‘‘Double Crap!’’ Abuse and Harmed Identity in Fifty "Shades of Grey"

Very interesting article, with a detailed analysis, - great!  but with a moral judgment.

article by Amy E. Bonomi, PhD, Lauren E. Altenburger, and Nicole L. Walton, MSW

Intimate partner violence (IPV) affects between 25%  and 44% of women and significantly compromises their physical and mental health. Despite the high prevalence of  IPV and adverse health impacts, underlying societal conditions create the context for such violence to occur, including the normalization and romanticizing of violence in popular culture. (…)
In this manuscript, we undertook an in-depth analysis of abuse patterns in one of the Western world’s most popular novel series—Fifty Shades.

 

The Fifty Shades plot involves central tensions between BDSM practices and romance. As a general practice, BDSM can include a range of activities that may be played out within and outside of sexual contexts; typically the activities include aspects of power and pain, with consent (agreement about the activities from involved parties). Within the context of consensual BDSM relationships, substance abuse negates consent, negotiations and contracts are taken seriously, and boundaries are respected.46 Additionally, while there are variations in opinions about what constitutes ‘‘acceptable BDSM,’’ many involved in BDSM are uncomfortable with activities that perpetuate traditional gender role dynamics, such as rape and domestic violence scenes. In Fifty Shades, the couple’s BDSM practices involve Christian as the ‘‘dominant’’ and Anastasia as the ‘‘submissive.’’ In sexual settings, Christian uses power and pain manipulations, such as restraint and physical punishment, which are both terrifying and exciting to Anastasia; as we will argue in this manuscript, Anastasia is coerced into these sexual activities. Christian also attempts power and pain exchanges in nonsexual settings, such as in the couple’s interactions at restaurants and in e-mail correspondence. While Christian seems comfortable concentrating on and nurturing BDSM aspects of the relationship, claiming he is not a ‘‘hearts and flowers’’ guy (p. 110), Anastasia  desires and values ‘‘romance’’; her ideas about ‘‘romance’’ include envisioning Christian as one of the literary characters she has read about, for example, ‘‘he’s not a dark knight at all but a white knight in shining, dazzling armor—a classic romantic hero—Sir Gawain or Sir Lancelot’’ (p. 69). The tensions between BDSM and romance are supported by characters with conflicting desires/standards for intimacy. Christian desires physical closeness, but only on his highly structured terms; Christian’s moods are mercurial, and he desires ultimate control over Anastasia under the guise of BDSM practices. Anastasia desires a deeper emotional connection with Christian than she actually experiences in the relationship; she desires a ‘‘normal’’ relationship, meaning one that ‘‘doesn’t need a 10-page agreement, a flogger, and carabiners in his playroom ceiling’’ (p. 199). To further nuance the couple’s intimacy dynamic, Christian is a victim of both childhood neglect and physical abuse (up until age 4) and childhood sexual abuse (in adolescence), and whose birth mother died when he was age 4, resulting in his adoption by the Grey family; Christian has lingering trauma and intimacy obstructions associated with these experiences, including a tendency to avoid emotional intimacy.49–53 Indeed, Christian has few friends and is not close to his adoptive family; Christian concentrates solely on his connection to Anastasia. Anastasia has a history of multiple fathers, including the death of her birth father—which suggests disruptions in her early life that could contribute to intimacy complications.

 

If you want to read the complete article : http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/jwh.2013.4344