Why do we apologize for the things that bring us joy?
For decades, media marketed toward women (specifically young women) has been slapped with the patronizing label of “guilty pleasure. ” If a guy watches sports commentary for four hours, it’s a passion. If a girl watches a group of women scream at each other over a catering mishap on The Real Housewives, it’s trash tv.
We are officially retiring the guilt. It is time to shamelessly champion the media that gets us through the week.
Reality TV is Modern Shakespeare
Let’s stop pretending reality television isn’t a masterclass in human psychology and editing. Watching reality TV isn’t a sign of low intelligence; it’s a high-grade social study. Sometimes, after a long day of making serious decisions and paying bills, you don’t want to watch a bleak, dark, cinematic documentary about a historical tragedy. You want to watch someone cry because someone else stole their favorite sun lounger in Ibiza. It’s called balance.
Fanfiction is the Backbone of Lit Culture
If you read fanfiction, you are reading some of the most creative, high-stakes storytelling on the internet. The communities on Archive of Our Own (AO3) or Wattpad write millions of words purely out of love for characters and plots. Some of it is genuinely better than the books sitting on the New York Times Bestseller list. It’s creative writing in its purest form, and we need to stop hiding our tabs when someone walks by.
The Romance Novel Renaissance
There is zero shame in a book that guarantees a happy ending. Romance novels are often dismissed as “trashy, ” but they are some of the only spaces in media where female pleasure, emotional communication, and joy are centered without punishment.
Life is hard enough. Read the book with the shirtless man on the cover. Watch the dating show. Read the 100k-word slow-burn fanfic. Enjoying things is cool