Author Caridad Piñeiro thinks Harlequin romance novels are oh my God so stupid and like super sexy. We mean. Sexist:

Piñeiro acknowledged that many popular romance novels do present weak women characters and happily-ever-after Cinderella stories. The best-selling “Harlequin Presents” line, for example, contains stereotypical romance novels with titles such as, “Willingly Bedded, Forcibly Wedded” and “The Spanish Prince’s Virgin Bride”.

“Quite frankly, I don’t read them,” said Piñeiro, of the “Harlequin Presents” type of novel. “I don’t read them because that’s not what I write, and because I believe in empowering women,” she said.

What would be more empowering to women, then? Ah, we know. Stories about those who must be kept alive (undead?) by sucking copious amounts of sustaining fluids!:

One of Piñeiro’s latest novels is a paranormal romance titled “Holiday with a Vampire”. She believes that the paranormal romance genre creates some of the strongest female characters.

“The paranormal section is one of the hottest subgenres today. You can see alpha-women [characters] who are not perfect, but they’re making their own decisions to reach the happily-ever-after that they choose. And that’s empowering women,” she said.

Ok. As someone who had to review a fair share of paranormal romance novels during our stint at Playgirl, we can vouch that this subgenre is offensive to both men and women, because everyone involved is a mass of clichés and embarrassingly outdated stereotypes. Not to mention how degrading this shit is to werewolves.

Empowering Women through Romance Novels [The Daily Gazette]