I don’t know whether to ROTFL or bang my head on the wall. Seriously. Naturally, this was based on Harlequin titles, but still.
The scholars created a database of just over 15,000 romance novels published between 1949 and 2009. Not surprisingly, they found the most frequently used word in the title was “Love,” which appeared 840 times. “Bride” was close behind at 835. “Baby” was slightly back at 696, followed by “Man” at 672 and “Marriage” at 612.
These words “clearly suggest long-term commitment and reproduction are important to readers,” Cox and Fisher write. Indeed, commitment was the most common theme they discovered, with words like marriage, wedding, bride, groom and honeymoon. The second-most common was procreation, with words like baby, child, mommy, daddy and pregnant.
The list of frequently used words does not specifically point to a desire for wealth or good looks in a man. Surprisingly, “Handsome” turns up only six times, and the word “Athletic” does not appear at all. Figuring such desires were coded within the characters, the scholars decided to compile a list of the 20 most frequently occurring professions in these fictional works.
Doctor came in at No. 1, with 388 characters practicing medicine. No surprise there: The authors note physicians “take care of others and earn a generous salary,” making them something of a two-fer as potential mates go.
But who would expect Cowboy to come in second, at 314? Apparently the archetype of the rugged frontiersman retains its appeal.
via Harlequin Titles Reveal Audience’s Desires | Smart Journalism. Real Solutions. | Miller-McCune Online Magazine.