Semester of Graduation
Spring 2026
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Professional Writing
Department
English
Committee Chair/First Advisor
Dr. Amanda Pratt
Second Advisor
Dr. Laura McGrath
Abstract
This thesis is a Composition and Rhetoric study of the monster romance genre, a growing yet often misunderstood site of rhetorical activity. It centers on a survey, “Reader Perceptions of Shame, Empowerment, and Genre in Monster Romance Fiction,” distributed through Instagram to 176 readers. From this data, the project analyzes both quantitative trends and qualitative responses to examine how readers describe their emotional and interpretive relationships to the genre. Grounded in rhetorical genre theory and affect theory, particularly the work of Kenneth Burke, Carolyn Miller, Charles Bazerman, Anis Bawarshi, Sara Ahmed, and Eve Sedgwick, this study approaches genre as something shaped through social interaction and emotional experience. The analysis identifies four central themes in reader responses: identification, comfort and desire, shame and stigma, and empowerment and belonging. Together, these themes show how readers use monster romance to explore non-normative identities and desires while also navigating and reworking cultural stigma. Ultimately, this thesis argues that readers do not simply consume genre, but actively participate in creating it. It concludes that monster romance operates as a participatory rhetorical ecosystem shaped through reader engagement, and points to the need for further research into reader-driven genre formation.