Pages and Prejudice

Show Notes:Maybe he’s hiding emotional trauma, maybe it’s Maybelline.Stitch and Adrie dive into the world of masked man romance — a subgenre of dark romance and erotica centered on men (and occasionally other entities) who conceal their faces. Stitch, newly obsessed with the trope, breaks down its defining elements: the kinks involved (stalking, primal play, sex clubs, consensual non-consent), the recurring character archetypes, and the surprisingly vulnerable emotional cores hiding beneath all those balaclavas. Adrie brings a fresh perspective as someone less familiar with the subgenre, offering examples from adjacent tropes — including a hooded shadow creature from CM Nascosta and a masked alien king — while both hosts discuss how these fantasies connect to real cultural touchstones like Scream and Nightmare on Elm Street, and Nosferatu. They also push back on the discourse around dark romance as uniquely harmful, arguing that these fantasies are neither new nor dangerous.Topics: masked man romance, dark romance, dark erotica, horror romance, monster romance, alien romance, romantasy, fantasy romance, omegaverse, CNC, dubcon, primal play, stalker romance, slasher romance, masked menReading Recommendations:Fiction:BJ AlexCaptured By The Masked Murderer: Okay, We'll Get Cozy... Just Don't Kill Me!Mask Danshi: This Shouldn't Lead to LoveRuling Sikthand by Victoria AvelineThe Princess & the Spy series by Lisette Marshall (temporarily unpublished)The Viridian Priestess series by Katrina CalandraTwo for Tea by CM NascostaSlaying the Vampire Conqueror by Carissa BroadbentNon-Fiction: Uses of the Erotic by Audre LordeFollow & Support:Follow us on Instagram.Send inquiries to pagesandprejudicepod@gmail.com.Buy merch on Threadless or become a Patron to support the show!Hosted by:adrie rose (@adrierising on bsky, twitter, instagram, & tiktok)Stitch (@stitch on bsky, @stitchmediamix on instagram)Music: ⁠⁠HOLY MOLY⁠⁠ by Shane Ivers

Show Notes:I am a freak and I am proud.Why are so many fans hiding their AO3 bookmarks, running private accounts, and apologizing for what they love? In this episode of Pages & Prejudice, Stitch and Adrie Rose dig into the culture of shame, guilt, and fear that has taken over fandom spaces — and why it's making everyone miserable. Drawing on cultural anthropology, Ruth Benedict's guilt/shame/fear society framework, and years of firsthand fandom experience, they break down how anti-fandom, call-out culture, and the concept of "guilty pleasures" are pushing fans to hide, self-censor, and turn on each other.Topics: fanfiction, AO3, guilty pleasures, anti-fandom, dark ships, slash fiction, fandom culture, kink shaming, fandom shame, fan works, pro-ship, fandom discourse, kirk/spockRecommendations:Fanfic:Alien Brothers by Helena SeabrightPodcasts:Searching for Soshern: The Forbidden Star Trek Fanfiction (Very Special Episodes)Follow & Support:Follow us on Instagram.Send inquiries to pagesandprejudicepod@gmail.com.Buy merch on Threadless or become a Patron to support the show!Hosted by:Adrie Rose (@adrierising on bsky, twitter, instagram, & tiktok)Stitch (@stitch on bsky, @stitchmediamix on instagram)Music: ⁠⁠HOLY MOLY⁠⁠ by Shane Ivers

Show Notes:Go forth and live your best trope!Adrie and Stitch sit down with Maggie North, Canadian author and anesthesiologist, to discuss her latest novel Fossil Feud — an almost second-chance, contemporary romance set against the world of citizen science and paleontology. They talk about the science and history baked into the book, why romance deserves more credit as an intellectual pursuit, what it means to write a protagonist who weaponizes her own rules to avoid being hurt again, and how a discipline built on unearthing the past became the perfect metaphor for love, grief, and the people we're always becoming.Fossil Feud comes out July 28, 2026!Topics: Maggie North, Fossil Feud, second chance romance, STEM, paleontology, Bone Wars, women's anger, complex female characters, heteropessimism, arrival fallacy, Jurassic ParkReading Recommendations:Fiction:Fossil Feud by Maggie NorthCherry Baby by Rainbow RowellAugust Lane by Regina BlackWill They or Won’t They by Ava WilderScot & Bothered by Alexandra KileyMistakenly Saving the VillainA World Without YouNon-Fiction:Losing Gus: The Cost of Commercial Dinosaur Actions by Kristi Curry RogersBittersweet by Susan KanePodcasts:The Bone Wars | History This WeekPaleontological Frauds | Strange AnimalsThe Great Himalayan Golmaal | The Rearview PodcastFollow & Support:Follow us on Instagram.Send inquiries to pagesandprejudicepod@gmail.com.Buy merch on Threadless to support the show!Hosted by:adrie rose (@adrierising on bsky, twitter, instagram, & tiktok)Stitch (@stitch on bsky, @stitchmediamix on instagram)Guests:Maggie North writes deeply emotional, strangely hilarious romance novels about introverts, STEM, Canada, and other overlooked, underappreciated things you’d love to discover. A doctor by day, author by night, she lives in Ottawa, Canada with the man she met in ninth grade, their kid, and a rotating cast of hypoallergenic aquarium friends. Maggie enjoys being autistic a lot more since her diagnosis as an adult. Her books include RULES FOR SECOND CHANCES, THE RIPPLE EFFECT, and FOSSIL FEUD.Music: ⁠⁠HOLY MOLY⁠⁠ by Shane Ivers

