What is "chick lit"

n. (context often pejorative English) Literature perceived to appeal to, or be marketed at, young women, typically concerning romantic dilemmas.

Chick lit or Chick literature is genre fiction, which “consists of heroine-centered narratives that focus on the trials and tribulations of their individual protagonists.” The genre often addresses issues of modern womanhood – from romantic relationships to female friendships to matters in the workplace – in humorous and lighthearted ways. At its onset, chick lit’s protagonists tended to be “single, white, heterosexual, British and American women in their late twenties and early thirties, living in metropolitan areas.” The genre became popular in the late 1990s, with chick lit titles topping bestseller lists and the creation of imprints devoted entirely to chick lit. Chick lit critics generally agree that British author Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones’s Diary (1996) is the “ur-text” of chick lit.