Date of Award
8-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
English
Committee Chair/Advisor
Dr. Kimberly Manganelli
Committee Member
Dr. Erin Goss
Committee Member
Dr. Cameron Bushnell
Committee Member
Dr. Michelle Smith
Abstract
The contemporary romance subgenre known as “why choose?” romance, formerly referred to as “reverse harem” romance, features one heroine forming romantic and sexual relationships with multiple male partners without ultimately choosing a single monogamous pairing. While often dismissed as excessive fantasy or erotic escapism, the subgenre’s growing popularity reflects broader cultural anxieties surrounding contemporary heterosexual dating, emotional precarity, and the instability of intimacy in the twenty-first century. Situating “why choose?” romance within public conversations about dating fatigue, emotional unavailability, situationships, and the erosion of traditional courtship expectations, this study argues that the subgenre functions as a post-chivalric care fantasy that responds to perceived romantic scarcity through narratives of abundance, predictability, and guaranteed devotion. Through close readings of representative texts, the analysis identifies recurring character archetypes, ritualized plot structures, and cyclical scenes of threat, protection, tending, and reassurance, arguing that repetition functions as the genre’s emotional technology by transforming instability into predictable affective structures through which readers experience reassurance and care. The study also situates the subgenre within the digital infrastructures that have facilitated its expansion, including Kindle Unlimited, BookTok, Archive of Our Own (AO3), and online romance-reading communities, where algorithmic circulation and trope visibility reinforce the genre’s promises of abundance and emotional certainty. Additionally, the analysis traces the terminological shift from “reverse harem” to “why choose?” as a significant cultural and ideological reorientation shaped by feminist critique, marketability, and changing attitudes toward female desire. Ultimately, “why choose?” romance emerges as a cultural response to emotional exhaustion and romantic instability by offering narratives in which desire is continually affirmed and intimacy is structured through abundance rather than scarcity.
Recommended Citation
Shealy, Kyrsten L., "“Why Choose?” Romance: Repetition, Abundance, and the Cultural Logic in Being Over-Loved" (2026). All Theses. 4803.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_theses/4803
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