What is a Reverse Harem?

This weekend I came across a post on Reddit discussing the Reverse Harem genre and how what we call it may or may not have unanticipated connotations. I have been thinking a lot about how the Reverse Harem genre has evolved since I first became interested in it and, more recently, how requests on the blog have evolved. After researching this topic off and on, I decided it was time I actually took a stab at articulating my thoughts. 

Etymology

In my university days, I had a fabulous professor who focussed heavily on the etymology of words, word choice, and their deliberate use in literature. Etymology looks at the root of a word, with a focus on its evolution and usage over time. 

When researching the Reverse Harem genre, I focused on the word harem and its usage and evolution over time. The best historical summary can be found in Urban Dictionary (of all places!). Road Gypsy explains the history of the word harem, from its Turkish origins, meaning dwelling place of women, to a comparative example in ancient Greece and Persia. 

The English language ‘borrowed’ the term harem in the mid-1700s, making the distinction that a harem meant what we traditionally understand today, a group of females in a sexual relationship with a single male. Many were considered exploitative, and the English language included enslaved people and forced lovers in its definition.