Harlequin romance novels' covert art: As time progresses, the covers focus more on the couple (at the exclusion of other individuals), & portray stronger intimacy, given shifts in socio-cultural permissiveness

A temporal analysis of cover art on Harlequin romance novels. Maryanne L. Fisher, Tami M. Meredith. Human Behavior and Evolution Society 31st annual meeting. Boston 2019. http://tiny.cc/aa1w6y

Abstract: We present an analysis of Harlequin romance novel cover images that we used to determine women’s evolved mating behaviours, as well socio-cultural change in issues such as gender norms. We analyzed 500 covers from the 1950s until 2014. Our findings show that as time progresses, the covers focus more on the couple (at the exclusion of other individuals), and portray stronger intimacy as indicated by more reclining poses, more physical contact, more interaction, and increased direct eye gaze between the couple. We contend that although the covers have always addressed female mate preferences and interests due to the fact that the overwhelming majority of readers are women, the covers have become increasingly explicit in terms of sexuality and intimacy given shifts in socio-cultural permissiveness. Therefore, Harlequin romance novel covers represent an innovative way to examine evolutionary and sociocultural forces pertaining to women’s sexuality and mating interests