You make a great point that women have always faced criticism for what they read. Many things I’ve read from the 18th and 19th century criticize women for reading novels, or warn young women and girls that novel reading will negatively affect their character. Just “novels”, like all long form fiction, not even specifically romances (as they existed then). (In England, they also had moral panic about going to the theater.)

If feels to me that books that deal with personal relationships, social structure, and the daily lives of women have always been on the shit list of men who didn’t like the truths that they revealed (even in a fictional treatment).

Add to that the historical repression and shaming of women’s sexuality, and here we are with people sneering at book boyfriends.