Fifty Shades of Fantasy
I've never been too intrigued by all the 50 Shades of Grey concept.
As a social work major, reading the first book in the series and watching the first movie with my aunt (yes- my AUNT...), all I could think of when I was exposed to that plot was the lack of focus on Christian's real need and outcry for help. The novel flips the 'usual' narrative of the woman being the victim and her inability to retain a healthy relationship, and shows us a man who seeks domination and control, which- some argue- is what women *really* want.
I will not be the first to argue that point. In "The Trouble With Prince Charming," Gay references 50 Shades and how the author uses a disgusting sense of erotica that we can't help but be turned on by, to romanticise the idea of pure abuse, submission, and toxicity in the text. I will commend the story on one thing: Christian is adamant about consent. Mostly because it could result in a MAJOR lawsuit against him if ever interpreted otherwise, but at least he has that concept grasped, different from many of his rich, white, male counterparts who are high up in business and in the 'spotlight' of society. The fantasy grasps the attention of many, while all I could cling to was the social worker in me who wanted to get him screened and in intensive psychotherapy.
*sigh*
As a social work major, reading the first book in the series and watching the first movie with my aunt (yes- my AUNT...), all I could think of when I was exposed to that plot was the lack of focus on Christian's real need and outcry for help. The novel flips the 'usual' narrative of the woman being the victim and her inability to retain a healthy relationship, and shows us a man who seeks domination and control, which- some argue- is what women *really* want.
I will not be the first to argue that point. In "The Trouble With Prince Charming," Gay references 50 Shades and how the author uses a disgusting sense of erotica that we can't help but be turned on by, to romanticise the idea of pure abuse, submission, and toxicity in the text. I will commend the story on one thing: Christian is adamant about consent. Mostly because it could result in a MAJOR lawsuit against him if ever interpreted otherwise, but at least he has that concept grasped, different from many of his rich, white, male counterparts who are high up in business and in the 'spotlight' of society. The fantasy grasps the attention of many, while all I could cling to was the social worker in me who wanted to get him screened and in intensive psychotherapy.
*sigh*
Fifty Shades of Grey is definitely a work that was discussed a lot when it was first published especially by feminists. One interesting approach in thinking about if Christian is really "prince charming." If we were to remove his ridiculous wealth, and made him an average looking man, his actions would seem stalkerish and Anna would have called the police shortly after his first creepy encounter. This fantasy where there's a wealthy man who is interested in you and is jealous and possessive of you is great because he is wealthy and attractive, but once those material attributes go away, you are in an abusive relationship. Would you be happy with a partner who micro-managed your life, dictated what you ate, what contraceptive you used, required you to exercise a certain amount of days a week, and cut you off from your friends and family? 50 Shades of Grey also gives people a false perception of BDSM and portrays it as if one's sexual desires cannot be separated from their daily motivations which is incredibly flawed. Having a consensual dom-sub relationship in the bedroom is not the same as having an abusive relationship.
ReplyDeleteClearly 50 Shades of Grey gets me heated, but you made some excellent points and I'm glad you wrote about this!