I completely support the right of my sisters-in-arms to object to 50 Shades of Grey and to entreaty people to give the purchase price to a domestic violence shelter instead.
But not because the book portrays domestic violence. It doesn’lt. It is a badly written romance that plays on old well-worn tropes, about a sadistic powerful man who seduces and ingenue.
It’s basically Jane Eyre with chains. Only not as sexy.
Objecting to it on the grounds that it depicts abuse is wrong. It depicts a seduction that might not appeal to vanilla or prudish readers, but it’s not abusive. It’s an insult to practically every woman I know to say it is.
a) it’s insulting to women who have experienced *real* violent, terrifying and dangerous abuse
b) it’s an insult to the bdsm community, which prides itself on exploring trust within consenting relationsips, and which abhors abuse
c) it’s an insult to women generally – it problematises their sexuality rather than celebrating diversity, creativity, trust and openness.
So, yes, don’t buy the book, It’s shite. Buy some proper well written feminist bdsm porn instead and enjoy yourself. Object to it because we deserve better written soft porn than this clichéd boring drivel
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And quit getting your panties in a twist about a dungeon with safe words. Fight against real abuse instead. 3000 women were killed in Australia last year by violent partners or ex-partners. 2 were killed by terrorists. Guess how much money went into fighting terrorism, and how much went into tackling domestic abuse.
That’s the real scandal we should be highlighting on the 14th February. Not badly written soft porn. Fight the proper fights, girls, and let those who want to lust after Jamie Dornan do it without censure.
kirsteinrummery 