Show Notes:Follow us on Instagram.Send inquiries to pagesandprejudicepod@gmail.com.Buy merch on Threadless or become a Patron to support the show!Hosted by:Adrie Rose (@adrierising on bsky, twitter, instagram, & tiktok)Stitch (@stitch on bsky, @stitchmediamix on instagram)Guests:Another Bad Salad (@anotherbadsald on tiktok and youtube) aka the Bob’s Burger’s ladyIt’s not a phase mom, this is who I am!Adrie and guest Holly (anotherbadsalad) dig into the "manic pixie goth girl" — the pop culture archetype of the politically-charged, aesthetically-consumed goth girl in teen and animated media, and why her actual beliefs almost always get tossed aside in favor of her look. From Ally Sheedy's makeover in The Breakfast Club to Jane Lane vs. Daria, Marceline's emotional labor in Adventure Time, Debbie Hyman in American Dad, the Hex Girls, and the underrated Wendell & Wild — they trace how goth girls get fetishized, disposed, tied to trauma, and rarely allowed to just be. Plus: the racialization of goth aesthetics, the goth-to-supernatural pipeline, and why the Catholic Church is actually very goth.Topics: goth girl trope, manic pixie dream girl, media criticism, animated media, fetishization, teen media, Daria, Danny Phantom, Teen Titans, American Dad, Wendell & Wild, fandom, representation, goth aestheticsReading Recommendations:Fiction:The Vampire Kisses series by Ellen SchreiberLeech by Hiron EnnesTelevision:Chilling Adventures of SabrinaMTV’s DowntownO’GradyFilm:The CraftForbidden FruitsPast Episodes:E45: Once You Go AlienE49: A Thin Line Between Love & HateE54: Gay Twitches! Gay Twitches!Music: ⁠⁠HOLY MOLY⁠⁠ by Shane Ivers

Show Notes:Follow us on Instagram.Send inquiries to pagesandprejudicepod@gmail.com.Buy merch on Threadless or become a Patron to support the show!Hosted by:Adrie Rose (@adrierising on bsky, twitter, instagram, & tiktok)Stitch (@stitch on bsky, @stitchmediamix on instagram)Leave room for Jesus, but it’s a 20 year old virgin on tiktok.Adrie and Stitch dig into how purity culture is making a comeback — not just from the religious right, but from within progressive fandom and online spaces — and why the result looks eerily similar from both ends of the political spectrum. They explore the "SVU-ification" of media, the rise of kink-shaming in fandom, why nuance is dead on the internet, and how algorithm-driven outrage is producing a generation that can't sit with discomfort — let alone articulate it. From discourse about problematic romance fiction and RPF, to the harassment of actors for being straight, to the hot takes on God of War's Begtse, this episode asks: are we actually protecting anyone, or are we just doing purity culture from the left?Topics: purity culture, fandom discourse, kink-shaming, consent language, SVU, romance fiction, RPF, problematic faves, fanfic, AO3, Heated Rivalry, and more.Reading Recommendations:Fiction:The Planet of Kings series by Lee Savino and Tabitha BlackThe Alpha Horde series by Milana JacksCold Sweat by Vera Valentinebasically anything by Loki ReynardManeaterRoyal ReincarnationThe Mating of ElvesHolesome Romance Music: ⁠⁠HOLY MOLY⁠⁠ by Shane Ivers

