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January 30

Bodice ripper

The German Wikipedia has a distinct article on the bodice ripper subgenre of romance literature. The article claims, among others, the following:

By definition, the genre includes the hero raping the heroine.
The genre vanished in the 1990s. The respective list names the last titles written in 2000.

Would Americans agree to this? And if so, what is the name of the rape-free historical romance genre mainly taking the former place of bodice ripper? --KnightMove (talk) 06:43, 30 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I wouldn't agree (though I'm not American), but Germans may have a different understanding so you would need to bring it up on the German Wikipedia. Do those statements cite any sources? Shantavira|^{feed me} 09:23, 30 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, and even a lot of them, e.g. entry in merriam-webster, The Atlantic: Beyond Bodice-Rippers: How Romance Novels Came to Embrace Feminism.

The problem for which I am asking here: There is a German term for romance novels like these, Nackenbeißer ("neck biter") - an ironic hint to the covers with the typical pose of the hero grabbing the heroine from behind and kissing her in a somewhat rough way (a typical example). However, this is not a clearly demarcated term. Romance novels might be called Nackenbeißer even if the heroes are faced towards each other, or do not even both appear on the cover. Further, the term does not delimit the content and exact sub-genre - it is certainly not necessarily associated with rape. Still, many sources treat Nackenbeißer and bodice ripper as synonyms. I want to sort terms out, but for this I want to check whether bodice ripper is really an obsolete genre (Nackenbeißer is certainly not - this is timeless). --KnightMove (talk) 10:53, 30 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I think I am satisfied with the explanations on this website: https://sweetsavageflame.com/neo-bodice-rippers/ --KnightMove (talk) 16:11, 30 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Softly Softly: Task Force on DVD

Out of all the seasons of Softly Softly: Task Force that have been released on DVD only the first two are shown to be on DVD on Amazon. Can someone tell me if the other six seasons have been released on DVD. Matthew John Drummond (talk) 15:27, 30 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]