spiritual Wellness
  • Business
    • Business Finance
    • Personal Finance
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Investments
    • Personal Investments
  • Entertainment
    • Internet
    • Events
    • Music
    • Books

Copyright © 2023. Potentash, In Partnership with Decima