I'm writing another book, and its very much in the spirit of Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency. A light, humorous, [hopefully] series, with a lot of heart. When discussing it with my agent, I tried to tell her the genre when chick-lit stumbled out of my mouth.
Why? Because its a story about women. It's light and its funny and it delves into relationships.
But- Alexander McCall Smith's book is about a female detective agency. It's about women. It's light. It's funny. It delves into relationships. But its not listed as chick lit is it?
I love the so-called genre of chick-lit. Emily Giffin. Sophie Kinsella. Great stuff. But for some reason when I think about it, it feels like a derogatory term. Maybe because if a guy called me chick, I wouldn't like it. Chick isn't how you address a judge, a doctor, your mother, anyone you respect. But its being used for me- when I pick up that chick-lit book. So it makes me feel like the people who are trying to label it are telling me I'm silly for picking it up. I'm just a chick.
For now, with my new manuscript, I am embracing the term multicultural women's literature. I am not opposed to the wonderful, hilarious, insightful stuff that good chick lit books contain- but the label does give me pause for thought.
What about you? What are your thoughts on the chick-lit genre? Does it pigeon hole women into a narrow category? Is it a derogatory term, or perfectly acceptable for novels labeled such?
