If you’ve ever found yourself lost in the endless scroll of TikTok, you’ve likely encountered ‘BookTok’—a vibrant, female-dominated subgenre where readers share book recommendations and reviews. As an avid reader, I’ve noticed that reading has never been as ‘trendy’ or ‘cool’ as it is now, largely due to the rise of one genre: ‘romantasy.’ Through online spaces like TikTok, women are empowered to share their opinions, recommendations, and knowledge in a global forum. McLuhan’s concept of the ‘global village’ perfectly encapsulates this phenomenon. The popularity of the feministic romantasy novels on BookTok demonstrates how technology can unite people across the world, regardless of distance (McLuhan, 1964).
The Global Village
In 1964, Marshall McLuhan used the term ‘global village’ to describe how the world was becoming more and more interconnected as a result of enhancements in media technologies around the globe. Today, social media platforms like TikTok bring this concept to life, allowing billions of users to access digital communities where they can express themselves and engage with diverse cultures (Dixon, 2009). In fact, in 2022 New York Times’ Harris explained that BookTok – a subgenre of the popular social media platform TikTok – essentially acts as a supercharged word-of-mouth engine, which has enabled authors to sell up to 20 million printed books just in 2021. The review videos that make up the platform – posted both by authors and consumers – aim to take viewers on an emotional journey instead of offering information or an overview of certain books like traditional reviews (Harris 2022).
What is romantasy, and why does it matter?
While McLuhan’s ‘Global Village’ explains how these novels reach a global audience, it doesn’t fully explain why the genre resonates so deeply with people. Romantasy, a blend of steamy romance and fantasy, features grand-scale worldbuilding, strong female protagonists, magic, and the defeat of your arch-enemies. Famous examples include Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight and Sarah J. Maas’ A Court of Thorns and Roses (Cuthbert & McAlister, 2024).
It has been suggested that after the second wave of the women’s rights movements in the 1960s-70s, many women used literature as a means to empower women and directly challenge misogynistic ideas (Dassler 2021). Nowadays, it could be argued that the dominance of female authors and readers in the fantasy genre is a reaction to fourth-wave feminism, with its popularity mainly due to its capacity to inspire and empower young women.
Conclusion
Understanding McLuhan’s concept of the global village provides a framework for how globalization expands our communities, allowing us to share and appreciate diverse ideas and give everyone a voice. In the case of BookTok’s romantasy novels, globalisation and feminism work hand in hand as agents of empowerment and education, bringing readers together in a global conversation that defies geographical boundaries.
So, while we watch as BookTok and romantasy novels engage audiences from around the globe, doesn’t it become clear that the real magic is really the globalisation of media, and how it unites communities in a way we’ve never seen before?
References
Cuthbert, K & McAlister, J 2024, What Is romantasy? Experts Explain the Bestselling Book Trend, The Conversation.
Dassler, J 2021, ‘Women in Literature: the Impact of Feminism on Fantasy Literature’, International Social Science Review, vol. 97, no. 4, pp. 1–20.
Dixon, VK 2009, ‘Understanding the Implications of a Global Village’, Inquiries Journal, vol. 1, Inquiries Journal, no. 11.
Harris, EA 2022, ‘How TikTok Became a Best-Seller Machine’, The New York Times, 1 July.
McLuhan, M 1964, ‘Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man’, American Quarterly, vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 1–18.
McLuhan, M & Powers, BR 1992, The Global Village: Transformations in World Life and Media in the 21st Century, Oxford University Press, New York.
Roeloffs, MW 2024, Sarah J. Maas Is The Year’s Top Author As Fantasy And Romance Dominate March Bestseller List, Forbes.
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