Hi Amy,

I've recently read six books coined as "Chick Lit," and I am slightly bothered by the term and its lack of respect in the literary world.

The books: Good in Bed, Little Earthquakes, Spur of the Moment, Dirty Girls Social Club, I Love Everybody (And Other Atrocious Lies and The Autobiography of a Fat Bride , all address race, class and gender; the books are comforting in a world filled with chaos and without answers.

I think these books do represent feminist ideals, and I wanted your opinion. Does, chick lit address feminist principals and how?

Thanks,

Melissa

Melissa --

I do think that these books are feminist--they aren't exclusively feminist, but they address feminist concerns and issues as much as an academic treatise does. I actually just blurbed a book of this genre -- Becoming A Goddess of Inner Poise. In general, I think that these books get at women's anxieties and fears and successes in a way that conventional feminism hasn't been able to. However, I also think they are limited, they to do little to move beyond the problem.

That's my two cents.

- Amy