There’s this little book series, you might have heard of it, called Fifty Shades of Grey, and it’s making big waves in the romance world – and beyond. There’s a lot of controversy surrounding it. As you might be figuring by now, I’m attracted to controversy.
50 Shades started off as Twilight fan fiction then released as an erotic story that has crossed over to gain readers of all genres. It features a young college student, Anastasia, and her rapid but intense relationship with a young CEO with a traumatic childhood and a fondness for whipping women in his
“Red Room of Pain” (i.e. BDSM playroom).
“Red Room of Pain” (i.e. BDSM playroom).
Women who read a lot of BDSM are up in arms because they say 50 Shades has portrayed BDSM as a bad thing a person should heal from instead of an acceptable lifestyle if practiced safely. But if you take a look at the Goodreads reviews you’ll see most people love the books.
In fact, it got so much attention that the Today Show did a special on it. Apparently 50 Shades is the newest trend to hit the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Women are talking about the haunted billionaire and his dark fetish.
Opinions abound on this subject. “Experts” weigh in on whether BDSM, specifically sadomasochism, is healthy. Long gone are the days of S&M being considered a mental illness, or so I thought. In fact, it’s been proven there is not a higher rate of trauma among those who practice BDSM than in the general population. Yet the “expert” on the Today show regarded the books as encouraging violence against women. Which is not only extremely ignorant but who on earth would call a man who’s never read the books in question an expert on the subject, or on women’s sexuality, in the first place? Just because it says Doctor in front of his name and he has his own show doesn’t mean he’s smart. I think Dr. Phil proved that one.
But I digress.
I’ve read the three book series and I enjoyed it very much. Does it portray BDSM as a dark and unhealthy need? A little. Could that be true for some people? Absolutely. It’s all a matter of perspective. Is a glass of wine bad for the majority of the population? No. Is it for an alcoholic? You see what I mean. Something healthy for one person could be unhealthy for another. There are plenty of erotic books that shed a positive light on BDSM, why not write about the other side?
What I find ironic – and irritatingly inconsistent – is how authors go on about censorship regarding taboo subjects most of the population finds horrifying yet I don’t know how many times I’ve heard the words, “EL James shouldn’t write….blah, blah,blah (elitist mumbo-jumbo).” Isn’t that that the same as censorship? We silence each other by discrediting work we don’t agree with yet claim we’re anti-censorship. Seems hypocritical to me.
Back to the Today special. You’re all are dying to know what I think about it, right? Right? Too bad. I’m telling you anyway.
Women are talking about sex. How is that a bad thing? What’s a beautiful gift we’ve been given as a human race has been made shameful, and anything that deviates from what we’ve been raised to accept as the norm is misunderstood at best. But now they are discussing not only sex, but kinky sex! Fantasies they may have thought crazy or weird are being brought out into the open and discussed freely. And how much do you want to bet that this is affecting them in the bedroom too? I think it’s fabulous.
I’m not advocating shouting your top ten favorite positions from the rooftops, but if women in private book clubs are opening up to each other, learning from each other, supporting one another because of this series…well…I tip my hat to EL James.
Link to the news segment
