Sunday, June 03, 2012

Christian website reviews incredibly popular new book "Fifty Shades of Grey." Gee I wonder if they liked it? Update: The Christian review is in fact a parody. Whoops!

 Courtesy of Christwire:

 E.L. James, is the filthy minded pervert behind this book, that has become a world wide hit. She has penned a disgusting hit that takes a beautiful young pure woman and turns her into a leather clad dominatrix S&M Whorelot. The book is about a sickening misogynist love affair that turns the woman into nothing better than a sex slave. 

In the book, the male character, mockingly and insultingly named Christian, finds a young virgin named Ann. He seduces her and makes her fall in love with him. But as they start to date she is told to sign a contract where she agrees to become his sex slave. The language reads like this: 

“The Dominant accepts the submissive as his, to own, to control dominate and discipline, for purpose of discipline [and]…for his own personal enjoyment.” 

As a woman and as a christian, I find this horribly offensive, and I am not alone. Dr. Drew Pinsky, television personality and board-certified specialist, on his HLN TV show had a group of women that endorsed the book as a love story, and yelled at them saying, “It’s a rape fantasy!”

Now I have only heard about this book recently, and am to understand that I am not the identified demographic the book was written for, but I have to say that after this description it has sort of piqued my interest.

I think the part of the "review" that tickles me the most is this woman's irritation that the person sexually dominating this young woman is named "Christian," as if based on the name his parents gave him he is locked into a certain church sanctioned type of behavior. (I cannot help but wonder how this person feels about Hispanic men named "Jesus" engaging in criminal behavior. "His name is Jesus he can't be robbing a liquor store!")

Now the headline for this piece is labeled "Is 'Fifty Shades of Grey' turning your wife into an S&M slut?" Which I think can be answered with a very obvious "No, it's not. Unless, of course, she is secretly predisposed to that type of sexuality that is."

Books do not change people from one type of individual to another, but they DO allow people to access information which may open them up to realities and possibilities that they were previously  unaware existed.

Christians, as a rule,  do not seem to like this free and easy access to information, especially when it digresses from THEIR carefully crafted interpretation of the world, where things are black and white, right or wrong, sinful or without sin.

That is why women exploring their sexuality scares the crap out of them.

But what they fail to understand is that, just like the one thing that horrible TV psychiatrist Drew Pinsky gets right, this is just a "fantasy."

However it is not really a "rape fantasy" because the protagonist, Anastasia Steele, CHOOSES to enter into this relationship with this "Christian" fellow, and rape, by its very nature, is not based on choice. Rape is an act of violence, not an act of sex.

It is interesting that the very thing which seems to terrify this religious book reviewer, seems relatively ho hum to a more worldly book reviewer like the Daily Beast's Katie Roiphe:

Why does this particular, watered-down, skinny-vanilla-latte version of sadomasochism have such cachet right now? Why have masses of women brought the book to the top of the New York Times bestseller list before it even hit the stores? Most likely it’s the happy convergence of the superficial transgression with comfortable archetypes, the blushing virgin and the whips. To a certain, I guess, rather large, population, it has a semipornographic glamour, a dangerous frisson of boundary crossing, but at the same time is delivering reassuringly safe, old-fashioned romantic roles. Reading Fifty Shades of Grey is no more risqué or rebellious or disturbing than, say, shopping for a pair of black boots or an arty asymmetrical dress at Barneys.

In other words, one  uptight, sex fearing, woman's cup of sinful poison, is another woman's somewhat pedestrian trip to go shoe shopping.

I have to say I am always amazed that these fundamentalists are still seemingly unaware that the more they demonize a movie, book, or piece of art, the MORE that people are determined to see it.

Anyhow I am just a man, so I am destined to remain always intrigued, yet confused, by the things which interest or inspire women.  However I have to say that anything which makes women more comfortable with their sexuality should not be seen as a bad thing.

Unless of course YOU are the one who wants to dominate women, or perhaps shudder in fear at the idea of their fully developed sexuality.

I'm just saying.

Update: How do I look with egg on my face?

I had never before heard of Christwire, but as it turns out it is a parody site, and was having a bit of fun with some of the controversy that this book has inspired.

Of course this book HAS attracted quite a lot of backlash from both the Christian community and feminists, so it is still an interesting topic to discuss. However my initial source, as it turns out, is NOT a reliable one for judging the impression that Christians have of this book.

Well I will not remove this post, even though it is proof positive that even I can be taken in by a well written parody once in awhile, because I still think it is an interesting topic and one that I believe will inspire a potentially fascinating debate.

Now if you will excuse me I am going to go back to Chrsitwire and read some of their other well written articles ridiculing the overly religious mindset. Oooh Zombies!

30 comments:

  1. Anonymous6:35 AM

    Katie Roiphe rocks! What a review!

    Always be dubious about the hype, there is more to it beyond the headlines and popularity.

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  2. Anonymous6:37 AM

    How could any woman be "inspired" by a book that slyly advocates male domination, even sexually? What woman in her right mind would sign such a "contract"? Hell, I don't even like "traditional" marriage as it's always been defined.

