Chick Lit In English Literature

Chick lit, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, refers to “literature by, for, or about women” (OED). In the past decades, chick lit has been called a “commercial tsunami” as chick lit books earned over $71 million in 2002 (Ferriss and Young). The popularity of chick lit is not only limited to print. Moviemakers have also been taking the advantage to produce movie adaptations of the novels. With the prevalence of chick lit products, many people believe that chick lit books, centering and focusing on women, empower women. Yet, many critics also have doubts and concerns on this genre as it covers the triviality of everyday life and thus does not have any intellectual discussion. In this essay, I will use Sophie Kinsella’s first book …show more content…
It is normal for us to think that the life of a woman does not stray from the path of getting married, giving birth and then taking care of her family. ‘Good’ mothers should take care of their children and household chores. Among the household chores, cooking is regarded as the most basic. Yet, Becky’s mother never “ever admits she’s bought a ready-made meal, not even when it’s a pie in a foil container” (Kinsella, P.35). Even though she does not admit buying ready-made meal from supermarket, Becky and her dad know. It is not stated explicitly in the novel but there is a possibility that Becky’s mother is suffering from “the problem that has no name” which was suggested by a feminist leader, Betty Friedan. In her book The Feminine Mystique, Friedan talks about the disatifaction middle-class women felt. This disatisfaction, or unhappiness was widespread and was probably caused by the mundane lives of a housewife and a mother. Therefore, her act of buying ready-made meals instead of cooking homemade one can be seen as a little defiance against the pre-assigned role for …show more content…
Unlike feminism, which criticizes patriarchy and questions femininity, post-feminism marks the return to femininity and rejects the second-wave anger and blame against the patriarchy (Ferriss and Young). Confession of a Shopaholic appears to be a book that empowers and liberate women. Yet, the book nonetheless represses them by portraying women as performative, image and brand obsessed, heterosexual and inferior to men. The issue of gender is not something fictional but in fact very complicated, or even problematic in reality. If the message of the book is not deliver clearly, it may affect how young girls view themselves and gender