Naked Chests and Coy Backs

Have you noticed how many paperback romance novels have naked-chested men on them lately? Actually, not the whole man--no head or legs, just the chest, which looks so pumped with steroids that it might burst open any moment. I have a theory that it's the same chest on every book, and, like the anecdotal Christmas fruitcake, just keeps moving from cover to cover.

Their chests are as hairless as their jaws, a big switch from a decade or so ago, when the leading men were all deliciously hairy-chested beasts who often sported long hair and five o-clock shadows. Many were even bearded. And a decade before that, mustaches were all the rage.

I notice that female cover illustration is running to coy full-length rear views, preferably with dress fastenings half-undone. Well, at least it's an improvement over every other cover featuring a stiletto heel.

What's next? Who knows. Just so nobody brings back Fabio.