Jarmakani, A. (2011). Desiring the big bad blade: Racing the sheikh in desert romances. American Quarterly, 63(4), 895-928.

The author has demonstrated that in the romance novel genre, readers may come across an unexpected object of sensual attachment: a sheikh, sultan, or desert prince hero who virtually always couples with a white western woman.

In the same vein, in the realm of mass-market romance novels, the sheikh-hero of any ordinary desert romance is only one of many conceivable alpha-male heroes, and he retains a niche and even has a handful of blogs and an instructive Web site devoted specifically to him.

Jarmakani, A. (2011). Desiring the big bad blade: Racing the sheikh in desert romances. American Quarterly, 63(4), 895-928.