The “new” contemporary writing by/for women

Gender relations, affective capitalisms and the “Chick-lit / Soft Porn” literature

Abstract

This work is interested in investigating and identifying the logic of sensitivities and identifications that, to some extent, explain the success of the, “chick-lit / soft porn” novels, which invaded the Brazilian publishing market from the end of the 20th century to the present day current. This literature, made by women and aimed at the target audience of female readers, flood the physical/virtual shelves of bookstores with stories full of sexual and loving relationships, often described in profuse scenic details. This research uses the best-selling mercantile category to think of sales criteria above society’s regular reading averages. The focus of analysis was centered on the idea that such best-selling literature “chick-lit / soft porn” is a producer and reproducer of some speeches about the power relations between the genders and some forms of possible sexual experiences. Thus, the naturalized textual and symbolic representations of this literature nowadays incorporate an authorized source of consumption of narratives about eroticism, pleasure and love for women.