A friend and I are often discussing fiction writing. This lead to a conversation about genres. Saw on BET a panel of women writers (African-American, of course), and how their books fell into what is called “chick lit.” It’s a broad term that applies to almost any book written by a woman that deals with love, fashion, and career. Pretty much a broad brush.
I have posted a copy of the definition here:
Chick-lit features hip, stylish female protagonists, usually in their twenties or early thirties, in urban settings, and follows their love lives and struggles in business (often the publishing or advertising industries). The books usually feature an irreverent tone and frank sexual themes. The genre spawned Candace Bushnell's Sex and the City and its accompanying television series. Breakout variations on the genre have develped to appeal to specific audiences, such as the novels of Emmy-winning author Lori Bryant-Woolridge, known for her Chick-lit novels (Read Between the Lies, Hitts and Mrs., Mourning Glo) written specifically with women of color in mind.
The term has a negative connotation. It means that the books might be shallow, or not “real” literature. That broad brush at work again. I looked up chick lit on Wikipedia. It does point out that that the term has both positive AND negative connotations.
There is also a male version called “dick lit.” A link to the full article is posted below.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chick_lit
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