Bridgerton and Normal People expose romance’s colonial hangover

There is nothing apolitical about love stories because popular ideas of romance are steeped in 19th century imperialism.

There are more than a few universally acknowledged truths when it comes to writing romance: the course of true love should not run smooth, lovers should be beautiful and readers generally prefer a Happily Ever After (‘HEA’ as it’s known in the romance community). While love stories are still routinely sidelined by some academics and critics, the politics of love, sex and desire, and the stories we tell about them, cannot be overestimated. There is absolutely nothing apolitical about love stories because our popular ideas of romance are a colonial hangover, steeped in the reactionary values of the imperial 19th century. At this point isn’t it worth asking: what’s universal about our modern idea of love? I’m talking here about the hegemony of white, Anglo-American culture established through the British empire and solidified through the neo-imperialism of the United States. The culture that insists on endless adaptations of Shakespeare and Austen; churns out seemingly infinite content about the experiences of white soldiers in the world wars; and makes biopic after biopic on the lives of white historical figures. All of which are tales told at the expense of narratives that foreground people of colour.