Show Notes:Follow us on Instagram.Send inquiries to pagesandprejudicepod@gmail.com. Buy merch on Threadless or become a Patron to support the show!Hosted by:Adrie Rose (@adrierising on bsky, twitter, instagram, & tiktok)Stitch (@stitch on bsky, @stitchmediamix on instagram)And what if I said erotica is a social good?From ukiyo-e erotica and Tijuana Bibles to webtoons and Kickstarter comics, Stitch and Adrie trace the surprisingly rich history of graphic romance. They cover the rise and fall of 1950s romance comics, the Comics Code's self-inflicted wounds, the erasure of Black and queer stories, and how manga, indie publishers, and the internet finally gave readers the romantic and erotic comics they actually wanted.Topics: romance comics history, Comics Code Authority, Fredric Wertham, manga and shojo, graphic novels, webtoons, queer comics, Jackie Ormes, Women in Refrigerators, Kickstarter adult comicsReading Recommendations:Fiction:IDW’s Weird Love Romance Comic Anthologies from 2014Break Protocols by SarybombArtificial Love by Maria LlovetThe Mafia NannyLore Olympus by Rachel SmytheSmut Peddler Presents: My Monster BoyfriendSunstone by Stjepan Šejić Starfighter by hamletmachineLucifer’s Garden by hamletmachineSuper Fun Sexy Times by Meredith McClarenVampire Knight by Matsuri HinoOuran High School Host Club by Bisco HatoriNon-Fiction:Comic Book Women: Characters, Creators, and Culture in the Golden Age by Peyton Brunet and Blair Davis with an introduction by Trina RobbinsLove on the Racks: A History of American Romance Comics by Michelle NolanSequential CrushRace and Romance from Love Between the CoversPodcasts:Service95 Book Club hosted by Dua LipaThe Great Comic Book Scare | History This WeekMusic: ⁠⁠HOLY MOLY⁠⁠ by Shane Ivers

Show Notes:Follow us on Instagram.Send inquiries to pagesandprejudicepod@gmail.com. Buy merch on Threadless or become a Patron to support the show!Hosted by:Adrie Rose (@adrierising on bsky, twitter, instagram, & tiktok)Stitch (@stitch on bsky, @stitchmediamix on instagram)Guests:Ella Dawson (@brosandprose on bsky and instagram) is an NYC-based sex and culture critic and the author of But How Are You, Really, a romance novel about college reunions and millennial angst. She is also the host of the Rebel Ever After podcast about progressive romance novels.If I’m going to suffer at the hands of a man, I would at least like a little narrative consistency.Hosts Adrie and Stitch explore the history of the romance hero — from bodice-ripping pirates to soft cinnamon rolls — and why the sociopath anti-hero is making a loud, alarming comeback. Then they sit down with Ella Dawson (Rebel Ever After podcast, But How Are You Really?) to talk about why readers are drawn to these narratives, what the rise of dark romance says about hetero pessimism and the modern dating landscape, the genre collapse between erotica and romance, and why asking "why do you like what you like?" shouldn't be a threat.Topics: dark romance, alpha heroes, romance tropes, genre criticism, consent in fiction, BookTok, feminist theoryReading Recommendations:Fiction:The Songs of Submission series by CD ReissThe Right to Bear Arms by Vivienne SavageTo Conquer a Highlander by Mary WineThe Fever series by Karen Marie MoningDevoured: The Serpent and the Pomegranate by Eunren and GamjajeonOne Night Only by seowooLove is an Illusion: the Queen by FargoSteel Under Silk by snobThe Devil in Winter by Lisa KleypasPot Shot by Laura Piper LeeWilling Prey by Allie OleanderBack for Seconds by Betty CorelloMusic: ⁠⁠HOLY MOLY⁠⁠ by Shane Ivers

Show Notes:Follow us on Instagram.Send inquiries to pagesandprejudicepod@gmail.com. Buy merch on Threadless to support the show!Hosted by:Adrie Rose (@adrierising on bsky, twitter, instagram, & tiktok)Stitch (@stitch on bsky, @stitchmediamix on instagram)Unfortunately, romance wouldn’t sell as well if the FMCs blocked the MMC every time he was annoying.Reading Recommendations:Fiction:Sensual Stress Relief by PochitaroThe Villainess is being Pleasure Interrogated by a Steely Knight Tell Me When You're Full! By pokerouI Got Isekai'd as a Succubus and Became the Familiar of a Super Sadistic Magician!Faeling by SE Wendel Hunger in His Blood by Zoey DravenOmega’s Gambit by Flora QuincyThe Georgina Kincaid series by Richelle MeadNon-Fiction:The Great Big Anita Blake Reread: Approaching the Ardeur (An Explainer)Music: ⁠⁠HOLY MOLY⁠⁠ by Shane Ivers