/lit/ - Literature

What the fuck is "genre fiction".
As opposed to what? Non-genre fiction? Fiction that doesn't belong to a genre? But that's not possible.

I'm sure this term came about for valid reasons and it's not retarded on purpose. But as it stands, it is not self-explainatory. A term that isn't self-explainatory and instead relies on obtuse external knowledge is bad, it's a misnomer.

Now please explain to the folks at home what "genre fiction" is. Is it the "character actor" or "immersive sim" but for literature?