Most know of “Fifty Shades of Grey,” even if they haven’t read the garbage story of shy, college student Anastasia Steele and wealthy and influential businessman Christian Grey. As the novel unravels, it showcases an abusive relationship made to look like romance; the biggest risk here being that girls who relate to Anastasia might end up thinking this is actually love.
The story portrays Anastasia as a dependent character from the start. She never appears to be happy in the novel unless she pleases Christian first. The gender roles in the book date back to a period of time when a woman’s job was to cook, clean, and keep her husband happy. The female author, E.L. James, perpetuates old stereotypes that women everywhere have been working tirelessly for years to eliminate. Contrary to some other’s opinions, the sole purpose of a women is not to please her man.
This is a fact Christian chooses to overlook when he asks Ana to sign a contract to partake in a BDSM relationship,where each partner takes on the role of either dominant or submissive, sometimes using bondage, with him.
“I don’t do romance,” he tell her, but that’s exactly what the book and movie is promoted to be.
According to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, on average 24 people per minute are victims of rape, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner in the United States — more than 12 million women and men over the course of a year.
As the amount of people in abusive relationships increases, it seems like our society blames the victim or does not even recognize domestic violence as violence at all, as long as the perpetrator plays football and make at least seven figures, that is.
James’ series just furthers the issue, potentially conditioning others to think what they read is okay, not sexual assault. After all, it’s romantic.
At the University of Illinois Chicago, a student was recently arrested after he sexually assaulted his classmate. He tied her up with belts and proceeded to whip her and then rape her. The student claimed he was trying to reenact a “Fifty Shades of Grey” scene.
This is just one extreme instance, so let’s make this more simplistic. In a Daily Mail Online interview, a sixteen-year-old girl who has read the first book and is planning to read the rest of the trilogy admitted to taking notes on it so she can practice with her boyfriend.
According to loveisrespect.org, the partnership between the National Domestic Violence Hotline and Break the Cycle, girls and young women between the ages of 16 and 24 experience the highest rate of intimate partner violence, almost triple the national average.Incidentally this exact same age group makes up one third of the series’ 45 million copies sold.
When sexual assault is portrayed as love, it causes people to think abuse is a normal part of a healthy relationship. Sexual sadists get pleasure from inflicting pain or humiliation onto others. Inflicting pain on a partner is in no way part of a healthy relationship.
However, there are programs out there to combat the potentially ill effects of the book. Break the Cycle is a program that supports young people building healthy relationships and hopes to one day create a culture free of abuse. They do so through prevention education, which teaches the warning signs of abuse and abusive relationships. It also provides individuals with legal information to help ensure the safety of young adults who are in danger or at-risk of domestic violence.
By no means am I saying to swear off the book, the sequels, and the movie; getting caught up in the cultural phenomenon is almost inevitable. But, be mindful that the sexual sadism you are going to encounter in a “50 Shades of Grey” scenario is not any type of healthy or acceptable relationship and should not be considered love.
Taylor Christensen | Opinion Editor
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