    I don't have the "prude" factor going here, but as a feminist, what I've seen about this book appalls me. And I was always sexually aggressive as a female. It's just a more overtly sexual "romance" type novel, like that Harlequin trash and others that anyone could write--and they did, using a template and just changing a few things around.

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    1. Anonymous7:47 AM

      Hear hear! I think this sounds like the same old, same old. Bosom buster formulaic Harelquin books, that old Marquis de Sade sex that requires somebody to be submissive. Working in a library I have been shocked by how many middle-age professional women embrace the “Twilight” series. I think soft porn hits the right note in stale marriages. What does this say about us? Have we not progressed sexually?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous7:49 AM

      And, cheers to Katie! I love the Slate book club!

      Delete
    3. Anonymous8:20 AM

      I guess they didn't even read the book. The protagonist doesn't even *sign* the contract. The whole story is that she steps a little toe into the BDSM world but rejects most of the power play, thus compelling the hero to bend to her. It's not all that shocking or particularly well done either. Tempest in a teapot. It seems the reviewer is making a commentary on "the lifestyle" rather than the actual book. Reviewing: Ur doing it wrong.

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    4. Anonymous8:21 AM

      So a woman is only a feminist if she embraces your preferred method of sexual expression. Here's a news flash: Some very aggressive and accomplished women also happen to be sexual submissives. Having one's sexual choices dictated to them by men OR other women is hardly a feminist stance. What is a feminist stance is knowing what you like and going after it. I don't need a man to tell me what I should want in bed; I don't need Gloria Allred telling me, either.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous8:21 AM

      Some of us are submissive sexually. This is not the same thing as being a doormat or mentally vacant.

      For a powerful woman, like myself, voluntarily giving over control to my completely trusted dominant male lover is an incredible experience. It's like flying.

      And he doesn't keep my power, he only borrows it in order to blow my mind.

      This is not to say there are not people out there who abuse this trust. Of course there are. That's why this sort of thing is not to be entered into lightly or with someone you do not have reason to implicitly trust.

      Delete
    6. hedgewytch11:44 AM

      Exactly Anon 8:21. I find that powerful people, men or women, occasionally find it very titillating to relinquish that power every once in a while. And for one who might be in a less than powerful position in life, can find great satisfaction in being able to be the one in control in the bedroom.

      But you don't actually have to "go there" physically to enjoy the "fantacy" of it.

      Some very good reads in this vein are the Kushiel series by Jacqueline Carey. Also check out Anne Rice's toe dip into the subject with "The Beauty Series" published as A. N. Roquelaure in the 80's. And "Exit to Eden" written under the name Anne Rampling.

      These two authors are very different and treat the subject in very different manners, but I found the all very entertaining and enjoyable.

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  3. Anonymous6:42 AM

    I believe the so-called "religious" (in this case, Christian) people who complain about these types of things fail to see what the traditional role is that is set women in the Bible! PROPERTY!
    There are those who would see my statement and say that things have changed and that those ideas are not true any longer. But then they turn around and insist that EVERYTHING in the Bible is set in stone when they talk about the LGBT community!
    Sorry folks, but you can't have it both ways! Take your 9+ forms of marriage and STCIK IT!

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  4. Anonymous6:51 AM

    I'll bet to all of the old evangelical women, this article caused them to put this book on their "must buy" list. You know they'll never be able to put the book down until they have finished reading the book. Even then, they'll go back and reread parts of it. And I'll also bet it will be too valuable to them to loan it out to others.

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    1. Anonymous8:19 AM

      or too sticky to loan out to others ;-)

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    2. Trust me, they'll put it down, gravely disappointed and bored to tears.

      Delete
  5. Anonymous6:52 AM

    The first review is pretty hilarious. Is Anastasia a sex slave or a Dominatrix? Does she even realize they are polar opposites? And seriously, it's a book, and if women want to fantasize about it with their significant others, who is it hurting??

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  6. A lot of women have naughty fantasies they would never act upon, but it helps them get satisfaction. Religion has even tried to address this (aimed more at men, I think) by claiming the thought of adultery is the same as actual adultery. I don’t buy it; never did.

    The book was way down on my reading list, but if it inspires that much emotion, I might have to move it up…

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  7. Anonymous7:12 AM

    I just finished the series. And apparently they didn't read the book since the female character'a name is Anastasia (or Ana) not Ann. She is never a dominatrix. God! how I hate people who review a book without really reading it! If anything, it is a story about redemption.

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  8. I read it, and like most erotica, it gets boring. In my opinion, it's popular not so much for the S&M, but because Christian takes care of Ana (eat, eat more), and she gets to save him. It was inspired by the Twilight series, dontcha know?

