romantopia

English

Etymology

Blend of romance +‎ utopia; originally coined by evolutionary psychologists Catherine Salmon and Donald Symons in their book Warrior Lovers: Erotic Fiction, Evolution, and Female Sexuality (2001; →ISBN) to describe the setting in romance novels.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌɹəʊ.mənˈtəʊ.pi.ə/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌɹoʊ.mənˈtoʊ.pi.ə/
• Rhymes: -əʊpiə

Noun

romantopia (usually uncountable, plural romantopias)

1. A fantasy world which serves as an ideal setting for romance as typically imagined by women.
   • 2001, Catherine Salmon and Donald Symons (2001), Warrior lovers: erotic fiction, evolution, and female sexuality (New Haven, Connecticut, USA: Yale University Press), →ISBN, page 68:

     But why, one might wonder, is there no commercial erotic genre that combines the ingredients of pornotopia and romantopia, thereby doubling the potential audience and the potential profit?

   • 2006, Elizabeth Woledge, "Intimatopia: genre intersections between slash and the mainstream", chapter 3 (pages 97–114) in Karen Hellekson and Kristina Busse, editors (2006), Fan fiction and fan communities in the age of the Internet: new essays, (Jefferson, North Carolina, USA: McFarland), →ISBN, page 106:

     The crucial difference between romantopia and intimatopia is that in intimatopia, intimacy is normally established before sexual interaction and is always maintained after it, whereas in romantopia, it is only established by sexual interaction and is frequently transitory.

   • 2009, Joseph Carl Linden Brennan (October 2009), I am your worst fear, I am your best fantasy: new approaches to slash fiction (PDF), BA honors thesis, Department of Media and Communications, University of Sydney (retrieved 2017-11-29; archived from the original 2017-11-29), page 66:

     In opposition to romantopia and intimatopia and their respective romance and intimacy foci, paratopia’s interest in the fantastic is more radical.

Synonyms

• Romancelandia

Derived terms

• romantopic

See also

• intimatopia
• pornotopia