Jennifer Weiner and chick-lit as a genre

Jen Weiner has a great post about the New York Times mention of her new book. Here's the mention:

Jennifer Weiner's "Little Earthquakes" is also geared to a precise demographic group: brand-new mothers. "Babies make strange bedfellows" is its ultimate wisdom.

Ms. Weiner made a splash on the beach-book scene with her first novel, "Good in Bed." It was candy-colored and charming; "Little Earthquakes" strives for the same effect. But this new book is more formulaic, thanks to three characters who are drawn together by the prospect of new motherhood and fascinated by every last aspect of childbirth.

Reader interest in anesthesia, diapers and breast-feeding is presumed. Husband- and mother-in-law-related grievances also shape the story, as do baby-related emergencies. Jenna Jameson footnote: one of the book's young mothers brings home a porn DVD from a series in which Ms. Jameson figures. This is mistaken for a kiddie video by the character's mother-in-law.

In her blog, Jennifer mentions that when a new mother writes about new mothers, it is put in the "chick-lit" genre. When a man writes about family, it is considered "Literature with a capital L":

Will LITTLE EARTHAQUAKES be of especial interest and poignancy to new mothers? Probably. Will it be of interest to those readers exclusively? For my sake, and my publishers’, I sincerely hope not.

But that’s the typical reflexive, simplistic, sexist take on chick-lit for you: produced by women writers who aren’t smart or creative enough to see past their own eyelashes and create vivid imaginary worlds; consumed by women readers too stupid or silly or self-involved to even want to read about something that hasn’t already, or might someday, happen to them.

If you’re Tom Perrotta or Benjamin Cheever writing about the joys and frustrations of family living, universal appeal is a given, and it’s Literature with a capital L, worthy of everyone’s attention, not to mention a full review.

If you’re me, well, if it’s by a new mommy, it’s only going to be for new mommies, so get to the back of the bus with the politicians and the porn star.

emphasis mine.

I've loved Jennifer's past two books, so I pre-ordered Little Earthquakes (I rarely ever buy books I haven't previously checked out from the library, but I make a couple of exceptions). Even in my own mind I associate her with chick-lit. I don't necessarily give that a negative connotation, but I know that the publishing world does tend to regard chick-lit as light, fluffy stuff (and yet they make serious money off of it). She really says it best in her post.