In Defense of a Thriller Trope: “Damsels in Distress” ‹ CrimeReads

Women in peril is a common theme in fiction. Crafting storylines about damsels in distress has long been a trope in the thriller genre. That theme dominated the subject matter of pulp fiction way back in the twentieth century.

A broad hint of the plot within those paperback novels was provided by the cover art: garish color images of attractive young women, invariably bound, eyes wide with terror, popping out of a form-fitting dress (usually red).

From our contemporary perspective, were those women-in-peril stories lurid? Absolutely. Did they objectify women? Most certainly. But the market for those stories didn't end with pulp novels. It still exists in fiction, nonfiction, films, and television.