Reclaming Romance at The Ripped Bodice

The Ripped Bodice is a romance-only bookshop that opened its New York chapter only four months ago. Giulia Leo heads to Brooklyn to check it out. ---TRANSCRIPT--- LEO 1 Everyone enters The Ripped Bodice for a different reason. Gabbi Philoips and John Lawson are here to check out the hyper-instagrammable location. LAWSON 1 She just got this camera and I was like, ‘oh you might want to take pictures in here.’ LEO 2 A few shelves down, Chelsea Siegenfeid is browsing the endless shelves of romance books. SIEGENFEID 1 There's LGBTQI+, there's young adult, there is erotica. LEO 3 And then, right by a huge LGBTQ flag made entirely of flowers, there’s Paige Getty and Amanda Poppei. They traveled all the way from Washington DC just to check out the shop. POPPEI 1 We did not come for this event. We came to the bookstore, and I looked to see what was happening when we were here. LEO 4 Amanda is referring to the launch of Emmett happening tonight at The Ripped Bodice. Emmett is a queer retelling of Emma. Like Jane Austen’s heroine, Emmett is entitled, preppy, and quite unlikable. At least according to author Lev A.C. Rosen. ROSEN 1 I’ve taken the negative stereotypes about gay men and made them human. LEO 6 Reclaiming narratives. Reclaiming the pleasure of reading romance. That’s what the Ripped Bodice is about. Whatever the reason for your visit, it is a truth universally acknowledged that you’ll exit the shop with a longer reading list. Giulia Leo, Columbia Radio News.