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  9. lostinmn7:38 AM

    In my rather limited world of female contacts I would have to say that the most sexually aggressive, non-tiring and enthusiastic woman I was ever with was the estranged wife of a far right fundie minister who came on to me like a runaway freight train. When we were over with she (with her now "got back together" husband) called me and told me I was Satan and she had managed to fight off the temptation of the devil and seen the light. It sure didn't seem that way at the time, and in fact she managed to find reasons for almost five years to call me for one thing or another. Beneath that pious exterior lurked a wild unbridled woman. I'm guessing the fundies are the ones buying this book like crazy since their husbands are either non-participants in sex or are off toe tapping in the men's room at the MSP airport or bo-diddling pre-teens

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    1. Anonymous8:03 AM

      You can bet they sell a lot of them in UT and ID as well.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous7:40 AM

    I have not read these books, but a ton of people I know seem to be really into them lately. My sister-in-law is finishing the third book. She is in her late twenties, a conservative Christian (not fundie, though). If it was THAT bad, there is no fucking way she'd be reading it.

    I would ignore anything Dr. Drew says. He is a dangerous quack. I have seen his "work" on the end-of-season specials on Teen Mom. Dr. Droopy encourages the teens to continue unhealthy, abusive relationships, blames victims, and validates the behavior of abusive idiots. He feigns concern with his stupid sad panda face, but gives horrible advice.

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  11. Anonymous7:45 AM

    50 shades of hypocrisy, from their own book.

    http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/sex/long.html

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  12. Anonymous7:47 AM

    A friend of mine happens to be a beautiful, happily married young mother - who recently read this book over the course of two weekends and shared with us (on Facebook no less) her thoughts - she cried - was moved - fell in love with the heroine and urged the rest of us to read it, read it, read it. She said it was the most cathartic story she's ever read. Ever.

    And - she and her husband are the most devout Christians I know.

    I am of the mind that mostly people with tendencies toward perversion themselves will be the ones screeching the words vile and evil. The rest of us are - how shall I put this - grownups - who read what we choose and leave what we don't choose to others.

    My friend, I'm sure, reflects the new generation of Christians - not bigoted, not blocking science, but incorporating a quiet belief of 'God' into a modern world - living a life of faith in today and hope for tomorrow, without being chained to a set of outdated, too-rigid scriptures. Let's hope this generation drowns out the last.

    I am not a fan of chainsaw murder movies - but I giggle every time Gryphen has a gory movie weekend and shares it with us and wouldn't dream of trying to douse his passion with my opinion.

    As the old saying goes... if both of us were identical - one of us would be unnecessary :)

    -OzMud

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    1. You just outed a friend as the dimmest of wits. If she was "moved" by this exquisitely boring book, and found it cathartic, she reliably represents the level of unintelligence of contemporary "christians".

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  13. Anonymous8:01 AM

    Christwire is a satire

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  14. Anonymous8:02 AM

    Gryphen, Christwire is a satirical site. They pwn the fundies ALL the time and those dopes even quote the articles they find as the real deal. (rill dill in Palinese).
    http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2010/09/christwire.html

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  15. Anonymous8:18 AM

    I found the book very tedious because it is so poorly written. My partner actually finished it and we discussed it and found it to be "overly written" and the sex scenes rather burdensome instead of titillating, basically it was just a crummy Harlequin romance masquerading as erotica and missing the mark by a mile. To each his own but there are legions of books and movies out there than are much more stimulating than this drivel.

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  16. Anonymous8:37 AM

    A real marriage is more like this:

    “The Dominant accepts the submissive as HERS, to own, to control dominate and discipline, for purpose of discipline [and]…for HER own personal enjoyment.”

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  17. Anonymous11:40 AM

    Oops! Forgot to add my 2 cents. I bought the book at my local B&N because I had read a free chapter on line somewhere and it seemed to be pretty interesting. I thought that was a pretty good marketing tool - let me read a free chapter or two and then I might buy the book. It was $15.95 for a paperback so it wasn't real cheap.

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  18. Anita Winecooler10:24 PM

    It happens to the best of us. But it was very good satire, sounds exactly like some of the stuff my fundagelical Auntie. When her daughter was pregnant, she named her Neveah (heaven spelled backwards), I asked if it was a boy, would they call him Lleh?

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  19. Anonymous8:59 AM

    Fifty Shades of Grey and the 2 follow on books are simply dreadful, and it has nothing to do with the content, but with writing so bad it is of the Bulwer-Lytton, "...it was a dark and stormy night..." ilk. It suffers from poor character development, abysmal and redundant descriptive narrative, predictable plot points, unimaginative dialog, and quite possibly nonexistent fact checking.

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  20. There are quite a few books getting boosts because of this book.

    One is "Between Shades of Gray" by Ruta Septys.

    "A moving and haunting novel for readers of The Book Thief

    Fifteen-year-old Lina is a Lithuanian girl living an ordinary life--until Soviet officers invade her home and tear her family apart. Separated from her father and forced onto a crowded train, Lina, her mother, and her young brother make their way to a Siberian work camp, where they are forced to fight for their lives. Lina finds solace in her art, documenting these events by drawing. Risking everything, she imbeds clues in her drawings of their location and secretly passes them along, hoping her drawings will make their way to her father's prison camp. But will strength, love, and hope be enough for Lina and her family to survive?

    This powerful tale of heartbreak and hope is sure to haunt readers long after they finish the last page."

    People stumble upon it looking for the other and end up liking it. Aimed at a whole other demographic but still.

    You might like it Gryph.

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