Captive, the ace of heart, sexy devil … These evocative novels fill the shelves and attract more and more adolescent girls. The Dark Romance, this literary sub-genre which features toxic and intense relationships, is experiencing dazzling success, including among the youngest readers. What question certain parents: should we fear a negative influence on the emotional construction of teens?
What is Dark Romance?
Dark Romance is distinguished from classical romance by exploring love from a darker and ambiguous angle. It stages power dynamics, obsessive relationships and sometimes violent or taboos. The heroine is often confronted with a tortured man, domineering or emotional dependent, which she seeks to save or understand. For a mature reader, this type of story can be perceived as intense entertainment, comparable to a thriller or a horror film. But for a teenager looking for landmarks, the border between fiction and reality can blur.
What risks for teenagers?
Johanna Rozenblum, clinical psychologist, recalls that several parameters must be taken into account before worrying: “We must of course be based on several factors such as age, emotional maturity, reader’s ability to step back, but dark romance is indeed a genre that can influence the perception of young readers on love, interpersonal relationships“.
One of the dangers lies in the normalization of toxic relationships, where manipulation and violence can be perceived as evidence of love. “”Teens should not deem these relationships as acceptable or romantic“, she warns. She also insists on the risk of idealizing suffering or believing that a destructive relationship is better than the absence of a relationship:”The complicated idea is to suggest that a toxic relationship is better than living nothing at all“.
For Amélie Boukhobza, a psychologist also, however, we should not give in to panic. “”Adolescence is a period of exploration, where we seek to understand the shadow areas of oneself, of the world. At this age, identity issues are strong, and reading this type of books can be a way of questioning your emotions, its limits or decoding intriguing dynamics. This does not mean deep discomfort or attraction for suffering. It would be very simplistic to think that ! “
How to talk to her teenager?
The two experts agree: the important thing is to maintain the dialogue. As Johanna Rozenblum points out, “It is above all a question of drawing their attention to the nuance and of being able to conduct a critical reflection together“. Simple questions can open the discussion: what attracts you to this story? What do you think of the relationship between these characters? Do you think this relationship is healthy?
Amélie Boukhobza also insists on the importance of not banning the genre in a brutal way: “The ban is not always the solution. What a teenager can become a starting point to discuss consent, healthy relationships or messages conveyed by these stories. So rather than to judge or alarm, it is a good opportunity to understand what attracts in these stories“.
A practical track for parents is to read the novel themselves before or at the same time as their child, in order to know if the content is adapted to his age and to have material to exchange. As Johanna Rozenblum reminds us, “In the same way that parents must watch from what age a film is recommended, and direct it to what can please him, literary works must benefit from the same attention“.