«Now over a decade old, chick lit appears to be more than a blip on the literary radar. Beginning with the publication of Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones's Diary in 1996, chick lit has experienced sustained popularity and diversification with its loveable but fallible heroines scouring the city for Mr. Right while wearing four-inch Manolo Blahnik heels and juggling a Prada bag, Starbucks latte, and professional career. While the original chick lit heroines were white, thirty-something “Singletons,” the genre has diversified by race (African-American chick lit, Latina chick lit), age (teen chick lit, hen lit), lifestyle (Christian chick lit, mommy lit), and even region (Southern Fried chick lit), and will likely continue to evolve.

Chick lit has been the subject of contemporary debate with feminist writers and critics questioning exactly what the genre is marketing to women. Is it a useful medium for understanding the experience of women within contemporary culture, or is it pointless fluff that exacerbates gender stereotyping and inequality?»