Chicklit

== = = =Chick Lit: A Definition & Beginnings= Chick lit novels refer to a genre of fiction, specifically a sub-genre of romantic fiction, which deals with a number of stock characters and plots: fashionable/trendy twenty or thirty-something year-old working women struggling with their careers, love interests, weight, and money. The genre emerged in the mid 1990s as postfeminist fiction in anthology titled “Chick Lit: Postfeminist Fiction” (Wikipedia, 2006). Chris Mazza, editor of the anthology, coined the term “chick lit” to “refer, ironically, to postfeminist women’s fiction which avoided political seriousness while still expressing a sense of responsibility for women’s role in their own stereotyping” (Ferriss & Young, 2006). Chick lit, as it is known now, began with Helen Fielding’s 1996 bestseller //Bridget Jones’s Diary//.

=**Feature Characteristics & Feature Titles**= Another feature characteristic of chick lit is its tone, particularly its humour, self-deprecation, and frank discussion of sex and material wealth. Notable pioneers in the genre of chick lit include Helen Fielding’s //Bridget Jones’s Diary, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason//, Candace Bushnell’s //Sex and the City//, //The Devil Wear’s Prada,// and Sophie Kinsella’s //Shopaholic// series.

= = =Success: The Growth of Chick Lit= With the release of //Bridget Jones’s Diary// readers’ appetite for more “singletons” spawned one of the largest trend in publishing history. Wikipedia reports that the full acceptance of chick lit into popular culture occurred between 2000 and 2001. Indeed, figures released by ABC News indicate chick lit generated $71 million in sales in 2002. (ReadersRead.com, August 2003). The effects of chick lit can also be felt in the various spin-off genres it has generated. The following are but a few of the sub-genres: bridezilla lit, hen lit (mom lit), chica lit, sistah lit, teen lit. All characteristics described above for chick lit (basic story premise, tone and humour) also pertain to these sub-genres except for the protagonis. The stories are not about single, white, middle-class protagonists; rather, they are of brides, mothers, latinas, black women, and teens. Indeed, the protagonist's age, race and marital status determine the sub-genre. Chick lit has also spawned an alternative male fiction genre: lad lit or dick lit. Like the other spin-offs, dick lit appropriates the same subject matter and tones and inserts its own gender specific narratives. In addition to spawning spin-off genres, chick lit has crossed media into the realm of film--in the specific genre of Romantic Comedy. Successful movie adaptations of chick lit include: //Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004), In her Shoes (2005)// and //The Devil Wears Prada (2006).// This has proven to be a lucrative cross-over for the genre of novels. //Bridget Jones's Diary,// for example, has grossed approximately $282 million worldwide (BoxOfficeMojo, 2006).

=Scandal Rocks the Genre: Plagiarism in Chick Lit= In April 2006 Kaavya Viswanathan, an Harvard undergraduate student, was found to have plagiarized her chick lit novel, //How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life.// At the time, Kaavya was given a $500,000 advance by the publisher, Little, Brown and Company. The publisher cancelled the deal, pulled the novels from stores shelves. Kaayva reportedly copied from other bestselling chick lit writers: Megan McCafferty’s //Sloppy Firsts// and //Second Helpings//, Sophie Kinsella’s //Shopaholic// books, and even Salman Rushdie. The situation also prompted DreamWorks productions to halt pre-production of a film rendition of the novel (Wikipedia, 2006).