Romantic Comedy: The perfect combination of love and humor, like a pizza with the ideal proportion of cheese, sauce and toppings. This blend has lasted lifetimes, spanning generations. However, it has been generalized that only women watch them, and they are portrayed to be girly. 

In a piece called ‘There’s a Scientific Reason Women Like Rom-Coms More than Men’ by Helena Baron it explains how there might be more of a psychological reason why women might lean towards watching rom-coms more than men. Baron states, “…maybe we like rom-com…because society has taught us to aspire to the richer, prettier, skinner women in them…” Baron ponders that society influences women’s opinions to prefer rom-coms. According to social convention, rom-coms are a genre for women. 

Nevertheless, movie-goers contradict gender stereotypes. This idea is indicated in ‘Why Men Need Rom-Coms Now More Than Ever’ when it explains, “For men, I suppose a romcom is the ultimate guilty pleasure, but then as we all know, guilty pleasures are simply a way to acknowledge the vicissitudes of taste.” This article by Dylan Jones illustrates that men appreciate rom-coms even if they do not like to admit it. Statistics by Statista show that 67% of men and 84% of females out of 2,200 people have a favorable impression of romantic comedies. Though this displays that the scale tips towards females at a 17% difference between them. In the same survey, action movies, which is considered a manly genre, had 86% of females and 90% of males who had favorable impressions of the genre. This is only a 4% discrepancy between male and female, but there is also a 2% increase in favorability between action and rom-coms, action being favored.

Mrs. Satterfield, an English teacher at Denmark, opined that she does love rom-coms, but it is not specifically her go-to genre, rather, her favorite movies are from the Action/Adventure genre. Mrs. Satterfields’s opinion supports the data exhibited above. Mr. Jordan, the Dramatic Writing teacher, describes that even though his favorite genre is psychological thrillers, he does like rom-coms, but more of the older ones. Mr. Jordan contradicts the stereotype that only women can admire romantic comedies. With the ample data, it is the truth that rom-coms appeal to both genders.

Baron, H. (2016, August 19). There’s a scientific reason women like rom-coms more than men. UK. Retrieved September 8, 2022, from https://thetab.com/uk/2016/08/19/theres-scientific-reason-women-like-rom-coms-men-15460

Jones, D. (2017, July 22). Why men need romcoms now more than ever. British GQ. Retrieved September 8, 2022, from https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/romcoms-men-romcom-movies

Statista. (2021, August 12). Favorite film genres in the U.S. 2018, by gender. Retrieved September 8, 2022, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/254115/favorite-movie-genres-in-the-us/