Williams 1 Kristy Williams Malcolm Campbell English 1103 3 October 2013 Shades of Gray in the Feminist Movement American

society has a tendency to become obsessed with the next big thing. Franchises come in the forms of novels, films, television, and accompanying merchandise to empty our pockets and fill a void inside of our souls. There is nothing relatively new about them, nor is there any denying what makes trends so enticing; they give people a chance to embrace something that stretches beyond themselves, and fill them with the ecstasy and joy of new experiences. The current phenomenon that is sweeping the nation, and the entire western world, comes in the form of Mommy Porn. Fifty Shades of Grey by British author E.L. James was published by an independent company in Australia in 2011, and became the bestselling book in the United States in 2012; its two sequels, Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed, followed in second and fourth place, only to be rivaled by the Hunger Games (USA Today). Though critics have panned the novel for its poor writing quality, their opinions seem to have had little effect on its success. Fifty Shades of Grey is current the fastest selling book ever in both e-publications and physical copies (Williams). The plotline follows the internal monologue of a young woman, Anastasia Steele, who agrees to become involved in a bondage/disciple, dominance/submissive, sadism/masochism

Williams 2 (BDSM) relationship with a handsome and wealthy entrepreneur, Christian Grey. Though many people love the storyline and characters, the novel has come with its fair share of controversy and criticism. The main arguments against the novel are focused around womens issues, gender equality and abuse. While some praise the success of this novel as a sexual liberation for females, many feminists feel that the novel hurts the movement towards gender equality by romanticizing patriarchy and male dominance. Though the argument over female sexuality in the feminist movement is by no means a new discussion, it is still a sensitive issue. Since the late eighteen hundreds, feminists have been dealing with this topic, but mostly as a backburner issue. Original feminism sought equality in a heterosexual relationship and is characterized by, but certainly not limited to, the push towards womens suffrage. (Hewitt 15) The second wave of feminism, also called Hegemonic feminism, began in the late 1960s alongside the civil rights and anti-war movements. In this phase, sexuality and reproductive rights were dominant issues, and much energy was focused on passing the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution guaranteeing social equality regardless of sex. (Rampton) Many also believe that there is a third wave of feminism that began in the 1990s, but this is hard to define because, if there is such a phase, then it is unfolding before our eyes. Some of the main issues in this wave include the black and minority feminist movement, as well as the female image in media. However, with the media issue, there are different ideas about how feminism should be portrayed, especially in regards to sexuality. In the so-called sex-wars, pornography has become a major topic of debate. The two major sides in this issue are the procensorship and the anticensorship factions. The procensorship argues that pornography has led to the objectification of women, and promotes a

Williams 3 system of patriarchy. In her book, Reconcilable Differences, Lynn Chancer criticizes this movement: This side is prone to underrate both the costs of sexual repressiveness, once the state intervenes to restrict pornography, and the human risks of strict judgmentalism and unquestionable dogmatisms. She also claims that this argument ignores the sexual desires of women, suppressing them along with male sexuality in an attempt to for a utopia. The anticensorship side attempts to embrace pornography and female sexuality. It also argues for the constitutionality of pornography, and claim that censorship violates the civil liberties of citizens. Their goal is to promote sexual freedom and encourage women to admit to their desires. However, this side is also not without fault. They tend to ignore the idea that many women feel [alienated] by male dominated sex industry. In this argument, supports of the Fifty Shades trilogy seems to fall into the anticensorship category; it is about female sexual liberation, and was written by a female author. Moreover, it has encouraged many women to openly discuss their sexuality, a topic that has been considered taboo in the past. However, the inadvertent promotion of abusive relationships has been heavily criticized by those who typically support this faction. In her review for the Chicago Tribune, Jessica Reaves admits that [her] first thought, on hearing about the runaway success of Fifty Shades of Grey, the erotic e-novel by (female) British television executive E L James, was something along the lines of Woohoo! Women embracing their sexuality! Let's hear it for feminism! Though once she started reading the books, her opinion was quick to change. In her own words, there's absolutely nothing wrong with "Fifty Shades of Grey" as a concept It's the book's execution that's problematic. Well, the execution and the characters. And the writing. And also the plot. Her criticisms are targeted at specific instances throughout the novel, such as the protagonists frequent reminders to the

Williams 4 reader of how attractive and wealthy Christian is, and how the mental instability of Christian is romanticized. Reaves, as well as many others, see Anastasias submissive nature as damaging to the feminist cause, and her attachment to Christian as promoting tolerance towards abusive relationships. In contrast, those interviewed in Richard Perrys New York Times review emphasize how much sexual liberation the novel has allowed them to have. Many women accredit the series with relighting [the] fire under a lot of marriage beds. They also say that it has encourage conversations amongst friends about sexual desires and fantasies. Even those who agree that James writing can sway towards asinine as time agree that pornographic writing has a certain purpose. French author Catherine Millet once wrote For me, a pornographic book is functional, written to help you to get excited. And James work has certainly done just that for many women. But pornographic material is far from the only controversy that had been associated with the series. The BDSM community has called foul on the portrayal of their lifestyle; members say the lack of communication and consent between the characters makes their activity abusive, as opposed to masochistic/sadistic, and this opinion is not limited to those in the BDSM community. Several critics have suggested that the relationship between Ana and Christian mimics that of real abusive relationship. A study done by the Journal of Womens Health analyses instances of abuse in Fifty Shades of Grey, and cites examples of emotional abuse within the first week that the couple meets. After Ana drives to Seattle to do an interview for her school newspaper with the infamous Mr. Grey, he somehow winds up at her place of employment by chance just a week later. This incident is a classic example of stalking, since Ana never mentioned where she worked, much

Williams 5 less the hours and days when she would be on duty. He then asks her to help him find a few items, and as she assists him the two are greeted by one of Anas male friends. During this interaction, Grey acts obviously cold and distant. His anger/withdrawal over Anastasia talking to a male colleague is an intimidation/threat intended to induce her withdrawal from connections with others.(Bonomi 736) His behavior implies that he feels possessive of Anaa classic sign of abusedespite their lack of relationship. Throughout the novel, Christian continues to exemplify signs of an abuser: he isolates her from her family and friends, refers to her in the possessive form, pressures her into sexual activities that she is not completely comfortable with, and one more than one occasion he uses alcohol as a tool to coerce Ana into giving into his demands. In order to avoid his rage, Ana constantly gives in to Christian. She does all of this for a chance at normalcy, and believes that she can eventually achieve an emotionally healthy and loving relationship if she strives to make Christian happy. This is a trademark characteristic of abused parties; once in the relationship, Ana holds on to positive characteristics of Christianhis appearance and wealthto stay convince that he is a good person, and his bad behavior can be remedied by her submission.