Embracing and Resisting Romantic Fantasies as the Rhetorical Vision on a SeniorNet Discussion Board

A fantasy theme analysis of a SeniorNet discussion board found participants simultaneously embracing and resisting the relationships constructed in traditional romance narratives. The rhetorical vision that emerged illustrates how life-span conditions facilitate talk about romantic relationships. Three fantasies coalesced to construct the rhetorical vision “good men are hard to find”: the knight in shining armor, searching for a bargain, and fishing for men. Through these fantasies, the rhetorical community resisted female subordination found in traditional romance narratives while embracing the need for love, partnership, and physical intimacy. As the heroines in these fantasies, women were constructed as independent, vital, and fulfilled, yet wanting to find heterosexual partnerships. The heroes upheld this construction of “woman,” while the villains infringed upon females' valued independence. In this way, narratives that evidenced the struggle over the meaning of romance were tools for the participants' empowerment.