romantopia

R1O1M3A1N1T1O1P3I1A1
UK/ˌɹəʊ.mənˈtəʊ.pi.ə/US/ˌɹoʊ.mənˈtoʊ.pi.ə/

noun

A fantasy world which serves as an ideal setting for romance as typically imagined by women.

Scrabble 14

Meanings

nounromantopia (usually uncountable, plural romantopias)

plural romantopias

  1. uncountableusuallyA fantasy world which serves as an ideal setting for romance as typically imagined by women.

    In opposition to romantopia and intimatopia and their respective romance and intimacy foci, paratopia’s interest in the fantastic is more radical.

    2009, Joseph Carl Linden Brennan (October 2009), I am your worst fear, I am your best fantasy: new approaches to slash fiction (PDF), BA honors thesis, Department of Media and Communications, University of Sydney (retrieved 2017-11-29; archived from the original 2017-11-29), page 66
    2 more examples

    But why, one might wonder, is there no commercial erotic genre that combines the ingredients of pornotopia and romantopia, thereby doubling the potential audience and the potential profit?

    2001, Catherine Salmon and Donald Symons (2001), Warrior lovers: erotic fiction, evolution, and female sexuality (New Haven, Connecticut, USA: Yale University Press), page 68

    The crucial difference between romantopia and intimatopia is that in intimatopia, intimacy is normally established before sexual interaction and is always maintained after it, whereas in romantopia, it is only established by sexual interaction and is frequently transitory.

    2006, Elizabeth Woledge, "Intimatopia: genre intersections between slash and the mainstream", chapter 3 (pages 97–114) in Karen Hellekson and Kristina Busse, editors (2006), Fan fiction and fan communities in the age of the Internet: new essays, (Jefferson, North Carolina, USA: McFarland), page 106

    Synonyms: Romancelandia

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA fantasy world which serves as an ideal setting for romance as typically imagined by women.

Origin

Blend of romance + utopia; originally coined by evolutionary psychologists Catherine Salmon and Donald Symons in their book Warrior Lovers: Erotic Fiction, Evolution, and Female Sexuality (2001; →ISBN) to describe the setting in romance novels.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with romantopia

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

romantopia. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/romantopia

MLA

“romantopia.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/romantopia. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “romantopia,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/romantopia.

Source: romantopia on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.