TITLE: The Truth About ChickLit By lauren finchum 08/24/09 |
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Most who say that chick-lit is featherbrained and shallow have either never actually read one of the books, or read one that wasn’t up to par with the true meaning of the style.
Good chick-lit, while most of the time having name-dropping, label dropping, and a pop-culture tone, still have strong female characters. Face it, any true air head, skin-deep chick would have given up on fighting for their dreams long ago (if she had any to begin with) or is too dumb to even know she has no life outside designer bathing suits.
Now, that doesn’t mean the characters in chick-lit don’t panic, cry, doubt, run from fear, or are just plain screwed. Buy who isn’t? And in truth, it takes more strength to admit you're a little lame or messed up, than think you’ve always got it together.
Take the protagonist in “Georgia on Her Mind” for example. She loses her power-corporate job, her boyfriend, and anything resembling her life in 24 hours. The protagonist, as most of us do, whines, even pouts in the beginning. But eventually sucks it up and deals, making her life work.
Opening her self to the changes God may have for her, she finds true satisfaction and realizes that material objects aren’t ever thing.
True Chick-Lit will state that, even though Chanel is an awesome brand, and we all love a lip-gloss free of stickiness; life is about friends, family (even though they drive you nuts) loving yourself for who you are, working through hard times and personal failing, and finding meaning even without Kenneth Jay Lane earrings. (Even if they do look awesome!) And, of course, the pursuit of true love!
The women in a top-notch chick-lit novel are strong, bold, and fight through all that hard stuff (like not being treated equal buy male bosses) . . .taking pride in being a woman in the process.
Authentic chick-lit characters are secure enough in their femininity to know that they don’t have to act like a man to make it in a man’s world.
And beside, who said you can’t kick serious butt while wearing stilettos and Bare Essentials eye shadow!
Sometimes ya just need a book that tells it like it is, but also makes you laugh out loud. Chick-lit does that.
You know, like that song title says, “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”.
Don’t fear being a girl, don’t fear girl-a-tude.
Girls rock!
2009
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